Mark Wahlberg is no stranger to making major physical transformations for movie roles, but this has to be one of the most intense preparations he’s ever gone through! The actor, 49, is on track to gain roughly 30 lbs. for the upcoming movie Father Stu, in which he plays a boxer-turned-priest. While some might assume the weight gain comes from just eating too much junk food, there’s actually a science to it, and the actor’s chef, Lawrence Duran, spilled all the details.
“We try to hit 7,000 calories a day, but it’s not easy for anyone to take in that much food even though we’re breaking it up into smaller meals,” Lawrence shared with E! News. Lawrence explained that the Boogie Nights star is eating roughly “every three hours.” But his diet is actually quite complex.
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“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,” he explained. Of course, the process is also being monitored by Mark’s physicians. “We meet with a team of doctors who do his bloodwork and a nutritionist who gives us a full breakdown of what his body needs, what his body’s lacking and basically come up with a meal plan accordingly. We go to a specialist every two weeks to see where we’re at and adjust things.”
Lawrence further explained that the process began as a steady one. Mark started consuming roughly 2,000 calories per day and continued to build from there. On average, most Americans should consume roughly 2,000-2,500 calories per day, according to Business Insider.
The rest of Mark’s day is also protein-heavy, with ground beef, turkey, beets and more added in for lunch. “And then we’ll do another meal, which is usually eight ounces of some type of steak, eight ounces of some kind of white fish, like a sea bass or a halibut, and load up on tons of vegetables,” Lawrence went on.
As for whether or not the actor has a cheat day, Lawrence revealed that Mark is on this protein-laden diet for “six days out of the week,” the chef shared. “He’ll have a cheat meal one day, whether it be Saturday or Sunday, where he’ll go to one of his favorite restaurants and he’ll indulge and have pastas or pizzas or cookies.” Fans are surely looking forward to seeing Mark’s epic transformation in the weeks to come!