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2020 was the year that Rebel Wilson decided to make her “year of health,” dedicating herself to a goal of losing 60 pounds (27 kgs) which she accomplished by November. The Australian actress, comedian, and writer, amongst many other things, had always been a fierce advocate for body positivity, so it wasn’t her self-confidence that was driving motivation for her weight-loss journey.
Since the start of her career, Wilson has owned her plus-sized figure and has always been comfortable in her own skin. Never afraid of self-deprecating jokes, the Pitch Perfect star started a plus-size T-shirt collection called “Fat Mandi” which featured images of donuts and cupcakes.
“There’s a lot of pressure on women, especially younger women, to conform to the thin body image,” she told the Associated Press in 2019. “Not everyone can be that way and no one should be ashamed of how they look or suffer bullying and other forms of abuse because of their size and shape.”
Rather, the inspiration of the “year of health” came from fertility reasons. “It originally started because I was interested in fertility stuff and freezing my eggs,” she said in an interview with Bustle. “The doctors told me if I’m healthier, I’ll get a much better result.” Before then, Wilson admitted that she had zero wellness or self-care routine.
Prior to embarking on her fitness journey, Wilson admits that she suffered from emotional eating due to the stress brought on by fame. “Before I was probably eating 3,000 calories most days, and because they were normally carbs, I would still be hungry,” she said.
The fact that Wilson’s “year of health” also coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns had its benefits. With less work-related stress, having some time off during the pandemic gave her a chance to reset and change her mindset about food.
“I definitely think with the slow down, it did help,” she told People. “I think I was emotional eating, and overeating at times, because I wasn’t loving myself enough either. And it does come down to that self worth and self love.”
Since hitting her goal weight in 2020, Wilson has continued to maintain the healthy habits she developed during that year. She’s also become an advocate for people living a healthy and balanced lifestyle; one that isn’t too strict and prioritises self-love over everything.
Just give it a go. Don’t beat yourself up if in the past you were unhealthy, because I definitely was engaging in unhealthy habits like eating junk food and sugar all the time. But it doesn’t do any benefit to beat yourself up. It’s more about going ‘OK, I’m going to do this for me.’ Try things throughout the year, different lifestyle habits that are positive and healthy, and see what results you get. Any steps that you take towards having better health is a plus.
Rebel Wilson details the small changes she’s used to maintain 70-pound weight loss | Today
Rebel Wilson’s training routine & diet
On a typical day in Wilson’s new daily routine, she wakes up at around 8am, after getting about eight hours of sleep. According to the actress, if she doesn’t get at least eight hours or more a night, she “literally can’t function.” She doesn’t drink coffee either, although she’ll drink a Diet Coke when she’s filming at night and needs a caffeine hit.
After waking up, she’ll work on her gratitude ritual where she thinks about five things she’s grateful for, which helps her start the day in a positive mindset. Then she’s off to her workout session with Jono Castano, a Sydney-based trainer who’s been working with the star since late-2019.
The pair train together six days a week, following a program that includes HIIT and mobility on day one, weights and resistance training on day two, HIIT on day three and four, HIIT and weights on day five, recovery on day six and a final round of HIIT on day seven.
“It might seem like a lot, in terms of the number of days you have to train, but it doesn’t need to be done at 100 percent of your capacity,” Castano explained. “As long as you’re getting your heart rate over a certain amount, that’s high-intensity.”
But Wilson’s fitness regimen isn’t all about weight training and HIIT routines. In fact, her favourite way to exercise is walking. “It’s just about keeping your body moving and keeping the blood pumping,” she told Today. “I feel like sometimes people think you need to work your body really hard to get results, and yeah, if you were training to be the next Thor or something you would be doing hardcore things, but as a regular person, walking is just so healthy for you.”
When it comes to her daily meal plan, Wilson has cut back on her previous 3,000 calories a day and stuck with a high-protein diet that includes a lot of fish, particularly salmon, and chicken breast. On filming days, she’ll also have some Olly gummy vitamins at around 3pm — “They’re not candy, but they remind me of the Haribo gummy bears I used to eat and they actually have things that are good for me.”
Despite her recent health kick, it doesn’t mean that Wilson doesn’t have the odd cheat meal every now and then. It’s all about overall balance for the actress. “We’ll be like, ‘Should we get In-N-Out burger?’ And I’m like, ‘Nothing is forbidden,’” she explained. “I can go there, I just might eat half of what I used to eat before. You know? And I’ll have a burger, and a few fries, and then you feel fine.”
For her bedtime ritual, Wilson enjoys having a bubble bath to help her wind down from her day. Then she’ll take some Olly’s sleep gummies, for the melatonin and the l-theanine, “watch a little bit of trashy reality TV,” and she’s off to sleep.
Some people go “I’m old, I don’t need to look good for anybody,” or “I’m married,” or whatever. And I think what the pandemic taught us all is that health is so important. Your health is your world. It doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got, if you’ve got terrible health, you can’t enjoy anything and if you’re healthy, you can live life to the fullest.
Rebel Wilson details the small changes she’s used to maintain 70-pound weight loss | Today
Before you go…
Check out more daily routines from Barack Obama, Arianna Huffington, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Michelle Obama, Sheryl Sandberg, Richard Branson, Warren Buffet and plenty others.
