Shaquille O’Neal Reveals 55-Pound Weight Loss

Shaquille O’Neal has a health goal and is determined to reach it. The 51-year-old NBA legend recently spoke to Entertainment Tonight‘s Nischelle Turner and revealed that he has lost 55 pounds. O’Neal is currently at 351 pounds which is close to what he weighed when he won his first championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000 (345 pounds). But O’Neal is looking to lose more weight. 

“I’m probably gonna get between 315 and 330,” he told Turner. O’Neal went on to say what led to him getting back on 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 admitted. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna lose 20’ and then I was trying to lose 20.”

O’Neal has been focused on his health for a while. Back in December, the four-time NBA champion revealed he lost 40 pounds at that point, with plans to lose more after getting some blood work back. “I got a couple people involved — it’s all about eating right. 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. I won’t pay attention to any of that. I don’t care about none of that,” Shaq told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “I didn’t know what the difference between a carb and a protein, at 50 years old I never knew. So, he 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.” 

O’Neal continued: “Plus 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.” In 2001, O’Neal weighed 375 pounds and helped the Lakers win their second consecutive title. And in 2002, O’Neal was at 395 pounds and led the Lakers to another championship. Two years later, O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat and weighed 315 when the Heat won the title in 2006.