Shaquille O’Neal has dropped 55 pounds — and he’s only getting started.
“I’m probably gonna get between 315 and 330. I’ve got a five-pack now, so I’ve got seven more packs to go because I want to take my shirt off on Instagram,” O’Neal, 51, joked during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, which was posted on Thursday, August 31.
O’Neal has been setting “crazy goals” for himself since reaching 351 pounds. “I was getting chubby and couldn’t even walk up the stairs,” he recalled. “I didn’t like the way I looked in the mirror. I was like, ‘I’m gonna lose 20,’ and then I was trying to lose 20.”
The former NBA player previously discussed how a doctor’s visit inspired him to make a change.
“I got some blood work done, a friend of mine called me and said, ‘You’re fat,’ and she gave me this guy’s name, and he did some blood work, and you know, ’cause I was the athlete — I wasn’t a salad eater,” he told ET in December 2022. “I won’t pay attention to any of that. I don’t care about none of that. I didn’t know what the difference between a carb and a protein. And once I just started changing those certain things, it dropped.”
O’Neal added: “Plus [with] the supplements I’m taking, and the shakes I’m drinking, the weight just fell off. I’m not at 100 percent ninja mode yet. I’m still 75 percent.”
At the time, O’Neal said his goal was to “get real chiseled up” so he could do “an underwear ad” with his sons. He shares four children — Shareef, 23, Amirah, 21, Shaqir, 20, and Me’arah, 17 — with ex-wife Shaunie O’Neal. Shaquille was stepfather to Myles, 26, from Shaunie’s previous relationship ahead of their 2011 split. He also shares daughter Taahirah, 27, with his former girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.
Shaquille went on to share how people who don’t have access to a chef and trainer can accomplish their weight loss goals as well.
“Start off, if you can, by walking 30 minutes a day. A lot of people can’t do that ’cause I know you got the kids, you gotta get to work. But if you can, start off by walking 30 minutes a day,” he added last year. “Put your headphones on, put on your favorite song, 30 minutes a day. Then you gotta eliminate something that you love. Eliminate it. I haven’t had soda for a while. I gotta eliminate bread and soda.”
