Gov. Chris Christie Cuts State Budget, Slims Down In Year One
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has cut more than the state budget in his first year in office.
The head-of-state has also dropped a few notches in his belt.
RELATED GUIDES: The Best Weight Loss Programs In NYC | The Ultimate NYC Fitness & Weight Loss Guide
Christie isn't saying exactly how much weight he has lost, but his suits have been getting noticeably baggy.
"I'm not going to put any numbers on it because you just set yourself up for failure," he said.
The 48-year-old Republican, who has acknowledged tipping the scales at a ballpark of 550 pounds, credits his recent weight loss to eating better and working with a trainer three mornings a week -- Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
He started working with a trainer in June 2009, but for the past year says he has been more consistent.
"What I've done over the last 10 months is I've just watched what I eat, work out, and slowly but surely I'm taking the weight off,'' Christie said.
The governor has long struggled with his weight, which he says he started putting on after high school when he stopped playing organized sports.
He's tried dozens of diets over the years with varying success.
RELATED STORY: Gov. Christie, Imus Talk About Weight Loss
He lost 40 pounds on a bet in 1997 while he was a county freeholder, but gained it back. From 2002-2003, while serving as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor, he lost 50 pounds on the Atkins diet but it didn't stay off.
His weight came up during his 2009 campaign against Democrat incumbent Jon Corzine, who ran an ad accusing Christie of "throwing his weight around" to get out of traffic citations while he was U.S. attorney.
The ads included unflattering images of Christie struggling to exit an SUV. In contrast, Corzine was running 5K and 10K races nearly every weekend toward the end of the campaign.
Christie confronted the ads head on, telling Corzine to "man up and say I'm fat."
Christie said that more than anything else, the motivation to lose weight is his four children, who range in age from 7 to 17 years old.
"I'm motivated by the fact that the job is pretty stressful at times and I have four kids, so I need to be around for them," Christie said. "I don't want to be in a situation where, as I get older, my health is really at risk."
(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
