revealed in a new interview that he’s lost 200lbs, which is just over 14 stone.
The rapper, 52, said he has ‘emerged’ from a period of and at his heaviest weighed 470lbs (33.5 stone).
Joe – real name Joseph Antonio Cartagena – first realised he had to make some drastic life changes back in 2000.
That year, the Lean Back rapper went to the funeral of his close friend Big Pun, who died from a heart attack.
‘I went to his funeral […] 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”,’ Joe recalled.
Speaking to , he also frankly described his headspace when he was going through depression.
‘When you’re fighting yourself, there isn’t a wall high enough that you can build,’ he shared.
‘There isn’t an island you can go to. There isn’t a place you can go to where you get away from it, because you’re fighting your mind.’
Joe added: ‘Once you snap out of it, you should know what brings you there and to run the other way.
‘The minute I feel unhappy, I go toward happy.’
The star also revealed that in 2002, when he first decided to try and get fit, he was unsuccessful despite treadmill running and changes to his diet.
He said he now knows that it’s all down to the ‘science of good habits’.
These days, Joe makes sure to check his cholesterol, blood-sugar levels and blood pressure every three months.
His best advice? Baby steps.
Joe said that while it’s important to do ‘whatever keeps you healthy’, it’s ok to start off exercising for, say, just ten minutes a day and building up.
Before you know it, he pointed out, you’ll be working out for an hour a day.
