Rebel Wilson Gets Real About Slip-Ups in Her Health Journey (Exclusive)

Rebel Wilson is getting candid about the challenge of maintaining her health as a mom, actress and comedian with a packed schedule.

The Pitch Perfect star spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about her struggle to prioritize her health — and her plans to bounce back. The 45-year-old is currently busy directing a new movie, and she admits that health and weight concerns have been put on the back burner.

“It’s hard. I’m working my ass off right now — 13-hour days directing and being in a new movie. And then I also have a baby, who is the most amazing thing to happen in my world, but she’s about to turn 3,” she says, referring to her daughter Royce Lillian. “So I don’t get as much sleep as I want. I hardly get time to go to the gym.”

“I’m just struggling to hold on health-wise,” she admits. 

That’s one of the reasons why Wilson is joining Noom as their new chief wellness ambassador, introducing a free tier of the wellness app available to those looking to reach their “peak health” with “daily microhabits.” The actress says Noom prevents her from falling too far behind in her health journey.

“I wouldn’t say I’m at my peak health right now, but I’m definitely not at the bottom,” she tells PEOPLE. “Because I’m kind of burning the candle at both ends with work and being a mom, I’m not some picture of health. I eat junk food and do the wrong things at times. But with being on the Noom program, it helps me at least not go too crazy.”

“I really like their philosophy,” she adds. “It’s a very well-rounded approach to weight loss. Like here you can get your motivation, you can get GLP-1s, you can log your food, you know, there’s a gamified element which I really like.”

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For Wilson, peak health is how she looked on her wedding day to Ramona Agruma in September 2024. She often finds herself looking back at her photos from the occasion as motivation to return to her physical goals.

The first step, she says, is being self-aware of her unhealthy habits and learning how to make meaningful changes.

“I knew when I was classed as obese that I had lots of inflammation in my body, some aches and pains and I just wasn’t as vibrant as what I could have been. So the first step was self-awareness to be like, ‘Oh, maybe eating a tub of ice cream and a whole pizza for dinner is not the wisest thing.’ Having that awareness that some of those patterns you’re in and the way you’re living could be improved. And then the next step is to take action and improve those things.”

For now, Wilson does what she can to get moving in her limited free time. She tries to go for 20-minute walks on set when possible, or even spend 15 minutes stretching on the floor of her trailer. She also makes sure to cook her own meals, making healthier alternatives to her favorite foods — all habits she learned during her “year of health” in 2020.

“Sometimes just that for the body can be really good. So my exercising is brought down to a bare minimum right now, but I’ve learned some really positive things in the last five years. I’m definitely not perfect, but at least some of the things I stick to now. Like one time, I went to a restaurant and I ordered a cookie skillet as my dinner. And nowadays, I just never would do that. I know that that would be disastrous,” she says with a laugh, reflecting on how far she’s come.

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The Senior Year star says it’s easier to stick to healthy habits with support from millions of fans, who she does not want to disappoint.

Earlier this year, Wilson took to social media and documented a 6-week health challenge, inviting her followers to join her. She tells PEOPLE that posting her health goals online has been a way of sending a positive message while also being held accountable.

“If I put it on Instagram I’m gonna be like, okay, well I can’t just go out and eat a donut because somebody’s probably gonna photograph me and know I’m in a health challenge,” she quips. “That was like a daily reminder, okay, you gotta hydrate, you gotta drink water because you’ve said it on Instagram. So there’s something about social media, it’s accountability.”

While the Rebel Rising: A Memoir author is transparent when she slips up, she admits that in this season of life she’s learned to give herself more grace when it comes to the ups and downs of her health journey.

“In the past, I used to be like, ‘Damn, I’ve screwed it up. I’ve ruined it.’ And maybe go and eat ice cream,” she says with a laugh. “But now I try to do something that’s like self-loving. Like right now, have I put on a few pounds? Yeah. I’m working my ass off directing a movie, I have a small child at home who needs lots of love and attention, and the focus is not quite on me. So yeah, I’ve slipped up, but I try to focus on the next day rather than just going, ‘Oh, screw it — the diet’s out the window.’ Tomorrow I’m gonna wake up, if I can, I’ll go to the gym, I’ll hydrate, I’ll try to have a really healthy meal. Just try to focus on the small things.”

As she continues to navigate her health, Wilson says she’s reconsidering taking a GLP-1 to aid in weight loss. She previously spoke about her brief experience with Ozempic and now says that it could be beneficial when hitting the gym regularly isn’t manageable.

“It stopped me from emotional eating. Even if I felt like eating that whole tub of ice cream, there’s no way I could,” she explains. “So I can use it as a tool and then when I get back on schedule, I add in the exercise and nutrition and going back to the healthy habits that I should be doing every day, but, you know, kind of lost track of because I’m trying to make a funny movie and be a good mom.”

For now, Wilson has her eyes set on January 2026, after work slows down, to start another health transformation.

“I think personally, in the new year, I’ll try to smash it again and probably lose a few pounds as my resolution. And my goal is not really to hit a certain number on a scale anymore. It’s not to fit a certain size, it’s just to be the most vibrant, healthy me I can to live a long life for my family and my daughter,” she says.