Mark Wahlberg ate 11,000 calories a day to prepare for his new movie

(Image credit: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Netflix)

published 16 July 2021

Mark Wahlberg ate more calories per day to prepare for his forthcoming movie, Stu, than Michael Phelps consumed while competing at the Beijing Olympics.

"Unfortunately, I had to consume, for two weeks, 7,000 calories, and then for another two weeks, 11,000 calories," Wahlberg told Jimmy Fallon of getting ready to play Father Stuart Long, a real-life boxer who became a priest. "It was fun for about an hour."

While Phelps' breakfasts famously entailed "three sandwiches of fried eggs, cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried onions, and mayonnaise; add one omelet, a bowl of grits, and three slices of French toast with powdered sugar; then wash down with three chocolate chip pancakes," Wahlberg bemoaned that "I would wake up after a meal and have another meal. I was eating every three hours. It was not fun." But then why are we so jealous?

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.