When Rebel Wilson declared 2020 her "Year of Health," she received pushback from her Hollywood team.
The Australian actor, 41, remembered one specific incident while speaking with BBC News on Tuesday.
“I feel like I’m really going to physically transform and change my life,” Wilson recalled telling her entourage. “And they were like, ‘Why? Why would you want to do that?’ Because I was earning millions of dollars being the funny fat girl and being that person.”
Wilson rose to fame in 2012 playing the character of Fat Amy in the comedy musical franchise “Pitch Perfect.” She also frequently cracked jokes about her body. For example, in 2013, the comedian shared a photo of herself on Twitter with "Les Misérables" star Anne Hathaway, and wrote, “Get ready for Les Mis 2… I’m playing ‘Fat Cosette.’”
Wilson told BBC that she always felt “confident” in her skin, but had concerns about the health effects of being overweight.
“I knew deep down inside that some of the emotional behaviors I was doing wasn’t healthy. I did not need a tub of ice cream every night,” she said. “That was me numbing my emotions using food, which wasn’t the healthiest thing.”
During her “Year of Health,” Wilson lost 77 pounds and surpassed her original goal of getting to 165 pounds. While chatting with fans on Instagram Live in 2020, Wilson said she follows a high protein diet, drinks loads of water and tries to stay under 1,500 calories a day.
She's also learned to love exercise.
"It's just about keeping your body moving and keeping the blood pumping," Wilson told TODAY Health last month. “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 hard core things, but as a regular person, walking is just so healthy for you. The body is designed to move in that way."
Wilson added that her desire to be a mother is also helping to keep her on track. She has been undergoing retrieval processes to freeze her eggs.
"The healthier I am, the more chances I'll have (of having kids)," Wilson explained. "Thinking of potential future children to be healthy (for) is an extra motivation."
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