‘You’re fat’: See how a friend helped Shaq lose weight and what his goals are for ’23
Shaquille O’Neal is the incredible shrinking man.
The former Miami Heat star shed a ton of weight over just a few months thanks to a very frank pal.
“A friend of mine called me and said, ‘You’re fat,’” O’Neal relayed to Entertainment Tonight on Monday.
The same friend gave the Fort Lauderdale resident the name of a doctor who ran some blood work. Turns out not only was Shaq overweight, but his iron was low, among other problems.
The New Jersey native — who admitted he didn’t know the difference between a carb and a protein until his diagnosis of health issues — was told he needed to immediately change his diet.
The big guy’s two main vices? Bread and soda.
“I wasn’t a salad eater. I won’t pay attention to any of that. I don’t care about none of that,” said the seven-foot-one ex-baller, who added vegetables, supplements and nutrition shakes to the rotation. “Once I just started changing those certain things, it dropped.”
Dropped how much? The father of four claims he lost 40 pounds, with another 20 still to go.
Two months ago, O’Neal was already deep into his wellness journey, telling YouTube star Logan Paul on the “Impaulsive” podcast that he currently weighed 365, having been 401.
It’s unclear what Shaq’s weight is right now as we enter 2023. But he revealed the goal he hopes to reach by his 51st birthday in March: to be “chiseled up” and do an underwear ad.
“I’m not at 100 percent ninja mode yet. I’m still 75 percent,” he said, adding, “I think I could get the Marky Wahlberg look. I want to be known as the Black Mark Wahlberg.”
Fans will be able to see a slimmed down version of DJ DIesel during his “The Shaq’tacular Spectacula” on New Year’s Eve. The virtual concert features performances by Cardi B, Lil Yachty, Ludacris and more.
