On the heels of his "heart emergency," Dog the Bounty Hunter is ready to make some serious lifestyle changes.
According to TMZ, Duane Chapman has been a heavy smoker for years, but he now plans to cut back severely, although there are currently no plans to quit all together. Further, the reality TV star is open to drastically changing his diet, one that, up until now, involved a fair share of junk food.
"His family wants him to commit to getting on a strict and healthy diet," TMZ said, adding that his family sat him down this week for a "tough love" conversation.
Dog was hospitalized in Colorado over the weekend after experiencing chest pains. After a litany of tests, it was determined that he did not suffer a heart attack, as was originally feared. According to multiple reports, high blood pressure and stress contributed to the chest pains.
The "Dog's Most Wanted" star was released from the hospital on Sept. 16.
The Blast reported that Dog and his family view the health scare as a "wake-up call."
The medical incident comes just a few months after Duane's wife, Beth Chapman, died following a battle with cancer. Sources claim Dog has been under tremendous stress since then.
In fact, Duane told People magazine that he can't bring himself to watch his new WGN show, "Dog's Most Wanted," because it chronicles Beth's cancer battle.
"I have not looked at none of these shows," he told People magazine. "I looked at the first show a little bit, but at that time, I wasn't able to handle it."
Since Beth's death, the Chapman family has been dealing with several unforeseen issues: their memorabilia store was burglarized in August, and Dog also fell victim to a check scam a month prior.