How Adele Lost Weight — A Timeline in Her Own Words

2018 — The Starting Point

Her divorce from husband Simon Konecki set off a chain of events that led to the transformation. According to Adele, this was when her "year of anxiety" began — panic attacks so severe they "completely paralyzed" her. "I was still here but felt like my body was on a different planet," she later told Oprah Winfrey.

2018–2020 — Two Years of Training Without Publicity

This is when the core transformation happened — over a two-year period, without a single social media post about it. "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 explained to Vogue.

Her training followed a demanding daily schedule: weights in the morning, hiking or boxing in the afternoon, cardio at night. "I got quite addicted to it," she admitted. She started by working her back and stomach before moving into full-body workouts. Additional motivation came from chronic back pain — "for like half of my life," as she put it. Her main partner throughout this process was trainer Gregg Miele, with whom she spent more time than anyone else during those years. Alongside the training, Adele gave up alcohol as part of the broader work on herself.

2020 — The Public Notices the Change

The singer first publicly showed her new physique, sparking waves of discussion and surprise among fans. Adele explained the shock this way: "I think one of the reasons people lost the plot was because, actually, it was over a two-year period" — meaning the public saw the result all at once, even though the work had unfolded gradually and privately.

This is also when her deliberate choice not to document the process became clear. "People are shocked because I didn't share my 'journey.' They're used to people documenting everything on Instagram, and most people in my position would get a big deal with a diet brand. I couldn't give a flying f***. I did it for myself and not anyone else. So why would I ever share it? It's my body," she said.

November 2021 — The First Detailed Confession

In her "One Night Only" TV special and an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Adele detailed the motivation behind the transformation for the first time: "Once I realized that I had a lot of work to do on myself, I stopped drinking and I started working out a lot... to keep me sort of centered." That same month, her Vogue interview came out, repeating the core idea about physical and emotional strength.

It was also then that she first publicly addressed criticism: "My body's been objectified my entire career. It's not just now. I understand why it's a shock, why some women especially were hurt — visually I represented a lot of women. But I'm still the same person." She added: "I was body positive [before losing weight] and I'm body positive now. It's not my job to validate how people feel about their bodies."

Early 2024 — Finding a New Balance

After a brief hiatus from her Las Vegas residency, Adele returned to intense training — "two or three sessions a day" — while allowing herself more indulgence elsewhere. "I gave up drinking, coffee and all the fun things being an adult allows you to do. I was so boring," she admitted. "So on my last break, I was like, 'I will have a glass of wine and four espressos.' Now I am only allowing myself to drink on Sundays. But it is OK — four or five white wine spritzers get me absolutely hammered and also I order McDonald's and forget about it the next day."

Her "death row meal" of choice remains decidedly ordinary: "A McChicken Nugget with a Big Mac and then fries — that's my three-course meal. I eat it at least once a week."

The Bottom Line

Throughout her account, Adele consistently returned to one point: the weight loss was a byproduct of working through anxiety and emotional struggles after her divorce — not the goal itself. That's precisely why she refused to turn the process into public content, and why she insists she isn't responsible for how other people perceive the changes in her body.i

Certified nutritionist with 8 years of hands-on consulting experience. Works with real people, their habits, their setbacks, and their everyday kitchen realities.