The Surprisingly Simple Mantra Rebel Wilson Uses to Stay Motivated After Her 75-Pound Weight Loss
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Rebel Wilson’s trainer, Gunnar Peterson, shared how the star stays motivated as she continues her health journey.
The actress made 2020 her “year of health” before going on to lose 75 pounds.
“You get through certain things that are arduous and then you recognize: ‘Wow, I did that. And I can do that. And I can keep on doing that,’” Peterson said.
It’s been two years since Rebel Wilson set off to make 2020 her “year of health,” and the journey didn’t stop when the year ended. The actress is still “Rebel Rising,” as she put it on Instagram, and it takes some serious determination to maintain such stamina. How does she do it, you ask? Her trainer Gunnar Peterson has a mantra that keeps her and all of his clients inspired.
“The quote is: ‘You’re either striving to get better or allowing yourself to get worse’—there’s no such thing as staying the same,” he recently told The Sun. “There’s never such a thing as reaching a goal, either. You may hit certain numbers, but that shouldn’t mean that you stop.”
Peterson added that it takes progressive, “slow upgrades” to fully transform a lifestyle in a way that’s not overwhelming. “Some people get to sleep [easily], so we don’t have to tweak the sleep. Great, we’ll add workouts. And now let’s look at your diet, stress levels, hydration or if you’re a smoker,” he said. “There are so many things to attack, but let’s do them in a way so you don’t feel like your whole life’s being undermined.”
That’s why, in combination with training sessions with Gunnar, Wilson embraced the simple exercise of walking. It felt natural and approachable.
“An Austrian doctor said ‘Rebel, the best way for you to lose unwanted body fat is by just simply walking,” the Pitch Perfect star said in the season three premiere of Apple Fitness+ Time to Walk on Apple Watch. “It doesn’t have to be high intensity or uphill…just simply walk an hour a day.’”
She continued: “It just made me think: OK I should take it a bit easier on myself, and just do it gently and do it lightly. So in 2020 I lost weight but very, very gradually. Sometimes I kicked up things a notch with some workouts and went hard. But, the majority of the work for the year was just doing things like walking for an hour.”
In The Sun interview, Peterson added that Wilson always partakes in full-body workouts rather than straining to target specific areas. “It’s full body. There’s not a ton of work done in isolation, just because it’s not good bang for your buck, time-wise,” he explained. “You might think: ‘I have time to do weights, but I can’t fit in cardio,’ or: ‘I have time to do cardio, but I couldn’t do any mobility or flexibility.’ In here, you’re getting all that.”
He also reiterated that the transformation for Wilson has been just as much of a mental one as it was physical. “You get through certain things that are arduous and then you recognize: ‘Wow, I did that. And I can do that. And I can keep on doing that,’” he said.
The whole experience has helped Wilson step into her own power, which is the best part of it all. “It’s not about being a certain size or body weight or anything,” she told Australia’s The Daily Telegraph. “It’s just about loving yourself and loving the journey that you’re on.”
And so, the journey continues.
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