Shaq Revealed the Surprising Pre-Game Meal He Used to Eat
When Shaquille O’Neal was dominating the paint on his way to four championships in 19 NBA seasons, his appetite was just like the 7-foot-2 Hall of Famer: Huge.
“Every day before games, I would have two club sandwiches, fries, and a pineapple soda,” he says. In the latest episode of Men’s Health’s Gym & Fridge series, O’Neal talks about how his diet has changed as he’s transitioned from backboard-breaking big to a still-big TV analyst, pitch man, and DJ.
The first stop is Shaq’s gym, where he knocks out 1,000-pound leg presses—as a warm up—in a space adorned with photos from his playing career, a giant wooden Superman logo, and jerseys worn in his time on five different NBA squads … as well as those worn by other legends, including Karl Malone and Wayne Gretzky.
It’s in the kitchen, though, where Shaq talks about how his life has changed since the days when he was known as Diesel. His pregame routine, he says, included no stretching, little training, and eating whatever he wanted—including those two clubs sandos before each game. And Shaq wasn’t alone in having big-calorie pregame eating habits: His TNT cohost Charles Barkley has said that his own pregame meal included two McDonald’s Fillet-o-Fish sandwiches with fries.
But as he’s hit his late forties, Shaq’s realized that even though he’s Superman, his health isn’t bulletproof. On a recent visit to the doctor, his M.D. asked the Big Fella a big question: “Do you want to die?”
Shaq’s answer: No. So he’s traded in the clubs for salmon with lemon, lean chicken, and meatloaf for lunch. His go-to breakfast is four scrambled eggs with two pieces of turkey sausage. That may sound like a lot, but remember: Shaq is 7-foot-2.
But for the key to this diet—“the hardest diet I’ve ever been on,” he says—the man once known as the Big Aristotle quotes regular Aristotle: “Excellence is not a single habit. You are what you repeatedly do.”
So O’Neal tries to stick to his plan 90 percent of the time, loading his plate with lean protein, and his blender with smoothies of banana, peanut butter, and blueberries. He’s got two goals: Live longer, and go shirtless on his 50th birthday next March.
“My goal is, at 50, to take my shirt off one time, show the ladies how fine I am, and put it back on,” he says.
Watch the rest of the video above.
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