Warned of Possible Death by His Doctor, 50-Year-Old Shaquille O’Neal Makes “Blood Work” Confession

The reason behind Shaquille O’Neal‘s domination on the court during the early days of his career was his fitness. The four-time NBA champ could keep dunking and taking on opponents head-on throughout the course of the game. It was shocking to see Shaq display that level of fitness despite his 7’1 tall frame and 325 lbs weight. After avoiding major surgeries or injuries in his career, Shaq once revealed that he did not go to the doctor for 11 years after his retirement. However, when he did go he was warned of a potentially life-threatening situation, which admittedly prompted the Diesel to take his health seriously. Incidentally, Shaquille O’Neal recently made a ‘blood work’ confession in an interview.

Shaquille O’Neal once revealed that his weight had gone over 400 lbs after his retirement. However, the Los Angeles Lakers legend lost a great deal of weight in recent times due to a special friend who pushed him to make a change.

Shaquille O’Neal discusses major weight loss journey

In his recent interview with ET’s Nischelle Turner, Shaquille O’Neal talked about his upcoming New Year’s Eve countdown special virtual reality show, ‘The Shaq-tacular Spectacular’. Moreover, the 15-time All-Star made a revelation about losing 40 lbs and planning to lose 20 lbs more in 2023. While talking about his weight loss journey, Shaq shouted out about the person who pushed him to see a specialist and work towards becoming more healthy amidst health concerns. The Big Diesel also made a bold claim about attaining a chiseled body in the future and starring in an underwear advertisement with his sons. 

Shaquille O’Neal stated, “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.”

Shaq shared that he was reluctant to pay attention to following proper food habits. He joked about being a 50-year-old who did not know the difference between carbs and protein. However, the three-time Finals MVP was advised by his fitness expert to follow a stricter diet and eat more vegetables. The level of iron in his body was quite low too. Shaquille added, “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.”

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Shaq believed that religiously following the diet and the routines prescribed by the expert helped him lose around 40 lbs of weight. Moreover, Shaq is inspired to keep going in an attempt to get fitter and live a bit more after once being warned by a doctor.

 Shaq was warned about possible death by his doctor

Back in March, Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he was once warned by his doctor about possible death. In an interview, the Lakers legend claimed that he had not been to a doctor for 11 years since his retirement. Luckily, he did decide to visit a hospital once and found out that he suffered from a serious condition. 

Shaq was given the news by his doctor that he suffered from sleep apnea, which could lead to hypertension or stroke, with the possibility of death. As a result, Shaq was prescribed to sleep with a sleep machine to help him deal with his grave disorder.

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The Lakers legend is headed in the direction of improved fitness with new goals in his sight. What do you think about Shaq’s weight loss? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.