Emma Stone's journey with weight and fitness is far from a typical Hollywood weight loss narrative. It's a story of transformation driven by roles, personal reckoning, and a commitment to a balanced, healthy lifestyle. It's not just about fitting into a dress or achieving a certain number on a scale. Emma Stone weight loss was more than just cutting carbs or hopping on a treadmill. She wasn’t doing it for the ‘Gram. She wasn’t chasing some Hollywood standard.
Early Life and Career
Emma Stone has become one of the most successful actresses of our time. She started out her career as a comedic and teen movie actress, starring in roles like Superbad, Zombieland, and Easy A, which earned her first award nomination. Stone then starred in more serious roles like The Help and Birdman, the latter earning her an Academy Award Nomination. She’d win the award in 2017 for the hit musical film La La Land. Even though Emma has achieved amazing success, she still seems like a down-to-earth, kind person.
The "Battle of the Sexes" Transformation
The turning point in Stone's fitness journey came with her role in "Battle of the Sexes," where she portrayed tennis legend Billie Jean King. She started slowly-running a few times a week, swapping late-night pizza for grilled salmon. But the tipping point? “For Battle of the Sexes, I had to gain 15 pounds of muscle. And after that? I just kept going. What started as a character transformation morphed into a personal reckoning. To play Billie Jean King in Battle of the Sexes, Emma Stone gained 15 pounds of muscle to transform her lithe La La Land dancer physique into a ‘70s tennis legend. As her trainer Jason Walsh recalled, "Halfway through La La Land, she got a phone call about the Billie Jean King movie, and she told me that she thought she was going to take it. We sat down and tried to decide the game plan for the end results she needed. We were shooting for putting ten pounds on her because she needed to look and feel athletic. She needed to be resilient enough to handle the amount of tennis she was going to have to start playing and to also look the part." Stone did more strength training and tweaked her diet-but what helped Stone accomplish both her La La Land and Battle of the Sexes body transformations were the strong foundations of her healthy diet and workout routine.
The Science Behind the Transformation
Let’s get technical-Emma Stone weight loss wasn’t magic. Stone fully committed to an intense workout plan for Battle of the Sexes for three months-and that’s how she got her results. "For six weeks at the beginning, she came in five days a week. We were doing two times a day, four days a week on top of that." Exercise was only one part of the equation; Stone also upped her calorie take significantly but smartly. "It was probably 2500 or 3000 calories a day. She ate very well, and very clean, so it wasn’t like she was getting garbage calories in. We added a high-calorie shake twice a day.""[Increasing workout] volume is great," Walsh added. "But if you’re not feeding the body and creating the environment for the body to grow or respond well, you’ll break." Stone’s power shakes were protein-heavy when she was bulking up but still tasty and nutritious so it wasn't torture drinking them. "The shakes helped her get the calories she needed and also give it the exact nutrients to really recover from the stress," Walsh said. "They also had to taste good. If they don’t taste good, you’re not going to want to drink these shakes twice a day for three months.""So I found a protein that is extremely good called Metabolic Way. The base was the protein, and we would add spinach and throw in three tablespoons of Udo's Oil, which is where the calories came from. We would also use Ashwagandha. I heard about it from a friend of mine who’s a mountain climber. They use Ashwagandha to help their bodies counter the stresses on the body and recover." Stone did heavy weight-lifting in the morning, which boosted her metabolism (and helped her get smaller measurements in some places when she finished bulking up). "When you stress the body with the volume and weight that we were doing, your metabolism goes up naturally," Walsh explains. "It’s kind of counter-intuitive. You would think that when you’re eating that many calories, that you’re just to going to get big. She ended up actually up putting on 15 pounds but her measurements were better than before because her metabolism was going up." Stone was more hungry when bulking up but still ate really clean to get the results she wanted. "I let her pretty much just eat what she wanted, like a regular diet….She was actually hungry just on her own. She felt insatiable. She couldn’t get enough calories. The body takes care of itself as long as you’re not just pounding burgers and junk food."
A Typical Strength Workout
A typical strength workout for Stone looked like this when she was getting in shape for playing King: We would do lots and lots of sled-pushing and pulling ‘cause that’s a full-body workout. It uses every muscle in the body. It stresses the body from the hands through the feet. And it’s also unilateral so there’s usually only one foot on the ground at a time, so it’s just a really good way to stress the body. We would also do deadlifting. We would do lots of deadlifting. We would do lots of squatting, like front squats, we would do sumo leg squats, we would do pull-ups, we would do push-ups. We would do push-ups with chains on her back, you know, we would do drop-set push-ups where each chain weighed like 25 pounds. So she would do five reps with the 50 pounds and then I would take 25 off, she’d do five more reps, take that off, and she’d do five more reps. She would do lots of sumo leg deadlifts. There’s a thing called weighted carries where she would walk the track with 50 or 70 pound dumb bells.
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The Role of Cardio
Stone didn’t do a lot of cardio initially because she was getting cardio from the weight training. "I don’t know if you’ve ever lifted heavy weights but it’s pretty damn taxing on the cardiovascular system as well." But she added cardio back in during the end, when she got the body weight where she wanted it. "We did stuck in a day or two of Rise Nation. That’s our climbing, cardio conditioning class. It’s a 30-minute high intensity workout so she’s not spending too much time long-distance running or anything like that. She also did some yoga. She really enjoyed it."
Stone's Current Fitness Regimen
Post-Battle of the Sexes, Stone does a mix of strength training, yoga, and climbing now-and tries to be outdoors in good weather. "She does two to three days of strength training with me, and she’ll do a couple days of yoga and she’ll throw in some of the Rise Nation classes." Walsh tries to mix it up for Stone and his other clients. "Stay out of the gym especially in the spring and summer. In the fall and winter, it’s obviously colder outside with the weather so it makes more sense to be inside the gym sometimes. So I want to keep it balanced. I don’t want people to get burnt out. " Stone can’t always work out because of work, but she tries to get workouts in a couple times a week and walk when she can during the day. "Right now with the shooting schedule [for Netflix’s Maniac], she’s lucky if she gets a couple days of week. I think she does four. It just depends on the work load, the work schedule, and the travel schedule and whatnot, but four to five days is a pretty good amount of training. Even if she’s just active. In New York, resting metabolic rate’s higher because you’re walking more throughout the day. Those things count, and they add up. So don’t discredit that just because it’s a day’s worth of walking."
Key Elements of Emma Stone's Fitness Approach
Several factors contribute to Emma Stone's successful approach to fitness and well-being:
1. Commitment and Consistency
Stone treats working out like it was her job, which helps her power through when she was tired. "Of course she got tired, but that’s where the calories [come in]. It’s a full-time job. She took it very, very seriously."
2. Prioritizing Recovery
Stone makes sure to take care of her body when she isn’t working out so she doesn’t wear herself out. "She got plenty of sleep. You get massages on the weekends to help with the soft tissue, making sure you’re staying hydrated and making sure you’re getting the calories you need. " Stone takes break days when she needs them to avoid injury. "There were also days she would come in completely exhausted, and we just cut the workout out and say you know what, take another day. You just gotta know. Some days you gotta know when to throw in and come back and be safe and stronger the next day."
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3. Balanced Diet and Enjoyment
Stone eats clean-which means she can also enjoy the not-so clean stuff every once in a while with no worries. "She’s a pretty good eater. She’s educated and understands there’s no the reason you can’t enjoy good pizza every once in a while. She eats whatever she wants. For the most part, you eat very well and every once in a while, you can afford to have pizza and burgers and fries and things that we like to eat.
4. The Importance of Sleep
“Sleep became non-negotiable,” she said.
5. Managing Cravings
And yes, she still craves chocolate. But “I stopped letting cravings dictate my day.
6. Balance as a Mantra
After that? She made balance her mantra. “No more crash diets. No more chasing skinny. Just strong. She added that her goal weight wasn’t a number anymore-it was a feeling.
Emma Stone's Diet and Exercise Routine
Typically, Emma doesn’t concern herself with counting calories or making sure everything she eats is perfectly healthy. She doesn’t indulge in sweets or fast food very often, but she still loves pizza, burgers, and fries every so often. Emma admits that there is a lot of pressure to stay thin, especially in Hollywood. She says that she notices the pressure more and more as she gets older. But she doesn’t like engaging in celebrity fad diets that completely cut out food groups or limit her calories. She prefers to eat a simple but healthy diet and be reasonable with her exercise. Emma always makes sure to eat a high-protein meal after her workouts. She typically works out first thing in the morning, so her breakfast is often a protein shake. Emma also likes Greek yogurt or low-sugar smoothies for easy ways to get in some protein.
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Adjustments for "La La Land"
Emma worked with celebrity trainer Jason Walsh to prepare for La La Land. In the movie, she did some amazing dance moves, and she needed to have a dancer’s physique. Jason encourages his clients to limit carbohydrates and eliminate sugar. He says that most people could lose 10 pounds by just cutting unnecessary sugar from their diet. Emma still enjoyed sweets, but she kept them to a minimum when training for La La Land.
Evolving Workout Routine
Over the years, Emma’s workout routine has changed based on what she’s wanting. Sometimes, she focuses on adding more muscle mass, other times, she wants to slim down. But, most of the time, Emma’s priorities seem to be maintaining a slim yet toned figure. Emma mostly does a combination of rock climbing, pilates, and walking.
Rock Climbing
Emma loves to go rock climbing. One of her favorite spots to climb is at the indoor gym at Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex in New York City. Rock climbing can be an excellent form of exercise without feeling too much like a workout. It’s a lot of fun, and it requires strength, balance, and flexibility. Rock climbing requires you to use your entire body, including smaller muscles that are easy to overlook with traditional strength training. When you rock climb, you use your forearm, abs, butt, calves, obliques, delts, traps, and biceps. Rock climbing is one of the favourite pastimes of the actress too. In fact, this kind of cardiovascular activity is excellent for helping the Hollywood actress get a good, trim figure. Emma frequently likes to go rock climbing at the rock climbing wall in Chelsea Piers in New York City, USA. While some walls are simpler to climb, others are more difficult, but Emma Stone enjoys the variety of challenges. Anyone with a generally fit body can go rock climbing. However, it is best done under a trainer's supervision. In just one hour, rock climbing may burn more than 700 calories for anyone. Now you understand why Emma Stone has such grace and agility.
Pilates
Emma is a big fan of Pilates style workouts. She’s worked with LA-based Pilates instructor Mari Winsor and attended other Pilates studios to really focus on toning her muscles. The actress believes in turning to Pilates (especially mat exercises) or rock climbing when a film calls for a tough regimen. She likes Pilates, weight training, and cardio on a regular basis.
Walking and Running
When Emma is in Hollywood or traveling and can’t go rock climbing, she likes to take long walks or jogs.
Mental Health and Wellness
Emma has publicly discussed dealing with anxiety. She had her first anxiety attack when she was just seven years old. She’s dealt with her anxiety by attending therapy, staying busy, and avoiding social media. But getting her blood flowing by escaping on a walk can be good for her mental health too. I love going for long walks or runs. Mentally, too, the shift was dramatic. “Weight loss wasn’t the point. Yes.
Other Tips and Tricks
- Hydration: Staying hydrated.
- Sleep: She tries to get 8 hours of sleep. She works out first thing in the morning, which means she has to be disciplined about getting to bed on time.
- Stretching: Stretching after her workouts.
- Rest: Taking extra rest days when she needed.
Emma Stone's Skincare
In 2012, Stone opened up about skincare to Refinery29. She says that she has an interest in the subject and how she wants to study more about it. “I’m actually pretty interested in skin care, because I had bad hormonal acne when I was 17, and they put me on Accutane for it. After two months on the Accutane, I went off of it, and since then, my skin, my mouth, my lips, my eyes are all so dry. Then, I had stress acne when I was 20, when I did Easy A, which they kindly video-airbrushed out of the movie. But I realized how debilitating and embarrassing it can be to have cystic acne. In her Refinery29, Stone talked about how she approaches acne. “Usually, I use tea tree oil. I can’t go too crazy, or I’ll get a rash. My skin is really sensitive. Whenever it’s been really bad, I’ve gone to the dermatologist to get those cortisone shots. Those are amazing. They’re kind of a miracle. But also kind of terrifying because this huge needle is coming at your face. Stone doesn’t believe in beauty standards, or wearing certain things. She encouraged others to have the same approach when it comes to makeup in a 2013 Cosmopolitan interview. “I could care less,” she said. “I think women should wear whatever makeup they want for themselves. Stone told Cosmopolitan that she has to pick specific skincare products to use. “I’m really allergic to a lot of stuff,” she explained. “So I can only use products with a single ingredient in it. I use a Burt’s Bees cleanser and sometimes I exfoliate with baking soda or brown sugar. I like experimenting.