Q&A With Univsion Host El Gordo on Managing His Weight Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

Univisión s El Gordo Is Fighting His Obesity to Keep His Health

Raúl de Molina opens up about his lifelong struggle to lose weight–and keep it off

Raúl de Molina survived kidney cancer at age 46, but his struggle with excess weight has been longer and not necessarily less difficult. At the end of 2018, the host of Univisión's entertainment news show El Gordo y la Flaca — The Fattie and the Skinny — weighed 317 pounds. At his height, which the IMDB pegs at 5 feet, 8 inches tall, his body mass index (BMI) was 48, in the extremely obese category. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. So he made the decision to enter a Miami-area rehabilitation center, not only to lose weight but also to take charge of his health and modify his eating habits. After seven weeks in which he followed a strict regimen that combined diet and exercise, he lost 40 pounds. De Molina's fight against extra pounds is ongoing, he said in an exclusive interview with AARP en español earlier this summer. He entered the rehabilitation program again in June. More than three years ago, he lost almost 50 pounds as a diet-drink spokesman. And a decade ago, he lost 90 pounds, thanks to a different popular diet, but gained much of the weight back. At the start of summer, he weighed 274 pounds and wanted to lose more. His biggest concern? “I am worried I may get diabetes,” said the host, who will start his 22nd year on El Gordo y la Flaca with flaca Lili Estefan in mid-September. It airs at 4 p.m. ET weekdays on Univisión. More than 12 percent of Latino adults have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to the . But type 2 diabetes isn't de Molina's only risk. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. . Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > However, at 60, de Molina considers himself “the happiest man in the world” after seeing that his new lifestyle has helped him continue to lose weight. “When you lose weight, you feel tremendously better,” he said. “Your life changes completely. With 40 or 50 pounds less, you are another person." Why did you decide to check yourself into the center?
From September to December of last year, I traveled a lot, ate a lot and gained a lot of weight. My clothes did not fit. In January, I said: “Enough, this is it. I can't go on like this.” I was concerned that I did not look good. I was concerned because I did not want to be so heavy. I am a thin guy in a fat guy's body. That's when I went to the center. After leaving the center, I continued to lose weight. And when I got on the scale the next time, I had dropped 43 pounds.

Ups Downs of Raúl de Molina

Even as a photographer 30 years ago, Raúl de Molina weighed more than 300 pounds. News reports in 2009 said the present-day Univisión host lost 60 to 90 pounds on an intense diet but did not mention his starting weight. What we know about the weight of “El Gordo” through the years:
September 1998: 374 pounds December 2015: 340 pounds April 2016: 293 pounds December 2018: 317 pounds June 2019: 274 pounds How many more pounds do you want to lose? My goal is to keep losing what I can, but it is hard because I live to eat. I like eating; eating makes me happy. When I was younger, I enjoyed making love better. Now, I still enjoy making love, but I like eating and drinking wine better. Who knows if I'll gain weight. But for now, I am happy. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. More on health AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS