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Jia Ling’s weight loss journey: how YOLO actress-director shed more than 50kg through a 2-week diet cycle and intermittent fasting

  • Chinese social media has been abuzz over 41-year-old actress, writer and director Jia Ling’s dramatic weight-loss for her role in the hit film YOLO
  • She has since revealed the diet plan she followed and other steps she took to help those looking to achieve similar results – read on to find out how she did it

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Jia Ling shed over 50kg (110 pounds) in a year for her role in the hit movie YOLO. How? Afterwards the Chinese actress revealed the diet plan she followed, and other steps she took,  to lose the weight. Photo: Sony Pictures

All eyes were on China’s comedy sweetheart Jia Ling over the 2024 Lunar New Year holiday – for what she has lost.

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The 41-year-old star, writer and director of hit film YOLO (“You Only Live Once” or Re La Gun Tang in Chinese) shed over 50kg (110 pounds) during filming to reflect her character’s weight loss.

In the film, a reclusive woman driven by a passion for boxing undergoes a dramatic transformation in appearance and self-esteem.

Jia’s newly slim figure has been fodder for recent online debates about body image, and internet users were determined to find out just how she pulled off this staggering drop in weight.

Jia at the premiere of her film YOLO, which means “You Only Live Once”, in Beijing, China. Photo: Getty Images
Jia at the premiere of her film YOLO, which means “You Only Live Once”, in Beijing, China. Photo: Getty Images

The Hi, Mom star has since revealed a two-week diet that she repeated over the period to help her shed pounds. According to Chinese media outlet Now News, Jia also ate whole wheat bread at the height of her weight-loss regimen and would occasionally snack on nuts.

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All that was part of the actress’ broader attempt to lose and control her weight, which also included intermittent fasting.

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