Christie: Weight Loss Surgery 'Intensely Personal Issue'

Gov. Chris Christie reluctantly fielded reporters’ questions Tuesday about his February Lap-Band surgery, but said he would not be providing the public with any news as he heads towards his weight-loss goal, which he pointedly refused to disclose.

"This is it. You ask me any more questions about this, I’m not answering,” Christie said during a groundbreaking ceremony at a Newark vocational high school.

"I’m not going to be giving you all updates as this goes along. ... I’m not giving people a day-by-day, week-by-week, blow by blow," he said, adding, "I don’t care to be a role model for anyone. This is an intensely personal issue."

The governor told the New York Post Monday night he’d had Lap-Band surgery in February because of concerns over his long-term health after turning 50 in September. Lap-Band -- or laposcoric adjustable gastric binding -- is a reversible procedure that results in a reduced appetite.

Christie, considered a possible Republican candidate for president in 2016, denied that his decision had anything to do with his future political plans, but rather said it was made for the sake of his family.

"I’ve been in the father business for a while and, God willing, I’ll be in the grandfather business one day," he said.

He also admitted he turned to surgery after other dieting attempts failed, saying "I’ve probably lost and gained more weight than everyone in the front row [at the press conference] collectively."

Christie said the decision was a personal one and that he only spoke about it after a Post reporter called him to ask about his noticeably slimming physique.  

"A number of folks in the press started to ask me about my weight loss, and I said I wasn’t going to lie," Christie said. "I eat less than typically than I used to. This is not like some magic thing. You still have to do a lot of the things you need to do to lose weight."

Christie also said he felt "great about himself" and that his size "never defined me in my own mind."