Former NBA center Shaquille O’Neal has discussed his weight loss, having shed 55 pounds, revealing when he knew he needed to make a change.
Shaq admitted to having let himself go after he retired and put on weight which led to health issues, telling Entertainment Tonight it became a struggle to climb stairs at a certain point.
The four-time NBA champion was never one to give his all in training and could have probably played a bit longer had he kept his weight down while still in the NBA. Still, he knew when enough was enough and made the decision to live a healthier lifestyle.
“I was getting chubby and couldn’t even walk up the stairs. I didn’t like the way I looked in the mirror,” he said.
“I didn’t know what the difference was between a carb and a protein. At 50 years old, I never knew. So, he [a nutritionist] was saying you can’t do this, you can’t do that, more vegetables, my iron’s low. And once I just started changing those certain things, it dropped.”
Shaq, considered to be the most dominant player in the history of the NBA, won three consecutive titles alongside Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers. He would add another after teaming up with Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat.
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The Diesel retired in 2011 at the age of 39 and has been working as an analyst for TNT on ‘Inside the NBA’ ever since.
