Adele Opens Up About Overcoming Anxiety In the Gym, Says ‘It Was Never About Losing Weight’
Singer Adele’s noticeable weight loss has made headlines over the past few years, drawing both admiration and criticism for the dramatic change to her appearance.
In a recent interview, Adele opened up about her mindset around losing weight and what made her shed the pounds. Here’s what she had to say.
Adele described her experience with anxiety
In an Oct. 2021 interview with Vogue, Adele described her anxiety felt “like a tsunami was coming for me.”
She described leaning on her friends for support when her fears felt overwhelming.
“I remember sitting… with two of my friends, and I was like, ‘When will I stop feeling like this?’ And they were like, ‘In time.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but how much time?’ And one of them cried and was just like, ‘I don’t know. It’s gonna be a ride.’ And it was.”
Adele opened up about one friend in particular, a neighbor in her late 40s. “She would be like, ‘Mmm-hmm.’ She’d be like, ‘Yeah, that happened to me once. I felt like that once.’ I’d be there having these meltdowns. Like, sobbing, sobbing, sobbing. And she’d be so calm.”
One particular exchange stands out. “I told my friend, I feel like I’m on a steep mountain, trying to get up to the top. And she was like, ‘You will get there. And you’ll have a nice leisurely stroll down. And then there’ll be another f—ing mountain.’ And I’m like, I’m not even over this one yet. And she was like, ‘That’s just life.'”
Adele got a tattoo of a mountain on her right wrist as a reminder of the conversation.
The ‘Hello’ singer said she found solace in the gym
Adele described what helped her find some relief from her anxiety. “It was a lot of sound baths. It was a lot of meditation. It was a lot of therapy. And a lot of time spent on my own.”
Then she discovered that going to the gym was a crucial part of overcoming her nerves. “It became my time. I realized that when I was working out, I didn’t have any anxiety.
“It was never about losing weight. I thought if I can make my body physically strong, and I can feel that and see that, then maybe one day I can make my emotions and my mind physically strong.”
Adele’s weight loss has been making headlines since 2019
Adele’s weight loss journey has been the source of tabloid fodder since 2019. When the “Send My Love” singer started shedding pounds, rumors swirled that she’d had surgery or developed a stimulant drug addiction.
Fortunately, Adele can laugh off the public scrutiny. When she hosted Saturday Night Live in Oct. 2020, she made a joke about her weight in the opening monologue.
“I know I look really, really different since you last saw me,” Adele said. “But actually, because of all the Covid restrictions, the travel bans… I had to travel light, and I could only bring half of me, and this is the half I chose.”
