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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsStill Not Skinny, Christie Cheered as a Weight-Loss Surgery Success.
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 whove questioned Christies leadership, but also people piling on about whether hed failed in his effort to curb his girth.
Its been especially nasty on Twitter, where users havent missed an opportunity to insult Christies 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
(14,337 posts)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
(30,253 posts)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
(30,253 posts)Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)No need to rub it in and make it so obvious. LOL
Beacool
(30,253 posts)It's depressing, isn't it?
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)and the same to everyone else struggling with their weight. It's not easy.
Beacool
(30,253 posts)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
(32,121 posts)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
(30,253 posts)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
(16,376 posts)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
(30,253 posts)I've never seen him in person, but I too thought that he was shorter than 5'11".
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)rocktivity
(44,583 posts)but since the scandal, I think he's started "stress eating" again and regained some.
rocktivity
Beacool
(30,253 posts)I really haven't noticed. Although he's my governor, I try to change channels whenever he shows up on my TV.
rocktivity
(44,583 posts)who I nicknamed "Governor Soprano" years ago. And, like George Bush II, I'd be surprised if he were 5' 10".
rocktivity
Beacool
(30,253 posts)Lucky us......
LuvNewcastle
(16,864 posts)yortsed snacilbuper
(7,941 posts)he oughta cut off his friggin head!
politicaljunkie41910
(3,335 posts)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
(30,253 posts)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
(16,864 posts)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
(30,253 posts)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
(16,864 posts)Spread a little lard on that biscuit. It'll make you feel better.
Beacool
(30,253 posts)Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)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
(30,253 posts)They can blame the Southern diet, tasty but fatty.
HipChick
(25,485 posts)I feel bad for the kids...
Beacool
(30,253 posts)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
(17,528 posts)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
(30,253 posts)He was probably less than 200 lbs. in his high school days. How did he gain another 200 lbs.?
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)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
(1,110 posts)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
(30,253 posts)It's easier to teach them healthy habits now that they are young.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)Vashta Nerada
(3,922 posts)Beacool
(30,253 posts)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
(22,271 posts)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
(30,253 posts)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
(22,271 posts)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
(30,253 posts)Not all of them include tamales, tacos, tortillas and gorditas.
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)'Cause as a Native Californian, I would never have known.
belcffub
(595 posts)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
(22,271 posts)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
(595 posts)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
(30,253 posts)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
(595 posts)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
(30,253 posts)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
(595 posts)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
(30,253 posts)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
(595 posts)Faux pas
(14,703 posts)I care about his honor, or lack of honor. He needs to resign every position he may have, slimy asshole.
11 Bravo
(23,928 posts)of New Jersey.
Gothmog
(145,803 posts)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
(30,253 posts)There's still so much time before the 2016 election. Let's hope that he doesn't rebound.
treestar
(82,383 posts)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
(30,253 posts)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
(82,383 posts)Not in this life.
BarbaRosa
(2,685 posts)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
(47,586 posts)Good for him.
ladyVet
(1,587 posts)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.