Rebel Wilson has been incredibly forthright about how she lost 100 pounds and got into the best shape of her life. The Australian actress posted a gorgeous sunny snap of herself on the beach in a bright pink one-piece swimsuit and black shorts, playing with her long blonde hair. “Throwback Thursday: Rebel Island 🏝,” the 42-year-old captioned the Instagram post. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 7 ways Wilson stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don’t miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!
Wilson understood she had to approach her weight loss holistically—and that meant addressing why she was overweight in the first place. “I think because I approached it from all areas … the biggest thing that I haven’t ever worked on was the emotional side, what I suffered from, I guess, as classical emotional eating … so I really worked on that side,” she told Extra.
Wilson is a big fan of “just walking.” “I got all these high-tech tests done on me during my year of health,” Wilson said. “They said that walking was actually the best way for me to lose unnecessary body fat.” “Walking can be as good as a workout, if not better, than running,” says Dr. Matt Tanneberg, CSCS, a sports Chiropractor and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist in Phoenix, Arizona who works with elite athletes. “You hear of people ‘plateauing’ when they continue to do the same workout routine and stop seeing results. I see patients all the time that plateau from running, they will run the same distance, speed and time, day in and day out. You need to constantly be switching up your exercise routine in order to get the maximum benefit for your health.”
Wilson makes it clear her weight-loss goal was never about being “skinny”—it was about her health and happiness. “My goal was never to be skinny,” she told PEOPLE. “I don’t focus too much on the numbers. I still look like me. I love being curvy and I’m still super curvy but just a healthier version. That was my goal. I just try to encourage everyone to be the healthiest version of themselves. That doesn’t necessarily mean being smaller in size, it just just means not engaging in unhealthy behaviors. I like to think I look good at all sizes.”
Wilson says her now-healthy relationship with food is crucial to maintaining her new weight. “I would numb myself with food,” she says. “I was traveling the world and I had a hectic lifestyle and my way of dealing with the pressure sometimes was eating ice cream and brownies, but at the end of the day, I wasn’t treating myself with love. I’ll have dessert once or twice a week now. It’s just not an everyday thing, Having a sweet tooth will always be my vice, but online shopping has crept up a bit!”
Wilson’s visit to a fertility doctor brought home the importance of weight loss if she wanted to have a family. “[The doctor] looked me up and down and said, ‘You’d do much better if you were healthier,’ ” she says. “I was taken aback. I thought, ‘Oh God, this’s guy’s so rude.’ He was right. 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. Any woman who’s gone through it, I really relate to. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster. I don’t know how it’s going to end. But I’m still young enough to try.”
Wilson has personal trainers on hand to keep her accountable. “I’m in a lucky position … I do have access to really amazing personal trainers but I want you guys to know that the majority of the exercise that I’ve done this year has just been me going out for a walk,” she says. “That is free, you can do it, it’s safe. I know it’s getting colder…but just give it a go. If you can do an hour — that’s what I like to do when I go walking — it is the best. Just get your body moving.”
Wilson refuses to let weight fluctuations derail her health journey. “I just noticed I put on 3 kgs on my holiday. I’m at an amazing all-inclusive resort…I’ve lost all self-control,” she captioned an Instagram post. “But, you know what? I can get up tomorrow, and go to the gym, and hydrate, and eat healthy, and love myself. It doesn’t help to be hard on yourself but I know what it’s like to feel guilty and not great after eating too much. But if you’re like me just know YOU are more than just your weight, your weight doesn’t define you, just try your best to be healthy and don’t be so hard on yourself 💗 Be the best version of you 💗.”