Taylor Lautner struggled with body image issues after the 'Twilight' movies ended

• Taylor Lautner developed body image issues after the 'Twilight' movies ended.
• For the 'Twilight' films, he worked out six days a week and stuck to a strict diet.

While working out religiously may have blessed Taylor Lautner with a muscular physique for the "Twilight" movies, the actor recently revealed it caused body image issues in the long run.

During an episode of his new podcast "The Squeeze," which he hosts his with his wife Taylor Dome Lautner, the actor discussed the psychological toll his "having this unbelievable body" took on him.

"When I was in it, when I was 16 through 20 years old, starring in this franchise where my character is known for taking his shirt off every other second, no, I did not know that it was affecting me or going to affect me in the future with body image," Lautner said. "But now looking back at it, of course it did, and of course it is going to."

Lautner who portrayed the werewolf Jacob Black in the five "Twilight" films, got into shape to play the brawny character by working out several times a day, six days a week and sticking to a strict high-calorie diet.

It was an all-consuming workout and diet regimen, the actor explained.

"It was my entire life," Lautner added. "In the first movie, I was 140 lbs., and in 'New Moon' I was 175. So yeah, that wasn't my natural body. I had to work very hard for it and very, very hard just to maintain it."

After the "Twilight" films ended, the actor started "rebelling against the gym" because he was sick of working out several times a day.

"What happens when you don't want to see a gym?" he said. "You start losing the eight pack. I started having more normal of a body. I remember one of the first times seeing it online was very tough. I was filming a movie called 'Run The Tide,' and my character in that is not supposed to be a bodybuilder or ripped guy in any way. I thought I looked fine."

But side-by-side comparisons online of Lautner's physique in "Twilight" alongside his then-normal body proved tough.

"Seeing it online where they put the side-by-sides of me shirtless in the ocean in a scene from that movie compared to me in 'Eclipse' or whatever and being like, 'Wow, he's let it all go.' I was like, 'Oh, man. Did I really let it all go?' I didn't think I looked that bad," Lautner added.

The actor said he eventually had to learn how to prioritize self-care by prioritizing his mental health over body image.

"Don't find happiness in what you want your body to look like," he said. "Don't think just because you lose the 20 lbs. or put on the muscle, you're going to wake up and look in the mirror and all of a sudden be happy. That's not where you should be finding value."