Sharon Cuneta on 'KC After Hours' hosted by Karmina Constantino
MANILA -- Sharon Cuneta responded to allegations that she had been taking the anti-diabetic prescription and now popular weight loss drug Ozempic on Saturday’s “KC After Hours,” hosted by Karmina Constantino.
“I never went on Ozempic. I tried another medication once. I could not handle it,” Cuneta confessed to Constantino.
She went on to discuss her “heart condition” and how she's been on maintenance medications since 2003, saying, “Anything that I couldn't do for my own willpower and anything that made me feel artificially stopped. You know, my brain was... was like floating. I could not. And like I said, I have a heart condition. My resting heart rate is like that of a jogger, presently jogging. So I've had maintenance meds since 2003. And I have two cardiologists who can attest to that.”
Constantino then asked, “So you couldn't just take anything?” (relating to weight loss injections, pills, and so on).
Cuneta replied, “Oh no. I can't abuse my body that way.”
The Megastar went on to detail her weight-loss journey, which began in 2016, despite claims that she cheated to get into shape.
She shared, “I made the decision to lose weight when I turned 50 in 2016. And because I had ruined my metabolism over so many years by going on crash diet after crash. -- name the crash diet, I've done it -- and I ruined my metabolism because you would really drop weight so fast and then you don't really want to accept it's just water weight, and sometimes when it's too much muscle, it's too much muscle mass, and then the rebound would be more than what you lost and so fast. I really ruined my metabolism.”
“I think people would understand if they've been through what I've been through. So when I made the decision in 2016, I wasn't even sure that my body would respond in a positive way. I said, ‘God, if I do it slowly, can I still lose weight?’ Because I felt hopeless. That's why it took me forever,” the award-winning actress added.
Cuneta also stated that due to the nature of her job, she needed to address her weight issue.
“I've been grossly overweight. And I know how it feels. This is absolutely not to diss anybody who is overweight. I've been there. I enjoyed myself. I ate so much. I felt so free. But because of the nature of my profession, I also had to shape up because of the nature of my work. I was perfectly happy,” she shared.
She added, “My husband was fine. I don't know if he was just saying that to make me feel good. But Kiko's very... doesn't focus on the physical stuff. But I also wanted to be healthy because, you know, if I want to see my grandchildren and be able to play with them, it was like every time I would look in the mirror or, for example, I would have a fitting for a gown. Oh, just 20, just 30, just like that. And then I realized, I've been saying this for years now. Let's finish it.”
The Kapamilya broadcaster then asked, “Once and for all, let's finish it. So, how do you finish it?”
Finish line
The movie star replied, “You just have to cut down on what you're eating. So, in the beginning, it's a bit silly. ‘Yung parang, ‘Okay. Let’s cut out sugar.’ Hindi naman ako makanin talaga. Ang problema ko, bread at dairy. So, dahan-dahan. But you know what I did? Kinonti-konti ko. Although nung umpisa, grabe talaga. Kasi when I put my mind to something, it's kind of hard to break me. Kasi pag ako na, I wasn't doing it for other people. I was doing it for myself. It's kind of hard to shake me when I'm in that zone.”
Cuneta also revealed that she had to have excess skin removed after losing weight with an arm lift.
“My problem was, I had already lost quite a bit of weight by then. Not like this, but I had lost now. And I had skin with absolutely no use. It was hanging like flags. I had two large flags here that I had to compress whenever I wore long-sleeved garments. Not garments, outfits. I never, you know, parang I would only wear shapewear inside, never here and never on top,” she said.
Konstantino then asked Cuneta if she needed to get approval from her husband.
“Kiko's always been supportive of anything I wanted to do. Kahit nga mag-concert kami ng ex-ko. He's a very secure husband. Very secure person. Hindi siya natakot. You're gonna go on with a knife. He's always scared, but are you sure? Kasi alam naman niya, I'm very ball-headed. I'm strong-willed. So, but, you know, I've always given him that respect. Also, my children, I would discuss it with them.”
Proud of her body, she added, “In my case, I didn't want to grow old and on my deathbed say, ‘God, why did I give too much value to what people are gonna say?’ Eh, katawan ko ‘to. Life is so short,” she said.
Cristy Fermin
The Megastar also discussed the libel case she filed against entertainment journalist Cristy Fermin, which she just withdrew.
“We always had this nice mother-daughter relationship. And I truly, truly have always adored her because she also was so very kind to me. She helped me a lot too. And it was, sometimes, you know, maybe people provoke a person and a person is parang, in the spur of the moment, you know, they say something that's hurtful towards even someone they profess to love. So, that really hurt me because I loved her, no? I still do, but I mean then. So, and then later, parang, siguro na may mga nagkukuwento na about… it involved na my kids KC, Frankie, and Kiko. What's happening? Why is this happening? So it really, truly hurt me.”
“And then later on, you know, after, always as time passes, then you realize that when you weigh things, you know, life is so short. And I choose to just focus on the positives in every individual in my life. And so I focused on the life,” she continued.
“The love that we had for each other and you know how she has helped me also over the decades and that we had finally started to build this nice relationship that I treasured outside of the business because we weren't always like that when I was young so when we started but I thought it was and then and the only things that I got really hurt and because maybe because of the nature of her job she was used to talking about celebrities I think I just felt why even me. And, you know, parang how hurtful because my side wasn't asked for first.”
“So, it was just, I think it was the most natural thing for me and Kiko because we were still in New York when Frankie graduated. And I said, ‘What are the other things we should just put an end to?’ ‘Oh, just finish the one with Nanay Christy.’ I said, ‘it's not worth it.’ I said, ‘we've been blessed so much. You won. You know, Frankie's graduated already.’ Besides, like I said, there's so much love. I'm so happy it's over. She's (Fermin) happy also and I'm happy and peaceful,” Cuneta declared.