Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 387 - 327: Everyone Knows How to Lose Weight

"Chen, you villain."

"Not letting me eat. Damn you."

Inside the gym, under Nelson’s watchful eye, O’Neal gripped a dumbbell, grumbling nonstop.

Just then, Burnett came over to Chen Yu’s side.

His face was lit with excitement. "Chen, I think we need to change the filming schedule."

Chen Yu stared at him, speechless.

’It’s the first day of filming, and you’re already changing the plan? Isn’t that a bit much?’

"So how do you want to shoot it?" Chen Yu asked in return.

Burnett said, "I think we need to add a culinary element. In other words, in every episode, you should be on camera, showing the audience how to make some delicious dishes—like the ones we had for lunch."

He subconsciously licked his lips.

Braised pork belly, sweet and sour pork... he could feel his mouth starting to water.

He even scarfed down another bowl of rice mixed with the braised pork sauce at the end.

Chen Yu stared at Burnett, dumbfounded. "Mark, are you sure? This is a weight-loss show."

’A weight-loss show that teaches the audience how to cook gourmet food? What in the world is your brain made of to come up with an idea like that?’

But Burnett shook his head. "Of course I know it’s a weight-loss show. But Chen, you have to understand, there are a lot of weight-loss shows out there. If we want to stand out, just teaching people how to lose weight isn’t going to be enough."

Chen Yu wanted to remind him, ’Why wouldn’t it be enough?’

’O’Neal is a superstar, a huge draw. And you’ve got my professional weight-loss plan.’

’This plan... I wouldn’t dare say it’s the best in the world, but it’s definitely top-tier and extremely professional.’

’Aren’t those two things enough?’

Burnett cut in, "Of course, I know you’re a professional, top-tier, and your weight-loss plan is surely the best. But Chen, you have to understand the most crucial point: what do the people watching our show really want to see?"

"Don’t they already know they can lose weight with a low-salt, low-oil, healthy diet, plus exercise? Of course they know. They’re crystal clear on it. But they can’t do it. If they had that kind of self-control, they wouldn’t need to watch weight-loss shows in the first place. They could just pick up any newspaper and figure out how to lose weight."

Chen Yu frowned.

He had to admit, Burnett had a point.

Everyone knows how to lose weight, but they just can’t do it.

"So we need a hook to set our show apart from all the other weight-loss programs. That’s what I’m talking about: teaching the audience to cook delicious food. Even better, do it right in front of Shaq. Then we can watch the two of you clash, argue... that’s what will be interesting." He pointed at O’Neal. "Shaq was furious today."

In the end, he didn’t even get a single spoonful of the sauce.

Chen Yu’s brow furrowed. "But doing that would go against my original intention for this show."

’Why am I doing this show? To promote my training methods and introduce my sports lab. That’s what’s most important.’

’If I really wanted to feature food, I might as well just host a dedicated cooking show.’

Burnett quickly shook his head. "No, Chen, you can’t think of it that way. I understand what you want to do, but you have to realize that your training methods aren’t aimed at ordinary people. They won’t become clients of your sports lab. But they can bring buzz to this show and make it a huge hit."

"And once it’s a hit, the people who genuinely need your services will have enough insight to pick out the useful information. So I don’t think this goes against your original goal at all. You can still achieve the same result."

"Chen, this is the United States. Entertainment is king. It took me many years knocking around Hollywood to understand that."

Chen Yu looked at Burnett, then at O’Neal.

’Thinking it over, what Burnett said made sense. He was a professional, after all, the man who helmed a show that was a smash hit across the United States.’

But something about it still felt a little off.

’It’s like a surgeon putting down his scalpel and picking up a kitchen knife.’

"How about this," Chen Yu said after a moment of thought. "We’ll shoot the first episode according to your idea, and then decide based on how the pilot does."

In the United States, things like TV series and reality shows operate on a pilot system.

You shoot one episode to gauge the reaction. If it’s good, you continue filming. If not, it gets canceled immediately.

For Chen Yu’s show, because the star power of Chen Yu and O’Neal was so great, the word from CBS was that they would buy the whole season.

But if the ratings were low, the number of subsequent episodes would surely be reduced, and its time slot and promotional budget would also be cut.

Americans don’t blindly trust star power; they trust ratings and money.

This was why even A-list Hollywood stars would stop getting offers after making a couple of flops.

No one gets a pass.

’So let’s just give it a try. If it doesn’t work, we can always change it back.’

Burnett nodded repeatedly. A torrent of ideas was flooding his mind, just waiting to be brought to life.

"Chen, trust me, we’re going to be a huge hit. As big as the first season of *Survivor*."

Burnett declared, patting his chest.

The first season of *Survivor* aired in the summer of 2000, and its finale achieved an incredible 17.4 rating, rocketing it to become the most popular television show in the United States.

After saying that, he added, "Just sit back and wait for the money to roll in."

Chen Yu shook his head slightly. ’Money would be nice, of course, but if we don’t make much, I don’t really care.’

’Attracting high-end clients, promoting my sports lab, and the weight-loss pills—that’s where the real money is.’

Watching O’Neal still grunting through his workout, Burnett suddenly said, "Chen, I have an idea."

He leaned in and whispered it to him.

After hearing it, Chen Yu looked at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. ’No wonder this guy made *Survivor* such a hit. He’s a maverick genius.’

「A week of filming quickly came to an end.」

During that week, O’Neal’s performance in games was somewhat affected.

After all, he was working out on an empty stomach.

It also happened to coincide with a four-game road trip.

Fortunately, their opponents were all weaker teams from the East. And the so-called "affected performance" didn’t mean his stats were cut in half; they only declined slightly.

He could still average 20 points per game.

With such a small change, all it took was for Hardaway to step up and take a few more shots.

And McDyess was there too.

This season, he had focused on supporting O’Neal, and his stats had declined across the board.

But if given the offensive opportunities, he could still rack up All-Star-level numbers, averaging 20 points per game.

Meanwhile, the management didn’t have much to say about O’Neal’s affected performance.

Everyone knew this was just a short-term growing pain.

For the sake of long-term benefits, O’Neal had to lose weight.

Once his weight came down, he would be less prone to injury and could pose an even greater threat on the court.

「On March 1st, the Phoenix Suns faced the Wasp at home.」

Facing Jamal Magloire, a third-year rookie, O’Neal—who was full of pent-up anger after being pestered all day about what they filmed for the show—had a massive explosion. He went off for 36 points and 15 rebounds, along with 4 blocks, leading the team to a decisive victory over the Wasp.

The moment the game ended, O’Neal tried to make a run for it.

How could the others possibly let him leave?

Except for a few who had to go home to their families, the rest of the players stayed.

Marion had already run over cheerfully to turn on the TV.

Drinks and snacks were all prepared, just waiting for the show to start.

The game started at 7 PM and ended just before 10 PM, while the show premiered at 10 PM. Perfect timing.

At 10 PM, the show officially began.

It opened with an explosive highlight reel of O’Neal, showing all sorts of domination under the basket and thunderous dunks.

Then, the screen suddenly cut to a shot of O’Neal falling to the ground, injured.

Next, Chen Yu appeared with his back to the camera, telling O’Neal, "Shaq, you really need to lose weight. Your immense weight is putting too much pressure on your feet."

Brian also appeared on screen, saying with a troubled expression, "His weight is a big problem. We hope he can slim down, but you know, it’s very difficult."

The Brian in the room raised his glass to the crowd and said smugly, "How was my performance? Pretty great, wasn’t it?"

Skiles appeared next.

All the clips conveyed a single message: O’Neal needed to lose weight.

Only then did the opening credits for the first episode begin.

Flashes of O’Neal pumping iron like crazy in the gym, drenched in sweat, appeared on screen.

It was intercut with scenes of him slamming the table and yelling at the camera, "I’m not filming anymore! I’m going on a hunger strike!"

There was also a shot of him fumbling forward in the dark, then suddenly being illuminated by a bright light, turning his head in horror.

And another of him angrily pushing over a piece of gym equipment.

"Fuck, Chen, what the hell did you guys do to Shaq?" Oakley exclaimed.

The others all turned to look at O’Neal.

No wonder O’Neal had refused to reveal a single thing. Turns out he’d been put through the wringer.

O’Neal covered his face, while Chen Yu just smiled without a word.

Finally, the frame froze on O’Neal punching a wall, then seriously holding up one finger. "100 days. Just you watch. I’ll definitely lose the weight."

And with that, the opening credits ended.

The players exchanged glances and nodded.

No joke, just from that intro, they were already hooked.

Chen Yu also nodded to himself. He hadn’t known how the final cut would turn out, as it was all edited by Burnett and his team.

It seemed the effect was excellent. When it came to creating hype and grabbing people’s attention, Burnett was truly a genius.

The main show began.

It started with the scene with the plain noodle soup.

They had re-shot a scene of Chen Yu making the noodle soup.

Of course, O’Neal’s transfixed stare and the final shot of him slamming the table and storming off were essential.

They didn’t jump right into making gourmet food. In Burnett’s words, you first create conflict, let the audience know Chen Yu’s cooking is delicious, and only then do you release the tutorial.

Through Burnett’s editing, a tense atmosphere was created from the very beginning, which was very eye-catching.

At least, the guys in the room were watching very intently.

"Braised pork belly!"

Marion suddenly shouted, pointing at the TV.

It was his favorite.

O’Neal covered his face again. Soon, the scene of him shouting about going on a hunger strike appeared on screen.

The 60-minute episode covered one week of the training plan.

With that, the first day of training was over.

"This is very difficult," Chen Yu said to the camera, his face full of consternation.

Meanwhile, O’Neal was lying on his bed, too hungry to move.

Then the scene changed. It was nighttime.

A night-vision camera was pointed at the kitchen. Suddenly, there was a movement, and a broad figure appeared.

Hardaway was stunned. "What the fuck, Shaq! Did you get up in the middle of the night to sneak food?"

Everyone looked at O’Neal with sympathy.

They knew losing weight wasn’t easy, but this was just too pathetic.

Just as O’Neal stealthily opened the refrigerator door and was about to grab something, the lights suddenly flashed on.

The camera cut abruptly to O’Neal’s face.

He turned his head blankly towards the camera, his eyes filled with panic.

"I was thirsty, just came to get some water," O’Neal explained in a panic.

The camera panned down, focusing on his right hand.

A sausage.

"Shaq, you’ve really disappointed me," Chen Yu said, appearing on camera.

O’Neal grew even more flustered, clutching the sausage and trying desperately to explain.

His reaction made everyone in the room burst out laughing.

"I knew it! You guys secretly installed surveillance cameras! But you wouldn’t even admit it and forced me to sign a pile of agreements. Chen, you guys are devils!" O’Neal shot up in anger, roaring at Chen Yu.

It wasn’t until he saw it on TV today that he finally understood how he’d been caught.