Rebel Wilson Is Losing Weight on the Mayr Method — Here's What to Know About the Eating Plan

Rebel Wilson Is Losing Weight on the Mayr Method — Here's What to Know About the Eating Plan

Rebel Wilson recently declared that 2020 is her “Year of Health” — and she’s working on her goals through a mix of workouts, frequent walks and a revamped diet.

For the Pitch Perfect star, 40, it all started last year when she visited Austria's luxury medical detox and wellness center VivaMayr with friend and TV host Carly Steel. While there, Wilson got “amazing results” by following the center’s Mayr Method diet plan, a source tells PEOPLE. And she's kept it up ever since.

RELATED: Rebel Wilson's Weight Loss 'Is More About How It Makes Her Feel Than the Physical Benefits'

The Mayr Method is based on the “Mayr Cure,” created by Dr. Franz Xaver Mayr, an Austrian physician, nearly 100 years ago. Mayr believed that most people are poisoning their digestive systems with the foods they eat and how they eat them.

“Everything starts with the gut,” Dr. Christine Stossier, assistant medical director of VivaMayr, told The Guardian in 2017. Using Mayr’s philosophy, the center revamps their clients’ diets to eliminate snacking, reduce gluten and dairy intake and change how they chew their food.

Rebel Wilson/Instagram

For more on Rebel Wilson, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday.

“The fundamental principle is that you can improve someone's health through digestion,” Stossier said.

Meals are centered around very slowly eating whole foods with high alkaline content, like vegetables, fresh fish and sheep’s milk yogurt. At breakfast, clients are given hearty spelt bread so they can train themselves to focus on consuming slowly — VivaMayr instructs them to count out 30 chews per mouthful, according to Jezebel.

RELATED VIDEO: Rebel Wilson ‘Crushed’ Another Workout as She Stays Focused on Weight Loss Goals

Rebel Wilson ‘Crushed’ Another Workout as She Stays Focused on Weight Loss Goals

The actress recently told fans that she hopes to get down to 165 lbs. by the end of the year

The act of eating is given increased importance at VivaMayr to aid in digestion. Clients cannot have their phones with them at meals, which are scheduled at least four hours apart, and they do not drink water while they’re eating.

“It's an approach that eliminates food intolerances, reduces sugar, encourages eating whole foods slowly, boosts the immune system and reduces inflammation,” the source close to Wilson tells PEOPLE.

RELATED: Rebel Wilson Shows Off Her Progress After Sharing Weight Loss Goal

Now that Wilson is back at home, she’s continuing to follow the tenets of the Mayr Method, while also increasing her workouts.

“She exercises with a personal trainer up to six times a week, goes on walks and is trying to up her protein intake nutritionally,” the source says. “I know she's also been working on conquering her emotional eating patterns of behavior.”

Wilson’s goal, which she publicly declared on Instagram in May, is to get down to 165 lbs. by the end of the year.

“I’m working hard,” she said.