Rebel Wilson on her weight loss: 'People are so obsessed with it'
Rebel Wilson is opening up about her "Year of Health" and the public's fascination with her weight loss. The Australian actress is said to have lost more than 66 pounds after embarking on her diet and fitness kick in 2020.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph's Stellar magazine, the 41-year-old star says that she's received "more press... when I do nothing except lose weight" than when she starred in multiple films, including the Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit, the year before.
“People are so obsessed with it," Wilson says of her new look. "But I get it. Oprah is one of my heroes. She’s certainly struggled with eating issues and I would always watch her episodes when she spoke about that.”
Noting that she "grew up not really trading on my looks," the self-described "personality girl" tells the Australian publication that "Year of Health" has helped her connect with her "inner siren." (Indeed, she recently donned a mermaid costume for a belated 40th birthday celebration last month.)
"It’s not about being a certain size or body weight or anything," she says. "It’s just about loving yourself and loving the journey that you’re on. And to me, the women I think are most beautiful are those who step into their own power.”
Video: Rebel Wilson poses in red-hot bathing suit
Wilson — who recently reflected on social media about the time when she was at her "unhealthiest" — says food helped her deal with the pressures of fame. Though she's gravitated to bold comic roles, she says she grew up being painfully shy — an experience that she'll pour into her upcoming children's book, Bella the Brave.
“When I was at my heaviest, I also had the most international attention on me," the Pitch Perfect star says. "Because I’m not a natural performer, my natural personality is very introverted; the way I dealt with that pressure was to eat. I would reward myself with a block of chocolate."
She credits her "Year of Health" with helping her address her emotional eating issues.
“For the first time in my life I’ve lost weight and maintained it,” she says. “So I’m more proud of that fact.
“It worked because it was the whole lifestyle approach and dealing with emotional eating. I’m not totally cured. I don’t think you can be. But I’ve learnt to manage it — and it’s not by reaching for a bowl of ice cream.”
Wilson has previously cited her hopes of having a child — and her doctor's recommendation that she lose weight to improve her chances — with sparking her fitness kick. Speaking to Stellar, she calls her path to motherhood an "emotional roller coaster."
“I’ve been going through a fertility journey for the past two years and I’m hoping at some point I may have a family of my own,” she says. “But it’s still a bit unclear whether that’ll be the case. I feel like [it’s] not over yet. It’s kind of an emotional roller coaster. But I’ve been trying my best, so whatever will be, will be.”
Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Life’s newsletter.
