She undertook an intense workout regimen to prepare for her role as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises and lost 25 pounds through dieting and detoxing to get into shape for the role.

Anne Hathaway is no stranger to extreme body transformations. In 2012, The Princess Diaries actress famously lost weight to play Fantine in Les Misérables and Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.

However, just as the A-list star’s weight has fluctuated throughout her career, so too has her methods for keeping it in check. Here’s how Hathaway lost weight to get into character over the years and maintain her figure.

Exercise

In a 2011 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the actress said she had to do an intense workout regimen, do stunts, and dance for 1.5 hours, five days a week to prepare for her role as Catwoman in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.

Hathaway as Catwoman in a still from The Dark Knight Rises. Photo: Warner Bros.

“I always thought the goal was to be thin, but with this job, I have to be strong,” she said.

The actress has maintained her fitness routine since becoming a mother, although it’s not as rigorous as her Catwoman training days. In the eight weeks after giving 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 to her son Jonathan in 2016, Hathaway attempted three gym sessions.

“Yes, I was working out with 5 pounds of weights, but I pushed a 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 out of my body. I feel good now,” she said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

High-protein, anti-inflammatory diet

Hathaway’s personal trainer Jackie Keller told US fitness magazine Shape that the actress followed a mostly vegan, anti-inflammatory diet to get ready for her Catwoman scenes.

To keep her blood sugar in check, Hathaway ate avocados, almonds, sesame seeds, raw chocolate, antioxidant-rich red and orange vegetables like yams and dark leafy greens, along with ginger and turmeric.

Keller also introduced seitan and tempeh into the actress’ meal plan to give her the high protein she needed to build muscle during her workouts.

According to Shape, Hathaway enjoyed meals like miso soup, a tempeh club sandwich on gluten-free bread, Tuscan brown rice salad, egg white fritters, and vegan egg rolls while prepping for the film.

To control her blood sugar, Hathaway ate avocados, almonds, sesame seeds, raw chocolate, and more.

Keller added that vegetables typically took up half of Hathaway’s plate when she was playing Catwoman, while protein and carbohydrates made up the other half. She also encouraged Hathaway to stay hydrated.

The outlet reported that during production, the actress ate six or seven meals a day, plus a soup or salad.

Hathaway kept her body fueled by eating every two to three hours, which allowed her to take in about 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day.

And, if she felt peckish, she’d snack on all-natural, low-fat peanut butter rolled with dried fruit on whole-grain pita bread, a thin flatbread.

Extreme Dieting

Despite Hathaway’s generally slim figure, she lost 25 pounds to play the tubercular Fantine in Les Misérables, according to Business Insider.

In a process the actress described as “obsessive” and “a little crazy,” she first lost 10 pounds by going on a detox diet.

“I’m on day six of the cleanse…” Hathaway told Allure magazine. “It’s giving me acne, so I love it. There’s nothing better than living on hummus and radishes and getting acne!”

The actress then lost another 15 pounds by spending two weeks eating nothing but two thin slices of oatmeal a day. “The idea was to look almost dead,” Hathaway said.

She admits that this diet is far from reality, but she feels it is necessary to fully express her character.

Hathaway on the set of The Devil Wears Prada. Photo: Getty Images

When filming wrapped, Hathaway was in a state of both physical and mental deprivation. “I couldn’t react to the chaos of the world without being overwhelmed. It took me weeks to feel like myself again,” she said, confirming that she would not return to her oatmeal diet.

Healthy eating outside of work

One specific recommendation Hathaway made in 2017 stood out: Dr. Habib Sadeghi’s “clearing cleanse.”

This cleansing method, detailed in Sadeghi’s book of the same name, focuses on detoxifying both the body and mind.

It involves a combination of dietary changes and emotional processing to “reduce congestion in the liver, gallbladder, lungs, kidneys, and pancreas—organs most affected by feelings like resentment and anger.”

Hathaway’s fitness journey in Hollywood hasn’t been without its challenges: she’s faced her fair share of criticism for her weight gain.

“If my body is different than what you’re used to or what you think it is, that’s yours,” Hathaway said during a 2018 talk show appearance. “And my experience is mine and I love it.”

The actress took to Instagram in 2016 to declare, “There’s no shame in gaining weight during pregnancy (or ever). There’s no shame in taking longer than you think to lose weight (if you want to lose weight)… Bodies change. Bodies grow. Bodies shrink. It’s all love (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.).”