So Fat Joe isn’t Fat Joe anymore. Turns out, he’s keeping the name, he’s just not fat. Now he’s something more like “Fit Joe”. After struggling with weight for most of his life, Fat Joe recently lost 100 pounds and slimmed up real nice. That’s right, your boy looks good. At one time happy to represent all the big people out there, Fat Joe says he was more than 450 pounds at his heavies–almost three times what he should be! If it’s hard to imagine (he says his height helped) think of three Nicki Minajs all stuffed into one Fat Joe body. Wait for it, wait for it. Yeah. Wow.
Fat Joe looking good in his new healthy body.
Enough with the jokes though. Joe realized his fatness wasn’t so hot anymore when his friend Big Pun died in 2000 of a heart attack and Heavy D recently passed away due to complications from pneumonia (though D’s people say his death was tied to his past struggles with weight). Joe knew if he stayed heavy he could be next. He already had diabetes and was putting himself in the lineup for heart disease. But what’s the big deal? So Fat Joe’s a little heavy. Doesn’t every cat gain a little something now and again? Eight does fluctuate throughout your life, but being overweight is serious business. Obesity and heart disease are nothing to play around with. Check out these stats:
Almost 25% of our country is morbidly obese.
Obesity is directly linked to heart disease. Even if you don’t feel it, your body does. And when it has to lug around all that extra weight it makes your heart work harder so your body can’t do what it needs to do to stay fly. After awhile your heart gets tired and gives up.
Heart disease doesn’t just affect the heart. It makes you feel tired, sluggish, usually can’t catch your breath (even if you haven’t just walked up a flight of stairs) and you always feel weak.
Scary right? The good news is there are things you can do to lower your risk for heart disease and keep yourself looking grown and sexy.
For one, take J. Cole’s word for it and “Workout for Me”. Exercise reduces your risk for heart disease. If you’re a beginner, start by walking 15 minutes a day, adding five minutes each week. As your endurance (think harder, better, faster, stronger) increases, try doing some weight training as well.
Get educated about food. If you don’t know what you’re doing when it comes to eating, it’ll be easy to fall into old habits and food is half the battle. Joe says he still eats the things he likes, just in smaller portions and with healthier substitutes like sweet potatoes instead of regular ones! There are a ton of resources out there, like this one for simple ways to switch up your food choices and this one on how to read a food label.
Learn what works for you. Fad diets never last. What does is making small changes that’ll have you saying “This is why I’m hot” in no time.
Set small goals and celebrate successes. If you’ve got a lot of weight to lose or if you’re just toning up it’s important to give yourself props. This gives you motivation to keep going and also helps you realize what you’ve accomplished!
Ary Nunez 
Eduard Checo 
Terry Williams 
Milton Harris