Shaquille O’Neal has turned his life around. Just a few years back, he was struggling with a life-threatening health condition and weight issues. But that isn’t the case anymore. The Big Aristotle is no longer shy about flexing his abs and body on social media. His weight loss journey even inspired his frenemy, Charles Barkley. Now that he is arguably in the best shape of his life, the 52-year-old has revealed one of his shockingly poor health choices, which is once again a red flag.

The 4x NBA champion hates water. Nothing strange, right? What we often hear kids say, sounds odd coming from a former basketball star. What’s even odder is that he doesn’t drink water until he gets dehydrated. “I treat my body like a gas tank. I’ll go (long hours without drinking water) until I feel dehydration and then I drink two gallons to the head. Is that okay?” Shaq questioned the guest on his podcast and former NBA star, Alonzo Mourning.

Contrary to O’Neal, Mourning practices a healthy regimen. While the 7x NBA All-Star himself is not a doctor, he confirmed that Shaq’s health practices weren’t a good choice.

“The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is drink 8 ounces of water… I don’t drink any orange juice, man. Too much sugar in it,” Mourning stated on the podcast. And he has a very solid reason to be following this kind of lifestyle.

Back in 2002, Mourning was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. It required him to have a kidney transplant. He was also diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer in 2022. After undergoing prostate removal surgery, Mourning is now cancer-free. Since these issues, he has continued to urge people to get regular health checkups and screenings if they feel something is not right with their bodies. On the other hand, O’Neal didn’t adopt a healthier lifestyle till recently.

During his playing days, he mostly had turkey club sandwiches before games and more sandwiches after. His McDonald’s diet included a double cheeseburger, 10 nuggets, and a Diet Coke when he was on a diet. We assume that a few more things would have been added when he wasn’t on a diet. It was only after a sharp awakening call from his doctor that changed his mind.

It convinced him to start eating healthy, working out, and getting more frequent health checkups. Looking at him now, the Los Angeles Lakers legend is in good shape. However, all that effort might be in vain if he isn’t drinking enough water to keep himself hydrated. However, he can get over his dislike for water. After all, he was able to pull himself out of a difficult time back in 2020. This is the time when Shaq gained most of his weight.

Shaquille O’Neal’s healthy morning diet

Since he was no longer playing, Shaquille O’Neal stopped getting regular health checkups. Certain other factors led him to develop a condition called sleep apnea. Now, this is serious as it can cause strokes. 2020 was the toughest year for all of us and O’Neal as well. He lost his sister and then lost his former teammate Kobe Bryant in an accident. He shared that all he did was watch Netflix and eat. He wasn’t taking care of his health. And he ended up gaining weight.

During a doctor’s visit, Shaq was made aware of how his weight issues and negligence to his health can lead to bigger problems. That is when he made the decision to get in shape. Right before his 50th birthday, he began his new routine. In a conversation with GQ Magazine, the Lakers legend revealed that his healthy diet and workout sessions helped him lose more than 50 pounds. 

Speaking of his diet, O’Neal said, “A healthy breakfast, fruit and fruit and fruit, then chicken and fish. I eat a healthy breakfast just to hold me for the day. Three turkey sausages and about four or five egg whites. Meal two is gonna be some fruit. Meal three is gonna be a shake and fruit. Meal four is probably gonna be a light salad and then meal five is gonna be chicken, fish, or steak.”

As for the workout sessions, he started with simple exercises that focused on his cardio. He slowly moved on to more intense exercises. While this scare helped O’Neal change a few things about his health and weight, there are still many red flags such as the dehydration issue that he needs to address.