Mark Wahlberg has been gaining weight for his upcoming role in Father Stu, which has proved to be a unique challenge for the actor famed for his fit physique. He recently surprised fans with his new, fuller figure on Instagram, and now we know how he was able to completely change his look in such a short time. His extreme diet to prepare for the film includes eating eight meals a day, which comes out to a truly staggering amount of calories.
When he got his start as a young rapper in the nineties, Mark Wahlberg was known for not only his sick beats, but his sick muscles. As he transitioned into acting, he picked up the usual tough guy roles that matched his fit nature. Now that he’s got several years of acting experience under his belt, Wahlberg has picked up a new challenging role, one that he has to transform his body in order to properly portray.
Mark Wahlberg’s Extreme Diet Requires Him To Eat 7,000 Calories A Day
Wahlberg’s personal chef, Lawrence Duran, spoke to E! News about the intense preparation the actor was subjecting himself to in order to play the boxer-turned-priest character in Father Stu. In order to gain the weight necessary to pull off the role, Wahlberg was tasked with eating 7,000 calories a day. For comparison’s sake, Wahlberg typically took in about 2,000 calories a day when maintaining the slim and fit physique in the before Instagram photo .
One way to gain the nearly 30 pounds Wahlberg needed to put on for the role would be to eat nothing but junk food, but that wasn’t an option Duran insisted. In order to properly look after Wahlberg’s nutritional needs as well, Duran and the actor regularly consult with a team of doctors and a nutritionist to come up with his diet and tweak as needed.
What A Typical Day Of Eating Looks Like
Duran estimated that Wahlberg usually eats about eight times a day, or every three hours. “We do good carbohydrates, dark green vegetables, and then, just switch up the protein throughout the day and, at least, a dozen eggs a day,” Duran revealed. Wahlberg gets an early start on his meals, waking up at 3am to eat a first breakfast of four eggs.
After the star completes his workout, he sits down for a second breakfast of “eight eggs, six strips of bacon, a cup of rice, two tablespoons of olive oil and a protein shake.” One main goal of the diet is to heavily focus on protein so Wahlberg can gain a bit more muscle mass as well.
As the day goes on, Wahlberg continues to eat meals consisting of a protein, a starch, more olive oil, and loads of vegetables. Go to’s include ground beef or turkey meatloafs, roasted chicken, pork chops, fish, and steak. Rice is another main staple, as well as cooked beets.
At the end of the day, right before he heads to bed, Wahlberg has to swallow down a “mash” as Duran calls it. The mash consists of “one cup of cooked steel-cut oatmeal, two tablespoons of applesauce, two tablespoons of jelly or jam, two tablespoons of almond butter and a tablespoon of molasses.” He eats it in order to put on more weight as he sleeps.
Of course, Wahlberg still indulges in cheat meals. Duran revealed that on Saturday or Sunday night, the actor will stop at one of his favorite restaurants to treat himself in his indulgence of the day, whether that’s pasta, pizza, or even sweets. Other than that, he’s strictly on his mass weight gaining diet.
It’s an intense, difficult way to physically prepare himself for a film role, but clearly Mark Wahlberg doesn’t shy away from hard work.
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