Ask Fred Cartenzia how he’d describe his body’s build, and he’ll tell you he’s “rotund.”

Which is apt. Cartenzia will be the first to admit his weight has been increasing steadily for years. At last weigh-in, he’s sitting at 347 pounds.

This, he said, can be stressful come Halloween time.

“I don’t love how fat I am,” Cartenzia said. “But I do love dressing up, mostly because it serves as an escape from my reality.”

In the past, he’s worn all sorts of costumes, from ill-fitting Power Ranger suits to the year he dressed as Sarah Palin. But as his girth increased, costume options have become limited.

“It’s basically either the Kool-Aid man, pumpkin or a planet as this point,” he said. “Which would you pick?”

Cartenzia has said it’s been hard to accept, but he understands that he either lose weight or dress as a large orange gourd.

“I’m not going to the gym just so I can wear better costumes,” Cartenzia said. “If that’s the only benefit, weight loss doesn’t seem worth it.”

Cartenzia said he’s begun preparation for the costume, purchasing bulk amounts of orange fabric at a local JoAnn’s crafting store and eating copious amounts of food to help him really capture “pumpkin spirit.”

“I’ve been chowing down,” he said. “If I have to be a pumpkin, no point in half-assing it.”
At press time, Cartnezia told reporters the chest pains he’s been experiencing have increased his excitement for the costume, serving as “a sign that everything is going to work out this Halloween.”