How Do Celebrities Gain Weight for Movie Roles?
Why Celebrities Gain Weight
In body-conscious Hollywood, when celebrities gain weight it’s usually for a movie role. Even though it doesn’t necessarily guarantee good reviews, many celebrities think making a major body transformation through extreme weight gain is the ticket to winning Oscar gold.
When movie roles are concerned, celebrities gain weight for one of two reasons: to look more “average” or to bulk up with muscle.
According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the average woman is a size 14. Take a look through a tabloid magazine, and you’ll notice that the average celebrity seems to be far smaller. So when it comes to movie roles in which an actor or actress must play an average Joe or Jane, directors often require stars to gain weight.
Renee Zellweger is one such star who got the order to gain weight. For both Bridget Jones movies in which she played a chubby girl next door, Zellweger had to gain 20 pounds. While she hasn’t revealed exactly how she put on that weight, she’s hinted to various media outlets that her weight gain routine included eating a lot of sugar, drinking wine daily, and swearing off exercise.
For other celebrities, roles in action films also typically require weight gain. Movies are all about fantasy, and when an actor has to become a super hero or super fighter, he’s usually told to slim down and bulk up.
With million-dollar contracts as strong motivators, male celebrities can gain weight quickly. Typically an actor works with a trainer and chef to build lean muscle weight for an action movie role. He might work out for four to six hours a day and aid his training by eating a high protein diet.
The celebrity weight gain diet for muscle mass usually involves five to six small meals per day. Besides being high in protein, they are also very low in carbs and include only healthy fats that aid in muscle development. There’s no snacking on these diets, and optimum results require strict adherence to the plan.
It’s easy to gain weight quickly when you have unlimited financial resources to achieve your goal. It’s also easy to take weight off under those same circumstances. When celebrities gain weight for a role, they usually shed it soon after filming stops. This kind of crash dieting is very unhealthy, and unless you’ve got to be 30 pounds lighter for a movie filming next month, doctors advise you shouldn’t try it.
Sources
Salon.com - “More of Her to Love”
FoxNews.com - “The Skinny on Stars Weight Fluctuations”