Born Joseph Antonio Cartagena in August 1970, Fat Joe is an American rapper from New York City. He started his career as a member of the hip hop group Diggin’ in the Crates Crew and then continued his solo career. Nowadays, he even has his own label, Terror Squad. But the thing most people want to know these days is Fat Joe’s weight loss program and journey.
How did the famous rapper lose weight? He looks almost unrecognizable. From one of the biggest people in the hip-hop world, Fat Joe might need a new nickname.
Some of his most famous songs include What’s Luv, Lean Back, Make it Rain, All the Way Up, and more. He has also appeared in several movies, including Scary Movie 3 and Happy Feet.
Reader's Roadmap
The Wake-Up Call
For Fat Joe, the weight-loss wake-up call came in the 2000s. That is when his friend and fellow MC Big Pun and other friends around his weight died from a heart attack.
In an interview with Billboard back in 2011, rapper Fat Joe said, “I think I weighed about 450, 460 at my heaviest. I thought I am rich now, I can go to Mr. Chow’s and eat all the lobster and steak I want. And I always took pride in being fat, that’s why my name was Fat Joe”.
While he fought with obesity in his early life, he had a wake-up call. All of a sudden, people close to him lost their lives. He even said, “All my big people were dying”. In one year, six of his friends died of heart attacks. The American rapper had to make changes.
He says, “I realized at a certain point, all my big people were dying. I couldn’t see a clearer picture, what’s the difference between me and him, of me being in a casket?”
That is when he hit the gym and changed his eating habits. Fat Joe started eating healthier foods and smaller portions more frequently. And the change helped him cope with another problem, diabetes.
He says, “I was diabetic for 16 years. Being that I lost weight, no more diabetes”. Now, even though he lost weight, he doesn’t intend to change his name. The American rapper says that he will always be Fat Joe. Of course, fans can joke about him being Skinny Joe.
Fat Joe Weight Loss Message
In the past several years, following Fat Joe’s weight loss journey, the rapper is outspoken about how people should look at weight loss.
He says it is all about education. In an interview, rapper Fat Joe said, “I used to watch Oprah Winfrey, and whenever she used to lose weight, I used to be like, ‘How’s she losing it?””
And he is certain about one thing. If he can lose weight, anyone can. He wants to send that message to all of his fans.
The best part is people are actually listening to him and following his advice. Fat Joe is now down to 230 to 250 pounds. He is happy that his weight loss journey inspired others.
He says, “I was at a party on New Year’s Eve and, no lie, at least 10 different people came up to me. One guy was like, ‘I lost 30 pounds because of you’. So people just coming up to me, I don’t know these people – random people. And if Fat Joe lost that weight and I was ‘Juan,’ I’d lose that weight”.
The rapper is now urging anyone that wants to lose weight to exercise more and put down high-carb foods like rice, pasta, potatoes, and bread. The more you can get them off your diet, the healthier you will be.
Joe has another piece of advice. Even if you opt for foods like rice, pasta, potatoes, and brad, eat them in smaller portions. He says, “It is all about education and knowledge. Feeding yourself and knowing that too many carbs is what gets us fat”.
Fat Joe Weight Loss Journey
We talked about how Fat Joe lost weight. He now might need a new nickname after slimming down. He has sliced 88 pounds off his body without popping a pill or trying a fad diet.
Joe simply took his skills from the stage to the scale after losing friends in their 30s to a heart attack. So, he ditched half-chickens and pasta plates for six small daily meals of fruit, veggies, whole grains, and lean meat.
He combined his new diet with two-hour cardio and weight-lifting sweat sessions with a personal trainer. And that is something most of us can do. You do not need to hire a personal trainer, but you can change your diet and try doing some cardio every day.
Now, he says he can sometimes move away from his plan. After all, Fat Joe says, “I am addicted to food. I love food. It’s like a crack addict, he hits rock bottom and he says, all right, forget it. I am not going to get high anymore”.
