Back in March 2022, during an interview with GQ Sports, Shaquille O’Neal talked about his roller-coaster of a fitness journey, and how he has managed to maintain his body despite his love for fast food. O’Neal has had his struggles with weight issues in recent years which he revealed to be a result of a lack of discipline, especially when he was ‘on the road.’
Advertisement
When asked about the kind of diet that he followed, the LA Lakers legend revealed that he had a healthy regime which included a total of 5 meals, in a day. “A healthy breakfast—fruit and fruit and fruit—then chicken and fish. I eat a healthy breakfast just to hold me for the day. Three turkey sausages and about four or five egg whites. Meal two is gonna be some fruit. Meal three is gonna be a shake and fruit. Meal four is probably gonna be a light salad and then meal five is gonna be chicken, fish, or steak,” Shaq said, before talking about his love for fast food.
O’Neal claimed that while he had a healthy routine that he followed when he was home, problems came up when he was away. “I’m a creature of habit: I love sandwiches; I love wraps; I love burgers. With the full discipline to where I’m not doing that, I’m gonna have the body of a 19-year-old,” Shaq claimed.
O’Neal then revealed that he had ‘4.9’ pack abs at the time of the interview, and promised that he will be super-shredded once he gets to ‘full discipline.’ Shaq’s routine also suffered interference when he recently underwent hip surgery, back in March 2023. However, he has looked to be working out and eating healthy again, which has had some visible results.
Shaquille O’Neal suffered weight issues in the latter years of his NBA career
O’Neal’s struggles with maintaining his weight were apparent and well-known even during his playing days. O’Neal was known to have bulked up to as much as 415 lbs during his final year with the Lakers and struggled to live up to Pat Riley’s weight expectations at the Miami Heat as well.
As often happens with bulkier athletes, his weight also shot up when he stopped playing and has been a regular problem ever since. While Shaq has fought back and regained shape multiple times since retirement, things appear to have thoroughly improved in the past couple of years. He described his extra weight as “Charles Barkley belly” during the GQ Interview, and showed off the result of his hard work on Instagram, around a year ago.
Shaq was seen showing off a commendable physique at the age of 50 and claimed that he was getting old. Hence, while O’Neal has had issues in the past, he appears to have finally gotten over them, which is a result of sheer discipline, as he himself claimed.
