How Rebel Wilson Dropped 80 Pounds with Diet & Exercise
Australian actress, comedian, producer, and writer Rebel Wilson has been on an ongoing wellness journey. The celeb previously proclaimed 2020 to be her "Year of Health," and she ended up losing 80 pounds through diet and exercise. This is certainly an impressive milestone to be celebrated, but Wilson stressed to BBC that her journey was really all about "being the healthiest version" of herself, not achieving a certain benchmark on the scale. "It wasn't about size or a number or whatever," the Pitch Perfect star added. "But it's fascinating!"
Here's exactly how Rebel Wilson lost 80 pounds.
In January 2020, Rebel Wilson Kicked Off Her "Year of Health"
Wilson kicked off January 2020 to a healthy start. The Bridesmaids star shared a few pictures in workout attire on the beach and captioned the post, "Okay so for me 2020 is going to be called "The Year of Health"—so I put on the athleisure and went out for a walk, deliberately hydrating on the couch right now and trying to avoid the sugar and junk food which is going to be hard after the holidays I've just had but I'm going to do it! Who's with me in making some positive changes this year?"
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She Prioritized Healing Her Mind
The celeb opened up on The Drew Barrymore Show about her weight in November 2020.
"I turned 40 this year in March, and I'd never really focused on my health … I was going all around the world, jet-setting everywhere and eating a ton of sugar," Wilson shared. "And I tried, like so many women out there, little fads of diets and things before and I'm like, I need to do a really holistic approach this time. … I think what I mainly suffer from is emotional eating and dealing with the stress of becoming famous internationally."
She also noted that she was working on prioritizing her mental health and improving her nutrition habits.
Her Dream To Become a Mom Served as a Major Weight-Loss Motivator
Her dream to become a mom was a big motivator to begin a weight-loss journey, according to PEOPLE. She was told by her physician that having polycystic ovarian syndrome can compromise fertility, and being overall healthier and losing weight would help increase her chances of having a child.
Although it was a hard pill to swallow, she realized, "I was carrying around a lot of excess weight. It's almost like I didn't think of my own needs. I thought of a future child's needs that really inspired me to get healthier."
So Rebel Wilson went full throttle on her healthy weight-loss journey.
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She Gained Confidence
Some people gained weight during the pandemic, while Wilson was able to achieve an incredible weight-loss milestone. She first had to gain the confidence to do so.
"I think I was emotional eating, and overeating at times, because I wasn't loving myself enough," the celeb told PEOPLE. "And it does come down to that self-worth and self-love."
She Changed Her Eating Habits
Wilson sought the help of a nutritionist. This was instrumental in helping the actress figure out that, on most days, she was "probably eating 3,000 calories"—the majority of which were carbs. During her weight-loss journey, she didn't deprive herself, though.
"Nothing is forbidden. I feel like I deserve that because I've worked my a** off in the gym. So, I'm just trying to go for an overall healthy balance," Wilson told PEOPLE. "I would say to everyone out there don't be obsessed about how much you actually weigh. It's more about all the healthy practices, and then the changes to your whole lifestyle."
In another interview with PEOPLE, Wilson pointed out that she embraced a high-protein diet, "which is challenging because I didn't used to eat a lot of meat." She made sure to consume plenty of salmon, fish, and chicken breast, all of which promote satiety.
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She Walked a Ton
In Wilson's memoir, Rebel Rising, the actress broke down her workout regimen, which included getting in plenty of steps: "Exercise for about two hours—one hour with a trainer focused on strength and conditioning, and one hour doing my own cardio (which was usually walking)."
In addition, Wilson did high-intensity interval training (HIIT), sprints, hikes, and stair training.
Walking seemed to make all the difference in the world in Wilson's weight-loss efforts. "The one biggest thing is just walking… I got all these high-tech tests done on me during my year of health. They said that walking was actually the best way for me to lose unnecessary body fat," the celeb told Extra in 2021.
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She Stressed "There's No Magic Fix"
Wilson said that one lesson she learned is that "there's no magic fix," telling Us Weekly, "I'd been on diets [and] I've been really good [about] exercising pretty much my entire life. For me, it was the emotional element that I'd never looked at. I'd kind of been, like, 'Emotions…Ugh. I don't want to talk about things.'"
She initially lost a big chunk of weight, but gained 30 pounds back, as revealed in the celeb's January 2024 Instagram post.
The clip shows Wilson in a hot tub on a boat, captioned with, "Working really hard has meant that, coz of all the stress, I've gained 14kg's (30 pounds)! It makes me feel bad about myself…it shouldn't…but it does. I'm really proud of the work I've been doing on new movies and my memoir, it's just been a LOT and I've lost focus on my healthy lifestyle. Anyone else going through the same thing? (Update: I woke up this morning and read all your comments—they bring a tear to my eye. Thanks everyone!"
