Still Not Skinny, Christie Cheered as a Weight-Loss Surgery Success.

[Beacool]

By Joel Aleccia



A year after getting secret weight-loss surgery, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is clearly much reduced in size, but still far from what you'd call thin.

The recent high-profile controversy over closures of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge has drawn slams not only from those who’ve questioned Christie’s leadership, but also people piling on about whether he’d failed in his effort to curb his girth.

It’s been especially nasty on Twitter, where users haven’t missed an opportunity to insult Christie’s size and conservative pundit Glenn Beck jumped in on the thread last month dubbing the scandal #FatAndFurious.

But a top bariatric-surgery expert estimates that the Republican governor actually has shed between 90 pounds and 100 pounds from his 5-foot-11 frame, slimming down to an estimated 320 pounds after hush-hush gastric-banding surgery in February 2013.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/still-not-skinny-christie-cheered-weight-loss-surgery-success-n33191

Christie deserves plenty of condemnation, but not for trying to lose weight. If he's still around 320 lbs. and lost 90-100 lbs., that means that he was over 400 lbs. That's a almost a death sentence.

[HockeyMom]

1. What is obese?

Obviously, Christie was and still is, but doctors say the same to my husband who is 6'1" and 240. Overweight? Sure., and could lose some weight. Obese? I doubt that.

[Beacool]

2. Obesity nowadays is rated more by BMI than weight.

According to this chart, the BMI for a 5'11" man should be 24 to be considered healthy. His current BMI is probably in the 40s.

[Beacool]

4. This is the women's BMI chart.

[Auntie Bush]

27. Thanks beacool...Unfortunately I already knew that.

No need to rub it in and make it so obvious. LOL

[Beacool]

48. I know.

It's depressing, isn't it?

[bigwillq]

3. I hope Christie continues to work on his health

and the same to everyone else struggling with their weight. It's not easy.

[Beacool]

5. No, it isn't.

It's a life struggle. I think that in some respects it's a worse struggle than other addictions. No one HAS to smoke, drink alcohol or take drugs; but everyone has to eat. That means that at least 3 times a day a person has to decide what to ingest. It's also easier to lose weight than to keep it off.

Life's not fair........

[TBF]

6. I don't want him running the country -

or even a state for that matter. But re his health I hope he keeps at it.

I had always been thin and athletic until having children and then coming down with a chronic illness. It takes it's toll and you really have to focus and make a lot of changes. I have gone from obese to within about 15 lbs. of my ideal weight as I see on that chart. It's taken me 5 years to do that and it involves no magic diets - just healthy eating and exercise.

I really hope he focuses on it and loses more weight because the organs can only carry around that extra weight for so long. On this facet I wish him well.

[Beacool]

7. Congratulations!!!

It's a lifelong struggle and I'm glad that you're doing so well.

Yeah, Christie is despicable in many respects, but I don't wish him to keel over from a massive heart attack or some other ailment.

[hedda_foil]

8. I don't believe he's 5'11''

Whenever he's photographed in a group, he's almost always several inches shorter than the men around him. He may claim to be that tall, but I doubt he's over 5'6".

[Beacool]

9. I wondered about that too.

I've never seen him in person, but I too thought that he was shorter than 5'11".

[Auntie Bush]

29. I'll bet he's about 5'9" Little less than average.

[rocktivity]

10. He seemed to be losing steadily if slowly

but since the scandal, I think he's started "stress eating" again and regained some.


rocktivity

[Beacool]

11. You think?

I really haven't noticed. Although he's my governor, I try to change channels whenever he shows up on my TV.

[rocktivity]

12. My governor, too

who I nicknamed "Governor Soprano" years ago. And, like George Bush II, I'd be surprised if he were 5' 10".


rocktivity

[Beacool]

13. Really?

Lucky us......

[LuvNewcastle]

17. I hope so.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

14. If chri$tie wants to lose 10 pounds of ugly fat,

he oughta cut off his friggin head!

[politicaljunkie41910]

15. It's painfully obvious that his entire family is obese, including all the children.

I have had my own struggles with weight during my adult lifetime, as a full-time working mother of 3, dropping off and picking up to and from school, but I never visited my problems on my children. I made sure that they ate home cooked meals, including portion controlled snacks and desserts, and I always packed their lunches for school. With them it was always about moderation and lots of healthy exercise outdoors, not tied to a playstation 24-7. We ocassionally had pizza or burgers when the opportunity presented itself, but it was not everyday.

Christie's kids (and his wife) all look obese, not just a little chubby. I'm glad he made the decision to lose weight because hopefully, it will force him to acknowledge what poor role models he and the wife have been for their children before it's too late.

[Beacool]

16. The children are definitely overweight.

I didn't notice Mary Pat being too heavy.

This pic is from the night he was reelected last November.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1508114.1383736845!/img/httpImage/image.jpg

It's a shame about the kids, because they will struggle with their weight as adults.

[LuvNewcastle]

18. They don't look fat to me.

You want to see obese? Come down to Mississippi, I'll show you obese. Christie is obese, of course, but his kids just look like they have some 'extra padding.' Down here, that's normal-sized.

[Beacool]

19. I'm not saying they are obese, but they are definitely overweight.

It's not good for them. Doctors always say: overweight child, overweight adult.

MS has an obesity issue, it's the fattest state in the country. A December 2013 health study ranked MS dead last at #50. My state, and Christie's, NJ; is at #10.

1.Hawaii
2.Vermont
3.Minnesota
4.Massachusetts
5.New Hampshire
6.Utah
7.Connecticut
8.Colorado
9.North Dakota
10.New Jersey
11.Nebraska
12.Idaho
13.Oregon
14.Washington
15.New York
16.Maine
17.Wyoming
18.Iowa
19.Rhode Island
20.Wisconsin
21.California
22.South Dakota
23.Montana
24.Maryland
25.Alaska
26.Virginia
27.Kansas
28.Arizona
29.Pennsylvania
30.Illinois
31.Delaware
32.New Mexico
33.Florida
34.Michigan
35.North Carolina
36.Texas
37.Nevada
38.Georgia
39.Missouri
40.Ohio
41.Indiana
42.Tennessee
43.South Carolina
44.Oklahoma
45.Kentucky
46.West Virginia
47.Alabama
48.Louisiana
49.Arkansas
50.Mississippi

http://www.lifescript.com/health/centers/womens/articles/wheres_your_state_in_americas_health_rankings.aspx

[LuvNewcastle]

32. Just because a guy has an extra 200 pounds on him, people want to call him obese.

Spread a little lard on that biscuit. It'll make you feel better.

[Beacool]

33. Well, the whole family could use to lose a few lbs.

[Auntie Bush]

35. That's a great chart! Wow...VT is number 2.

However I always thought Vermonters were fatties. We certaintly have our share of fat people...can't imaging what it's like in all those southern states.

[Beacool]

36. Every state has their share of overweight people, but some have more than others.

They can blame the Southern diet, tasty but fatty.

[HipChick]

22. He was not fat in his teens though..

I feel bad for the kids...

[Beacool]

25. He played sports in high school.

I don't know what happened to him. He didn't just gain a little weight, he appears to have gained 200 lbs. or more.

[Auntie Bush]

37. I wonder how he let himself get so fat in the first place.

Why didn't MP put him and the kids on a diet? She can control what and how much they can eat. I guess thats easier said than done.

[Beacool]

47. I wonder too.

He was probably less than 200 lbs. in his high school days. How did he gain another 200 lbs.?

[Auntie Bush]

54. He had to have been a glutton.

How the hell did he eat so much? Couldn't he see what he was doing to himself?

He must have developed some kind of personal or emotional problem. Normal people just don't eat that much when they used to be of normal weight.

[penultimate]

24. The children don't look like they are of an unhealthy weight....

I'm sure they could cut back on the snacks a bit and exercise a bit more, but they hardly seem at the point in which there should be concern.

[Beacool]

34. Yes, but they should keep an eye on them now.

It's easier to teach them healthy habits now that they are young.

[Auntie Bush]

38. I'd say the 2 girls are quite overweight.

[Vashta Nerada]

20. What success?

[Beacool]

21. I think that's the point of the article.

A person's weight loss with bariatric surgery shouldn't be measured in "skinny" terms. It's more about health than about being model thin, which is an impossibility for all but a small number of the population. Someone who lost 90-100 is considered a success story.

[Le Taz Hot]

23. An ex-friend of mine had weight loss surgery,

lost a lot of weight, then gained a whole lot of it back again. Why? Because she continued the same eating habits. She stayed with us for about 6 weeks and I noticed she had to have a full meal about every 20-30 minutes (before the surgery). After she first got the surgery, if she ate too much, she'd get sick to her stomach. But in time, her stomach stretched out again and she is now able to eat almost the same amount as she did before.

The one thing that was a permanent change? She got WAY bitchier, hence, the "ex" part of that friendship.

[Beacool]

26. People want a miracle cure.

Some don't understand that bariatric surgery is only a tool and good habits will ensure lasting results. Otherwise, they'll end up like your former friend.

[Le Taz Hot]

30. I'm trying to do mine the hard way:

exercise more and eat bark and twigs. I mean, I like veggies and fruits and all but damnit! I'm a native California and Mexican food is one of the four basic food groups. Put a Rico's taco or a good tamale in front of me and I'm done. (sigh)

[Beacool]

39. There are a lot of choices in Mexican cuisine.

Not all of them include tamales, tacos, tortillas and gorditas.

[Le Taz Hot]

41. Really?

'Cause as a Native Californian, I would never have known.

[belcffub]

40. Try myfitnesspal.com

I used it and dropped 100 pounds... took about 9 months to do... first time I ever tried dieting... its just a tracking app you enter your food on the web site or with a smart phone... you can scan bar codes and I knows what to put in most of the time... You still need to do the work... weigh and measure your food... but for me its been 1 year since the weight loss and still going strong...

[Le Taz Hot]

42. There is no possible way I'm going to do that.

Weigh/measure my food? Keep a diary?

Um, no.

I mean, I'm glad it worked for you but, and no offense intended, I'm just not that anal ret ., er, disciplined.

Exercise, cut down my carbs, continue to buy fruits and veggies from the Farmers' Market, I'm good.

[belcffub]

43. Good luck...

everyone tries different things... My problem was/is portion control... so the act of measuring out a serving of something helps me... and after a couple of months weighing things wasn't so bad and for things a eat frequently I know what 3.5 ounces or 68 grams looks like... so when I'm out I can log things that way... at parties and family events I don't... everyone has to live once and a while

I hope your system works for you...

[Beacool]

44. Wow, that's a lot of weight!!

Congratulations!!! One thing that most successful weight loss regimes have in common is food tracking. Keeping a record does help to be more careful of what we put into our mouths.

[belcffub]

45. thanks and

yeah... do you have any idea how many calories are in a foot long chicken finger sub w/ provolone and blue cheese neither did I until I started tracking... We'd have those atleast once a week before I started tracking... A whole days worth of calories in one sandwich...

Since then I have taken up running... started not being able to do 100 yards without being winded... towards the end of last year I ran a half marathon in 1 hour 45 minutes and can do a 5k @ a 7 minute 30 second pace...

did it all after a joined the Vol Fire Department... fat guys die of heart attacks... #1 killer of Fire Fighters... not to mention its easier to fit into tight spaces...

[Beacool]

51. No, how many calories?

I don't think I can eat a foot long of anything. On occasion I have bought the 6" Subway or Blimpie's sub, but a whole foot is too big for me.

That's great that you can run. Starting in my childhood, I had years of ballet. My knees are shot. I couldn't run if the bldg. was on fire. LOL!!!

You should be very proud of yourself. Also, thanks for being a firefighter. You guys are the only ones running into a bldg. when everyone else is running out. I saw plenty of you on 9/11 at the WTC.

[belcffub]

55. around 1800 to 2400

calories the way I ate it... The place we get them from lays the blue cheese on thick as well as the provolone...

I am eating around 2k - 2500 calories now with my activity level... My running is down over the winter (can only spend so long on the treadmill)... Once I start extending the distances again I will need to up my calories to about 2500-3k... being 6 feet tall has its advantages... I have no idea how 5'2" women who can only eat 1200 calories do it... so yeah that one sub was enough calories for the day... hard to figure out why I was fat

thank you....

[Beacool]

58. That IS a lot of calories for a sandwich, but I bet that it's delicious.

Yeah, we women don't have it fair. We have to eat less, and to top it all, you guys tend to lose faster.

[belcffub]

59. and the battle of the sexes continues

[Faux pas]

28. Who cares about his weight?

I care about his honor, or lack of honor. He needs to resign every position he may have, slimy asshole.

[11 Bravo]

31. He definitely looks healthier. I wish him a long life as the disgraced former Governor ...

of New Jersey.

[Gothmog]

46. For the sake of his family, I am happy that Christie is losing weight

If Christie was the GOP nominee, weight would be an issue. However, that concern is moot due to bridgegate and Christie's lack of ethics

[Beacool]

49. We sure hope so.

There's still so much time before the 2016 election. Let's hope that he doesn't rebound.

[treestar]

50. Much as I hate his politics and corruption

It is just evil to say mean stuff about what he weighs now. If he lost 100 pounds, that is good for him and he should get encouragement.

[Beacool]

52. I don't think that they are knocking him for his weight loss.

I think that the point of the article is to explain that bariatric surgery is not about becoming rail thin, it's about losing enough weight to become healthier.

[treestar]

56. True, he's not going to be rail thin or even thin again

Not in this life.

[BarbaRosa]

53. I noticed he had lost some weight.

While I disagree completely with his political directions, as a guy who could stand to drop 10 or 20, I wish him luck and applaud his efforts.

[Iggo]

57. Lost a hundred pounds?

Good for him.

[ladyVet]

60. I'll ridicule and dislike the man for a lot of things, but his weight isn't one of them.

Who knows how/why he got so heavy? It isn't our business. Hopefully his family will follow his lead, and try to do better before they need drastic surgery.