If you were being paid to eat 11,000 calories day after day for a few weeks, you’d loosen your belt buckle and hit the buffet before even finishing this article. Then, according to actor Mark Wahlberg (The Departed, Daddy’s Home), you’d get sick of the diet pretty quick and pine for a salad.
“Unfortunately, I had to consume for two weeks 7,000 calories and for another two weeks 11,000 calories — and it was fun for about an hour,” Wahlberg told Jimmy Fallon on an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Wahlberg, who was first quite shredded before packing on the pounds, embarked on this calorie-palooza to portray a boxer-turned-priest in the film Father Stu. Check out the full interview in the video below:
“It’s such a hard physical thing to do,” Wahlberg continues. “I mean, losing weight, you just tough it out, you just don’t eat and exercise. Even when I was full, I’d wake up and have another meal. I was eating every three hours. It wasn’t fun.”
Having just turned 50 years old, Wahlberg admits that these body transformations are harder to pull off. The metabolism, he says, slows down, but “I really wanted to make it happen.” Also, paying out of pocket for his daily dose of 11,000 calories — which Wahlberg tells Fallon he did — is motivation to get the diet over quickly. (Maybe he should have invested in some mass gainer supplements.)
For reference, 2020 World’s Strongest Man winner Oleksii Novikov eats around 5,000 calories per day — so what Wahlberg consumed was more than double what the 300-pound Ukrainian consumes. The point is, that’s a lot of extra calories for Marky Mark.
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In the Instagram post above, Wahlberg is seen drinking wine and writes that he’s feeling “restless.” Since then, he’s seemingly kickstarted his fit-forward lifestyle, including healthy meals, a 4 a.m. wake-up time, and intense workouts in his stacked home gym.
Celebrity transformations are pretty common, but usually, they go the other way. Typically, Wahlberg has six-pack abs, big biceps (well, his biceps are still big), and a defined back. After three weeks of bad bulking, The Fighter actor looked like pudding personified.
In addition to being the lead actor, Wahlberg is also a producer of Father Stu, which doesn’t have a set release date when this article was written. Without a doubt, Wahlberg brings an admirable level of dedication to each of his roles, but if you’re looking to bulk up, then we suggest counting your calories and taking your time. Otherwise, you’ll look less like Wahlberg in his prime and more like a Wahlburger.
Featured image: @markwahlberg on Instagram
