Chris Christie Secretly Had Lap Band Stomach Surgery To Lose Weight
Christie's weight has been the subject of many jokes (to which he usually responds with good humor) and also cited as a negative factor in a potential presidential run.
He says he agreed to the surgery at the urging of his friends and family, and because he's looking out for his four children. Christie's pre-surgery weight was estimated at somewhere between 300 and 350 pounds.
Sources told The New York Post that he's lost some 40 pounds since the surgery.
He says its not about a Presidential run though, telling the Post “It’s so much more important than that."
Christie went to great lengths to keep the procedure secret, registering under a false name for the surgery, and having his doctor make house calls instead of going into his office.
He even turned to advice from Jets coach Rex Ryan, who underwent similar surgery and lost over 100 pounds, and ended up using the same surgeon, NYU's Dr. George Fielding.
Though Christie denies the move has anything to do with his Presidential ambitions, it's definitely going to increase speculation that he's looking to run, because his weight quickly became a campaign issue when he was sounding out a run in 2012.