After Will Smith, it's Mark Wahlberg! Why are Hollywood celebs embracing the dad bod?

It hasn't been easy to stay fit during these pandemic times, and it's not just ordinary folk who are saying this. Hollywood biggies such as Will Smith and Mark Wahlberg are also being candid about how challenging it has been to stay in shape. 

After Will Smith shared a post on Instagram saying, 'I'm gonna be real wit yall - I’m in the worst shape of my life,' The Departed-actor Mark Wahlberg posted his reverse transformation pictures and captioned it, 'From left photo 3 weeks ago to this, now. Thanks to @chef_lawrence_d cooking.' From a ripped six-pack abs look to a dad-bod, the actor has visibly transformed.

However, Mark isn't going down Will's way of being easy during these challenging times, instead, it is reported that the actor is preparing for his next movie Stu.

The actor's current food intake is over 7,000 calories daily, to gain weight for his role. According to his personal chef Lawrence Duran, the 49-year-old star is making a big commitment to his weight gain.

"So, morning usually starts about 3 a.m. and his first breakfast is four eggs -- that's the pre-breakfast. Then, he does his workout and then after the workout, which is usually around 5 to 6 o'clock in the morning, we do eight eggs, six strips of bacon, a cup of rice, two tablespoons of olive oil and a protein shake," Duran said, according to media reports. The chef said it is a protein-inspired, mass weight-gainer programme to help build a little more muscle.

He added: "Then, three hours later, we do some kind of ground beef or ground turkey, whether it's been made into a hamburger patty or a meatloaf, with another cup of rice. And then, three hours later, I usually do half of a roasted chicken, another cup of rice, I'll do about a cup of cooked spinach and a cup of cooked beets as well."

"Three hours after that, we'll go into either a veal chop or a pork chop - I'll do about eight ounces of that and then a small, four-ounce piece of salmon with another cup of rice, olive oil and beets as well. 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," the chef summed up.

Wahlberg also has one more meal before bed to help him pile on the weight. "It's one cup of cooked oatmeal, two tablespoons of apple sauce, two tablespoons of jelly or jam, two tablespoons of almond butter and a tablespoon of molasses. He has to take that down right before he goes to bed. It's just another mass gainer to put on weight during his sleep," said the chef.

However, it isn't the same case with Will Smith. The actor after he posted the 'worst shape' image on May 3, posted a Boomerang video a day later explaining the real reason behind the weight gain. This is what he wrote in the caption, "This is the body that carried me through an entire pandemic and countless days grazing thru the pantry. I love this body, but I wanna FEEL better. No more midnight muffins…this is it! Imma get in the BEST SHAPE OF MY LIFE!!!!! Teaming up with @YouTube to get my health & wellness back on track. Hope it works! (sic).'

Whatever the reason, both actors seem to have encouraged men to own their dad bod without any inhibitions and we are all for it. 

With inputs from IANS