Not a fan? Mark Wahlberg isn’t judging anyone that uses Ozempic for weight loss — but he believes that healthy eating and exercise are the smarter way to go.
“Everybody has their own path. I don’t knock anybody for making their own choices,” Wahlberg, 51, told Page Six on Saturday, April 29. “But I prefer, and I’ve seen lots of people accomplish amazing things, ordinary people doing extraordinary things on a fitness base, and they’re now encouraging other people that look like them. That’s what I’m into.”
The Departed star — who is known for his intense fitness routines — added that an overall “lifestyle change” is the “most sustainable” route to shedding pounds. “You’d be surprised what you can accomplish when you’re willing to do the work,” he told the outlet, adding that “good old-fashioned” exercise will lead to “longevity” in results.
Ozempic is a type 2 diabetes medication typically used to monitor glycemic control, but its side effect of appetite loss has prompted some celebrities to use the drug for quick weight loss.
Wahlberg, however, told the outlet that he’s seen people transform their bodies naturally in ways they “didn’t think [were] possible.”
“That’s from hard work and eating right and also putting a big emphasis on recovery,” he explained.
The Fear actor is also encouraging his own kids to follow in his fitness footsteps. Wahlberg shares children Ella, 19, Michael, 17, Brendan, 14, and Grace, 13, with wife Rhea Durham, who he married in August 2009. During an appearance on The Talk in October 2022, Wahlberg revealed that he and Durham, 44, put their $87.5 million Beverly Hills estate on the market and moved to Las Vegas.
“To be able to give my kids a better life and follow and pursue their dreams, whether it be my daughter as an equestrian, my son as a basketball player, my younger son as a golfer, this made a lot more sense for us,” he explained at the time. “We came here to just kind of give ourselves a new look, a fresh start for the kids, and there’s lot of opportunity here. I’m really excited about the future.”
While speaking to Page Six on Saturday, the Uncharted star shared that Grace has been starting to focus more on exercise in order to keep up with her equestrian training.
“She’s going up and she’s building strength to control a really powerful animal, so she’s working out now,” he shared, adding that the teenager is “very much like me.”
“She is super disciplined, and if this is something that her trainer is requiring for her to advance in the equestrian world, then she’s doing it literally every day,” he gushed. “So she tells me there are certain times that I can’t go into the gym, but now I’m at least allowed to watch her work out, which is very cool.”
The father-daughter duo have often highlighted their close bond via social media. Last month, Grace poked fun at her dad while modeling his clothing line, Municipal Sport Utility Gear.
“Municipal from head to toe,” she said in an Instagram video, doing an impression of her dad as he laughed in the background. “Performance Inspired, inspire to be better. Stay prayed up, make your proteinic shakes. What time is it? Oh, 8 a.m. I gotta go to bed.”
