Dr. Mehmet Oz's health tip about skipping breakfast had Mark Wahlberg chomping at the bit for an online smackdown.
Dr. Oz advocates for what he calls, " time restricted eating" or intermittent fasting in which the goal is to eat for only eight hours a day and fast the rest of the time. Doing so, he claims, regulates the body's metabolism by burning more energy instead of storing it as fat.
In response, Wahlberg posted a video on Instagram declaring to Oz:
"Listen, we got beef now. You don't want this smoke, trust me."
He went on:
"If you wanna challenge me, I'll come hung over, eat a big steak, and you can do your little 20 push-ups with one leg, your assisted pull-up, I'm telling you you'll need a defibrillator when I'm done with you."
Oz responded with a video of himself doing 30 one-legged pushups and speaking casually in between reps:
"I watched your video and heard the taunting … I would eat normally but I skip breakfast, I skip lunch."
"I feel stronger than ever because I'm intermittent fasting, which you should learn more about."
"The ball's in your court, my friend. Anytime, anywhere … By the way, those pull-ups, they were real."
Wahlberg was still raring to go with the feud.
This time, he flaunted his ridiculously ripped bod in another video and said he and Oz "really got beef."
"I'll tell you what, come see me."
"I'm coming for you, Dr. Oz. Now, we really got beef … Get that defibrillator I told you about. It's about to go down."
The word defibrillator prompted Oz to exert his authority on all things having to do with being a cardiothoracic surgeon, and he posted a video of himself from a hospital holding said medical equipment.
"Hey Mark, I gotta say nice muscles but I still haven't seen you work out yet."
"You keep talking about defibrillators. I'm sure you played with one in a movie once, but I'm here in the hospital and I actually play with real devices that save real lives … when you work out with that full stomach of yours, I'm going to be defibrillating you."
On Wednesday, Oz visited the Today show to weigh in on his spat with the actor and essentially shot down breakfast.
"Mark has bought into the dogma of breakfast. He believes all the hype that you gotta have breakfast, which just isn't based in any medicine."
The internet was torn with advocates for both sides of the breakfast debate.
Oz continued to explain his theory on why cancelling breakfast and working out on an empty stomach is more beneficial.
"My point to Mark is, for the average human being … the smart thing to do is skip breakfast, work out as hard as you can — you may not do what Mark can do, but do as much as you can — and you'll look better because you burn fat, not the food in your stomach, while you're exercising."
The Oscar-nominated actor maintained his stance on eating breakfast for fuel and told TMZ:
"Listen, I don't care what Dr. Oz says, I gotta have my breakfast before I work out, that's my preference."
"Tell Dr. Oz to come train with me."
Which team are you on?
While the two celebrities could not be more diametrically opposed with their respective health regimens, you should consult a physician before committing to fasting intermittently or loading up on carbs and becoming a gym rat.
Everybody is different with specific needs to maintain a prolonged and healthy life.
Now, place your bets. Who will be defibrillating whom?
@LeeMerrittesq/X
@bob_moss/X
@jelanijones/Bluesky
@Aurkayne/X
@sadcommunistdog; @froglok/Bluesky