Fat Joe Loses 100 Pounds After Losing Friends to Obesity

After dropping 100 pounds, rapper Fat Joe has lost an entire person.

"I think I weighed about 450, 460 at my heaviest," he said in a CNN interview.

Growing up, Fat Joe said he was surrounded by friends and family who regularly indulged in fatty foods, such as “rice, beans, fried chicken and lard,” an unfortunate tradition that contributed to his once heavy size. Even now, he added, avoiding the bad foods he grew up on remains a challenge.

“I'm addicted to food, so if you bring the cake and stuff to my house, I might walk by and take a swipe of icing and keep it moving. So what happens is I try to not keep it around.”

Joe also admitted that a lavish lifestyle influenced his unhealthy eating decisions.

"[I thought,] I'm rich now, I can go to Mr. Chow's and eat me all the lobster and steak I want… And I always took pride in being fat, that's why my name was Fat Joe."

However, after being diagnosed with diabetes, as well as witnessing the deaths of overweight friends, his views changed.

"I realized at a certain point, all my big people were dying," said the rapper, who still plans to keep his infamous stage name. "Last year alone, I had six friends die of heart attacks. Most of them were younger than me, but they were my same size. So I had one friend who was funnier than me. He was cooler than me. Obviously God loved him and he still died. I couldn't believe that he died of a heart attack at 32/33 years old… I couldn't see a clearer picture, what's the difference between me and him, of me being in a casket?"

Joey Crack eventually made the decision to lose the weight and live a healthier lifestyle. He now has a personal trainer, exercises regularly and eats smaller meals throughout the day. Even more than helping drop the weight, Joe’s new lifestyle is doing its part to reverse his diabetes.

“If you want to stay around, you have to stay focused. I've studied and investigated it to a point where I'm like a scientist now, to be honest with you. So you know, if I did gain it all back, it would be totally my fault because I've got all the tools I need.”