Like many former athletes, NBA legends Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal struggled with weight gain after retirement. During their Hall of Fame NBA careers, the powerhouses endured many nagging injuries. As they retired, their history of injuries was a major roadblock in their motivation to train hard. Three sessions a day and high-intensity games to a sedentary lifestyle caused colossal weight gain. And the weight gain caused even more health issues, reducing their chances of working out.

The vicious cycle is hard to get out of once you are in. Shaq and Barkley were no exception as well. However, the former powerhouses decided to make a change and take a step towards a healthy lifestyle.

Charles Barkley on his weight loss

Charles Barkley made an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show recently. During the podcast, Barkley discussed many interesting things about himself and the NBA with Dan Patrick and his crew. At the beginning of the show, Patrick could not help but notice the Philadelphia 76ers legend’s weight loss. He asked, “Man How much weight have you lost?”

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Barkley replied, “I have lost about 60 pounds. I’m getting in shape, Dan. My doctor got on my a**. He said, ‘You see a lot of fat young people, you don’t see no fat old people because they are all dead.’ So he told me to get it together.”

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Dan Patrick could not stop laughing hearing about the hilarious analogy. However, the 1993 NBA MVP took the reality check from the doctor seriously and worked on his health. Despite nearing 60, Barkley lost a whopping 60 pounds and is feeling better than ever. That is 20 pounds more than his close friend and colleague Shaquille O’Neal had lost in the previous year.

Shaquille O’Neal’s weight loss journey

Shaquille O’Neal was arguably the most dominant big man ever in the NBA. But retirement was not very kind to him in terms of his health. Like Charles Barkley, The Big Deisel also had a similar reality check from his doctor. So he decided enough was enough and was on a weight loss journey last year. Furthermore, he also had a bet with former NFL player Spice Adams about being fit.

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At the end of last year, Shaq faced off with his co-host during an episode of the Big Podcast with Shaq. As both men took their shirts off, fans voted O’Neal looks better. The four-time NBA champion then revealed he has lost 40 pounds. Furthermore, he is looking to lose even more in the current year.