Fat Joe credited Ozempic with helping him lose over 200 pounds. The Terror Squad rapper, who weighed 470 pounds at one point, told Us Weekly the much-debated drug played a key role in his weight loss journey.
“Ozempic says you may only have two pieces of your favorite stuff,” he said.
Fat Joe was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 12 years old. Ozempic is typically prescribed to diabetic patients to lower their blood sugar.
Ozempic became a hot-button issue over the past two years thanks to its reputation as a “miracle” weight loss drug. The hype led to shortages for diabetic patients and shady copycat versions of the drug.
“FDA is aware of counterfeit Ozempic marketed in the U.S. Counterfeit drugs claim to be authentic, but could contain the wrong ingredients, contain too little, too much or no active ingredient at all or other harmful ingredients, and are illegal,” the FDA noted on its website.
Fat Joe, unlike some celebrities, used Ozempic properly. He’s determined to keep the weight off with a proper diet.
“We just try to eat everything with the least carbs as possible,” he said. “So we try to stay away from the bread, the pasta, the rice. That’s the smartest way to eat. Like this morning I ate breakfast, I had this toast. I cut the corner off, ate it and kept it moving. 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’s dramatic weight loss won’t affect his stage name. The Diggin’ in the Crates member said the Fat Joe moniker is here to stay.
“My wife would kill me,” he said. “She likes me being a big boy. She hallucinates like I’m still that big boy. She loves that.”
Fat Joe received New York’s Key to the City in August. He was awarded the key at a free concert in the Bronx.