Robert Pattinson's bizarre diet confession as actor slams toxic male body standards

Robert Pattinson's diet secrets are revealed as the actor discusses the strange and unusual lengths he's gone to so he can maintain his buff body. One diet, in particular, included a very unexpected vegetable - the humble potato.

It's that time of year when many of us are thinking about fresh starts. Perhaps that means taking a look at our mental health, the fitness trends 2023, or maybe even being more mindful about what we eat. For some, however, thinking about all of the above comes with an extra layer of pressure - being in the public eye.

Twilight star Robert opened up about the lengths he's gone to throughout his career in order to maintain a certain appearance. Speaking to ES Magazine, he revealed the popular fad diets and the more niche ones he's tried too - while acknowledging how bonkers it all is. 

"Yeah, it’s crazy," he admitted. "And it’s very, very easy to fall into that pattern as well, even if you’re just watching your calorie intake, it’s extraordinarily addictive - and you don’t quite realize how insidious it is until it’s too late."

Although the actor readily admitted that he's never struggled with his body image, he has partaken in controversial diets. "I have basically tried every fad you can think of, everything except consistency," he said. 

He then detailed one particularly bizarre detox that included eating nothing but potatoes for two weeks. Now, before you fantasize about living off french fries and roast potatoes - it's a lot less luxurious than that. "Just boiled potatoes and Himalayan pink salt," he said. "Apparently, it’s a cleanse… you definitely lose weight." 

Like many across the globe Robert, who's dating singer Suki Waterhouse, also tried the controversial Keto diet. "I was like, 'Oh, there’s a diet where you just eat charcuterie boards and cheese all the time?' But I didn’t realize that you can’t have beer as it completely defeats the purpose."

This isn't the first time the actor has addressed the pressures faced by men in the movie industry, nor the first time he spoke about intense body transformation for a role. Speaking to PEOPLE in 2016 he admitted the lengths he went through to play an adventurer who was lost in the Brazilian jungle in The Lost City of Z.

"I had literally eaten nothing for the entire time," he said. "I loved it afterward, for like a week in London, where I have a 28-inch waist. I was like, 'Ooh! Skinny jeans!'"

"But that lasted for like, three days," he added. "After six or seven weeks of just eating half a little tiny bit of fish and like a crumb of rice, and then you eat a sandwich and you've got on 15 pounds afterward."

One of the most well-known drastic body transformations came from Christian Bale. The actor famously dropped to 120lbs in 2004 for his role in The Machinist and, Per Screenrant, "by the end of filming, he only had six months to regain enough mass to play Batman in Batman Begins. Bale went up to 220lbs." Yes, you read that right - 100lbs in six months.