Christie: I Had Secret Weight-Loss Surgery

The window to poke at Chris Christie's weight may be, well, shrinking. The New Jersey governor had lap-band stomach surgery in February in a hushed effort to lose weight, he tells the New York Post. If your knee-jerk reaction to the news is "2016!", know that Christie was quick to deny that the move is part of a White House plan, saying, "I know it sounds crazy to say that running for president is minor, but in the grand scheme of things, it was looking at Mary Pat and the kids and going, 'I have to do this for them, even if I don’t give a crap about myself.'" In his telling, family and friends pushed him to take action, and he gave in following his 50th birthday in September.

In order to make the governor feel full more quickly, doctors wrapped the top of his stomach with a silicone tube. He's already lost 40 pounds, say Post sources, who share details about how he kept the procedure under wraps for three months: by having his doctor come directly to the governor's mansion for all medical visits, and by checking in under a fake name. If you're still thinking 2016, you're not alone. A leading political donor assures the Post that "this means he’s running for president. He’s showing people he can get his weight in control. It was the one thing holding him back." (More Chris Christie stories.)