Fat Joe has been on a weight loss journey for over two decades and revealed last July that he has lost a whopping 200lbs.
The "Lean Back" rapper, 54, has taken significant measures to maintain his slimmed-down physique and recently revealed the secret to his weight loss.
Fat Joe – who weighed 470lbs at his heaviest – admitted that cutting back on carbohydrates has played an important role in his diet – but he has also had a helping hand from Ozempic.
Ozempic is a drug initially utilized for diabetes management but noted for its weight loss properties. The rapper turned to the drug for his diabetes, which he was diagnosed with as a kid, but it also helps maintain his weight.
"We just try to eat everything with the least carbs as possible…so we try to stay away from the bread, the pasta, the rice. That's the smartest way to eat," he told Us Weekly.
"Ozempic says you may only have two pieces of your favorite stuff," he added, although he admitted he does still indulge in carbs in moderation.
"This morning, I ate breakfast, I had this toast. I cut the corner off, ate it and kept it moving," he said. "Normally I would've ate the whole thing. But you know, that's what we do. We cut carbs and try to be smarter."
Fat Joe started his journey to better health following the death of his friend and fellow rapper Big Pun, who died of a heart attack in 2000 at age 29.
"I went to his funeral, and I felt like Ebenezer Scrooge. Like, I seen me. And I'm looking at his little daughter. She was the same age as my daughter. I said, 'You gotta lose weight; otherwise, you outta here,'' he told Men's Health last July.
However, Fat Joe has no intention of changing his stage name now that he has slimmed down.
"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," he told the outlet, admitting he briefly considered becoming Slim Joe or something similar.
Sharing his advice for getting into shape, Joe, who incorporates fitness into his daily activities, like biking around Miami, explained: "Everybody is different, because I got some friends that love the gym, and these guys spend hours lifting weights. And they the ones that got the back problems!
"You gotta do whatever keeps you healthy. You start off exercising ten 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."
The rapper is also adamant about checking his blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels every three months.
"It gets really, really scary when you think you're doing everything right and your numbers are higher than you want," he said.
"I could do the same thing now that I did ten years ago, and now my numbers are a bit higher because I'm older, and my metabolism and body are getting older. So you gotta try new ways to figure out how to keep your stuff under control."