Rebel Wilson has admitted she never believed she’d be able to lose weight.
The Pitch Perfect star, 44, dramatically shed 36kg (80lb) after embarking on a ‘year of health’ in 2020 – and has now opened up to OK! Magazine about feeling doubtful ahead of her weight loss journey.
‘I never thought I could do it,’ she told the publication.
‘Then in 2020, when I just really focused and did it, I felt sadness, because I’m like, ‘I’m 40. Why did I not do it 10, 20 years ago?’ I felt like this sadness, that I’d hidden away from people and from relationships.’
The Australian actress has been looking back on her life so far as part of her memoir Rebel Rising and noted that now was the right time to do it because she can truly reflect on her journey to Hollywood stardom rather than writing what she thinks would be a ‘boring book’ about her body transformation.
Rebel Wilson has admitted she never believed she’d be able to lose weight. The Pitch Perfect star, 44, dramatically shed 36kg (80lb) after embarking on a ‘year of health’ in 2020 – and has now opened up to OK! Magazine about feeling doubtful ahead of her weight loss journey
She said: ‘In 2020, I did this experiment called “the year of health”. And I lost a lot of weight. That garnered more attention than any movie I’d ever done.
‘Then I got an offer to write a book about it. It was going to be “my year of health” but when I got into thinking about my relationship with food and emotional eating I thought, “Well, there’s so many things about my life and past that go into this”. And it’s boring to write a book about, “Yeah, I exercise for two-and-a-half hours a day and drink eight glasses of water…”‘
The Senior Year star recalled not being able to ‘stand up’ for herself at times when she was younger and would turn to food as a comfort as she ended up in a vicious cycle of ‘trashing’ her own body.
She said: ‘Being born a girl where I came from in Australia, I didn’t stand up for myself sometimes. Or I was told to just shut up and be a good girl.
The Australian actress has been looking back on her life so far as part of her memoir Rebel Rising and noted that now was the right time to do it because she can truly reflect on her journey to Hollywood stardom
‘Then, because I didn’t feel that I was any good, I was feeding myself food that wasn’t good. And it was like this whole cycle of like, “Oh well, I’ll just trash my own body”.’
It comes after Rebel revealed how she received more attention for her weight loss than for any film she had ever appeared in – and how she became ‘visible’ to the world after being ‘sexually invisible’ before the transformation.
The Australian actress opened up to People in March about how she began receiving a different type of attention after she obtained her slimmer figure.
‘I was getting quite a lot of attention for the weight loss,’ she told People. ‘I thought, “Gosh, people are so intrigued by this.” Literally, I got more attention for weight loss than any movie I’d ever done.’
Rebel revealed how she received more attention for her weight loss than for any film she had ever appeared in – and how she received better treatment after the transformation; Wilson pictured L in 2021 and R in 2014
She said her weight loss attracted more attention than any film she had been in pictured in Pitch Perfect
Rebel admitted she found the extra attention pleasant: ‘I know that’s superficial, but it was nice. And I went, “Oh, is this what hot people experience all the time?” Their life must be so bloody blessed.’
She found doors were being held open for her or others would simply pay more attention to her.
The attention only encouraged Rebel to continue down her weight loss journey, calling it all ‘positive reinforcement.’
‘It was interesting to know exactly what it’s like to be invisible sexually and then to be visible,’ she said. ‘I’ve experienced both sides of the coin.’
In 2020, Rebel decided that she would spend a year concentrating on her health and setting fitness goals as well as a weight loss target for the end of the year, vowing to tip the scales at 75kg (11 stone, or 165 pounds) before the year was out.
Rebel has openly spoke about her weight loss journey over the course of the past couple of years; pictured L in 2023 and R in 2014
Rebel switched her card-heavy diet – where she revealed she was eating around 3,000 calories a day – for high protein alternatives where she would no longer be left feeling hungry
Rebel switched her carb-heavy diet – where she revealed she was eating around 3,000 calories a day – for high protein alternatives where she would no longer be left feeling hungry.
She previously told People: ‘Before I was probably eating 3,000 calories most days, and because they were normally carbs, I would still be hungry.
‘So, I’ve really changed to eating a high-protein diet, which is challenging because I didn’t used to eat a lot of meat. I eat fish, salmon, and chicken breast.’
Rebel revealed in November 2020 that she had hit her ‘goal weight’, but assured fans that her focus was purely about ‘being healthy’ rather than the figure on the scales.
She has continued keeping fans updated on her health journey – recently she sought the support of fans after gaining 14kg amid career stress.
Rebel posted to Instagram in January: ‘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.
Rebel’s new memoir, Rebel Rising, hit bookshelves April 2
‘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!)
In her memoir, Rebel opened up about losing her virginity at age 35, a ‘situationship’ she had with a female tennis player, and her first make-out session with her now fiancee, Ramona Agruma.
Rebel and Ramona welcomed their first child, Royce Lillian, via surrogate in November 2022.
Recently, the couple went to Las Vegas to celebrate Ramona’s 40th birthday.
Rebel had the sign of Resorts World dedicated to her fiancée.
The ladies also took in fellow Aussie Kylie Minogue’s, 55, show and met the icon backstage.
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