Shaquille O’Neal says his recent weight loss was inspired by a trip down memory lane. In an exclusive chat with PEOPLE about his new commercial for Pepsi mini cans, the retired NBA player, 51, talks about how looking at old photos inspired his weight loss.
Detailing how his weight loss journey is currently “going well,” O’Neal says, “I still probably have another 30 pounds to lose.” “I’m a guy who likes to do crazy things to motivate me, so my motivation is to be able to take my shirt off one last time and see an 8- to 12-pack,” he continues. – I looked at some pictures when I was young and how sculpted I was.
“I really got away from it, so I’m just trying to get back into it,” adds O’Neal. “And you’ll know when my journey is over because it will definitely go viral when I take my shirt off.”
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Shaquille O’Neal.
Jerod Harris/Getty
Shaquille O’Neal Unveils 55-lb. Weight loss: ‘I couldn’t even walk up the stairs’
Earlier this year, in an interview with Party tonightO’Neal revealed that he has already lost 55 pounds.
“I’ll probably get between 315 and 330,” he added, also speaking ET that he wants to get to the point “where I have a 12 pack”. As for what led to his weight loss, O’Neal said it involved self-reflection and realizing his health wasn’t ideal. “I was getting chubby and he couldn’t even walk up the stairs. I didn’t like how I looked in the mirror. I thought ‘I’m going to lose 20’ and then I tried to lose 20,” he said.
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Shaquille O’Neal.
Kimberly White/Getty
Get inspired by these amazing weight loss transformations
Right now, O’Neal says his weight loss journey is “just based on food and exercise.”
“So I had to cut out sugars, I had to cut out bread and I do everything in moderation,” the father of six continues. “When I was retired, I could eat five sandwiches a day. But when you get older and your metabolism slows down, you can’t do that anymore.”
Sharing the types of meals he eats on a typical day, O’Neal tells PEOPLE, “I had an egg and cheese omelet for breakfast this morning, so my second meal will be a Clif Bar and my third meal will probably be a salad.”
“And then my fourth meal will probably be fruit, and then the last meal of the day is steak, fish and chicken,” he explains.
O’Neal adds, “So you just have to eat as healthy as possible. If you want to have fun, just have fun in moderation.”
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Source: HIS Education