Quick answer: Adele weight loss came from strength training that she started to manage anxiety, and it unfolded over about two years. She told British Vogue in 2021 that it “was never about losing weight.” She also said she did no intermittent fasting and ate more than before. No statement from her supports the Sirtfood diet story.
This article separates what Adele said in on-record interviews from what other people attributed to her. Her quotes below come from press coverage of her 2021 interviews, so wording may differ slightly from the original broadcast or print.
Adele Weight Loss: What She Said on the Record
In October 2021, press agency PA reported her British Vogue cover interview. Adele linked her training to anxiety after her divorce. In her words: “It was because of my anxiety.” She added that when she worked out, “I would just feel better.”
She was direct about the goal. “It was never about losing weight, it was always about becoming strong,” she said. She also described the routine as close to a habit: “I got quite addicted to it. I work out two or three times a day.”
On Oprah Winfrey’s televised special the same year, she described the strength work. Coverage quotes her on deadlifts: “we were getting up to 160, 170” pounds. Her trainer, Gregg Miele, has framed the aim as getting stronger, physically and mentally.
Why the Sirtfood Claim Is Not Supported
The Sirtfood story began with outside commentary, not with Adele. It spread through tabloid and magazine coverage and then repeated itself. Repetition made it look like fact.
Adele answered it in 2021. She told Vogue she did not diet and did not try intermittent fasting. Coverage quotes her as saying: “No intermittent fasting. Nothing.” She added: “If anything I eat more than I used to because I work out so hard.”
So the useful rule is simple. A diet attached to a famous name needs a first-person source. Without one, treat it as a rumour.
The Two-Year Timeline Behind Adele’s Weight Loss
The change looked sudden because the public saw one photo in 2020. Adele told Vogue it happened “over a two-year period.” That is a slow pace, and it looks very different from a before-and-after image.
Figures such as “100 pounds” circulate widely in the press. Adele has not built her own account around a number, and this page does not treat any total as confirmed. For realistic pacing, see our guide to sustainable weight loss tips.
Evidence Table: Claim vs Where It Stands
| Claim you may have read | Where it stands |
|---|---|
| Adele followed the Sirtfood diet | Not supported. She denied dieting in 2021. |
| She used intermittent fasting | Not supported. She said “No intermittent fasting.” |
| She ate far less | Not supported. She said she ate more because she trained hard. |
| It was overnight | Overstated. She described about two years. |
| The aim was weight loss | Overstated. She said it was about strength and anxiety. |
| She lost exactly 100 pounds | Unverified. It is a press figure, not her own statement. |
| Her trainers were people who sold diet plans | Not supported. She named Gregg Miele as her trainer. |
What Her Circumstances Made Possible
Two or three sessions a day needs time, money and flexible work. Most people do not have that. Celebrity transformations come with chefs, trainers and free schedules attached.
Comparing your progress to hers therefore compares two different experiments. A smaller routine you can repeat beats a large one you cannot.
What Actually Transfers From This Story
- Pick a goal that is not the scale. Strength and mood showed progress in weeks when weight did not move.
- Include strength training. Her routine centred on weights, plus hiking or boxing.
- Expect a slow timeline. She described two years, not weeks.
- Ask for a first-person source. A diet with no quote from the person it is named after is a rumour.
Our guide to exercise and mental health covers the mood side in more detail.
Safety: Training Volume and Body Image
Adele herself called her routine something she got “quite addicted to.” Training two or three times a day is not a general recommendation. People with injuries, heart conditions or a history of disordered eating should speak to a clinician before building a routine like this.
Exercise can support mood, but it does not replace treatment for anxiety. If anxiety is affecting your daily life, talk to a doctor or mental health professional. If exercise or food feels compulsive, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline is 1-866-662-1235 in the US.
No. She told British Vogue in 2021 that she did not diet or try intermittent fasting. The Sirtfood claim came from outside commentary.
By her own account, through regular strength training that began as a way to manage anxiety. She said it was never about losing weight.
She described it as happening over a two-year period. It looked sudden because the public saw one photo in 2020.
Press coverage often says about 100 pounds. Adele has not built her own account around a number, so treat that figure as unverified.
She described weights in the morning, then hiking or boxing in the afternoon. She told Vogue she trained two or three times a day, which is not a general recommendation.
Gregg Miele, who has described the goal as getting stronger physically and mentally.
She said the opposite. She told Vogue she eats more than she used to because she works out so hard.
Not as described. Two or three sessions a day suits very few people. A smaller, repeatable strength routine, agreed with a clinician if you have health conditions, is a safer starting point.
Related Reading
- Celebrity weight loss transformations
- Sustainable weight loss tips
- Benefits of regular exercise on mental health
- Maintain your weight loss success tips
Sources
- PA via Cyprus Mail, 13 October 2021: Adele says her weight loss was caused by anxiety (reports her British Vogue interview)
- TODAY: How Adele lost 100 pounds, what the singer and her trainer shared
- British Vogue cover interview, 2021, and the CBS special Adele One Night Only with Oprah Winfrey, 2021 (cited via the coverage above)
Disclaimer: this article reports publicly available statements. It is not a diet or training plan and is not medical advice. Speak to a clinician or registered dietitian before changing your eating or exercise.
Reviewed by: the HealthCoachJP Editorial Team | Last reviewed and rewritten: October 2026
