Charles Barkleys Weight Loss

Charles Barkley, 49

Height: 6'6"
Weight loss: 43 pounds so far
Goal: To keep losing!

MY STRUGGLE
This may sound crazy, but I know more about nutrition now than I did when I was a pro athlete. I played in the NBA for 16 years and ate anything I wanted to because my metabolism was through the roof. I had 8.9 percent body fat and felt like I was a stud. And then I retired and soon found myself among this incredible number of ex-jocks who had stopped playing ball, carried on eating the same food, and gotten fat.

MY WAKE-UP CALL
I'm from Alabama, and we're number one in diabetes and stroke. I could see I'd become fat, and among family and friends, I wasn't alone. But when I went to my doctor and stepped on the scale, I thought there was something wrong with it. I'd gained 100 pounds. My doctor said, "You're going to drop dead or you're going to have a stroke." The last thing I wanted to be was an old fat guy taking a bunch of pills.

MY FOOD
I'm still eating the food I love. I still love my fried chicken; I just don't order it every time I eat out, which is a lot. I'm much better about eating good stuff all through the day too. I eat breakfast now, which is new for me. And at night, when I'm at the TNT studios, I take in my popcorn, my jerky, and my packs of pickles and olives instead of getting into the barbecue chips. I don't feel like I'm on a diet, because I'm never hungry.

MY FITNESS
When you play sports, everything hurts all the time. But after losing the first 20 pounds, I noticed that things got better. I love working out on the elliptical because it's easy on my joints and I can read while I'm doing it. I do CrossFit too—I wouldn't say I love it, but it's just a terrific workout, flipping those big tires around. I have more energy now, and it's exciting to see the definition in my muscles coming back.

MY PAYOFF
I really hope that I'm going to get more men talking about losing weight. There's no shame for a guy going to Weight Watchers. If you want to know if you're fat or not, just stand in front of a mirror naked—the mirror never lies. At some point you have to address your weight. Do it for your wife or girlfriend; do it for your kids. But most of all, do it for your health. The bottom line for me: I'm getting my sexy back.

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