See rapper Fat Joe’s 200 pound weight loss: ‘You gotta do whatever keeps you healthy’
Fat Joe? Not really anymore.
The crowds at such recent local events as Rolling Loud and DJ Khaled’s We the Best golf tournament saw a much different version of the “All the Way Up” singer.
The 52-year-old born Joseph Cartagena takes up a lot less space than he did back in the day.
The rap star, who at one point tipped the scales at 470, told Men’s Health’s July issue that he was able to not just shed, but keep off, 200 pounds.
The father of three said that he began emotionally eating and drinking after the 2000 death of his pal/mentee Big Pun, who was obese and died of a heart attack at the age of 28.
About two years later, he began a slow and steady health journey, “first in a giant whoosh and then through more sustained progress, making practical lifestyle tweaks while learning the science of food,” says the story, which adds that he never had gastric bypass or any kind of surgery.
A fave go-to meal? Sweet-potato mash topped with Splenda and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.
Joe, a diabetic, isn’t a big gym guy but knows some kind of consistent working out is key.
“You gotta do whatever keeps you healthy,” he said. “You start off exercising 10 minutes a day, doing some cardio. Then 15 minutes. Then 20. And before you know it, you’re at 45, an hour. It’s a gradual thing.”
So would Fat Joe ever be Slim Joe or consider a moniker tweak?
“Although I’ve gotten health conscious on another level, it wouldn’t make sense to change it. Now it’s my brand. It’s what I built.”
