Following her year of health, Rebel Wilson is opening up about a pivotal point in her life.
On Aug. 18, the Bridesmaids actress shared a throwback photo of herself to Instagram, writing, "Okay so I know that I normally post flattering photos of myself…but found this old photo in my emails and was like: whoa!." In the pic posted, the star is seen posing alongside tennis player Novak Djokovic. "I remember this was when I was at my most unhealthiest," she noted. "Being overweight and indulging way too much with junk food. Using food to numb my emotions."
Explaining that she was going through a difficult time due to losing a loved one, she continued, "My father had passed away of a heart attack and it was such a sad time. I didn't think highly of myself and wasn't valuing myself how I should have. It's interesting that I'm still smiling and still trying to be active…despite being in so much pain."
"I look back now at that girl and am so proud of what she's become and achieved," she added. "And just wanted to send out some encouragement to everyone out there struggling with weight or body issues or emotional eating. I feel you. I know what it's like."
Rebel also opened up about embracing her health journey during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show in November 2020.
"I've tried, like so many women out there, fads and diets and things before and I'm like, ‘I need to do a really holistic approach this time,'" she explained. "I think what I mainly suffered from was emotional eating and dealing with the stress of becoming famous internationally. There is a lot of stress that comes with it, and I guess my way of dealing with it was just like eating donuts."
"So, I was working on the mental side of things of why was I doing that and why was I not valuing myself and having better self-worth," she noted. "And then, also on the nutritional side my diet was mainly all carbs, which are delicious, but for my body type I needed to eat more protein."
The Isn't It Romantic star, 41, who'd lost around 40 pounds at that particular point in time, explained in an interview with E! News later that month that her goal was improving her overall health and implementing a different regimen.
"I don't want to project the message that being smaller is better because I don't really believe that," Rebel shared. "I was just engaging in pretty unhealthy habits, like eating a tub of ice cream every night and stuff, that wasn't actually helping me. It just felt good in the moment."
And a little over nine months later, as Rebel encouraged fans in the conclusion of her inspirational Instagram post, "It's never too late to start improving yourself and trying to be the best version of YOU possible. It's not a race and it's not a competition—it's about respecting yourself and doing what's best for YOU."
"So, if you're out there and reading this today," she added, "I just wanted to say: keep smiling and keep trying to be active! Love you guys."