Shaquille O’Neal has continued to shed the pounds after overhauling his diet

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has turned his life around after a devastating year took its toll.

Three years ago, the 51-year-old four-time NBA Champion turned TNT analyst was strugglingwith multiple crushing losses.

Shaquille O’Neal (pictured in 2020) at one point reached 401 poundsCredit: Getty

A shredded O’Neal said in 2022 he had dropped 36 poundsCredit: Instagram/shaq

Speaking to Men’s Journal in 2021, O’Neal explained: “My sister (Ayesha Harrison-Jex) passed away before Kobe [Bryant].

“And then Kobe passed away and then I had 28 other people pass away.

“[2020] was a really bad year and I didn’t want to do anything.

“So, when you don’t want to do anything, but you need to stay out of trouble, there’s two things you can do: Eat and Netflix.”

Eventually, O’Neal said he began to “look old,” which helped him realize he needed to make some lifestyle changes.

Out went the bread, “late-night lemon Oreos,” and Entenmann’s cakes.

Instead, O’Neal opted for small portions of fruit and vegetables, protein shakes, salads, fish, and chicken.

He also amped up his workout regime, including 20 minutes of cardio along with 30-45 minutes of “some “chest, bis, tris, sit-ups,” and back workouts.

All in all, this helped O’Neal lose between 25-30 pounds as of June 2021.

He went on to joke: “An hour a day will keep the Charles Barkley belly away.”

Since then, O’Neal has seemingly stuck at it, keeping himself in shape and documenting his workouts in occasional Instagram videos.

In October 2022, he appeared on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast where he opened up on his weight loss and wanting “to become a sex symbol.”

O’Neal went on to reveal: “I was 401 pounds. Now I’m 365. I’m trying to take it back to 345.

“I want to have muscles everywhere, and I want to do an underwear ad with my sons [for] Fruit of the Looms, baby.”

Fast forward to October 2023 and O’Neal celebrated his progress, posting a series of photos of his changing physique along with the caption: “Time to transform.”

O’Neal has taken to Instagram on numerous occasions to reveal insights into his workout regimeCredit: Instagram/shaq

O’Neal is a four-time NBA Champion and Hall of FamerCredit: Instagram/shaq