Chris Christie: Report I've lost 85 pounds "not accurate"

Gov. Chris Christie, R-New Jersey, on Tuesday shot down a report that he's lost 85 pounds since undergoing lap band surgery in 2013, telling reporters he wouldn't get into specifics about his weight loss because "that's my business and nobody else's."

Fielding reporters' questions while stumping in Connecticut for Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Foley, Christie said the report in Monday's New York Times "wasn't accurate."

"I'm not going to tell you why it was inaccurate," he said, according to NJ.com, "because I don't talk about that stuff, and the reason I don't is that that's my business and nobody else's."

Christie secretly underwent lap band surgery in February 2013. The procedure, in which a large rubber band is placed around the stomach to limit a patient's food intake, is considered a less drastic alternative to gastric bypass surgery.

He suggested he underwent the procedure not to serve as an inspiration for others considering weight loss solutions, but for his own health.

"I have four children. Two of 'em are in college; two of 'em are 14 and 11," he said. "My youngest is a girl. I want to be around to walk her down the aisle. When she gets married some day, I want to be around to see grandchildren."

The Times, citing an anonymous guest at an event packed with conservative donors last week, reported that Christie said he'd lost 85 pounds, and that he "understood he had to slim down if he wanted to move beyond Trenton."

It seemed an obvious nod at the governor's potential 2016 presidential bid, but Christie denied that politics were behind the decision.

"I got elected to office at my previous size," he said Tuesday. "People say it's about politics, which is wrong. It's about living a healthier life, and being healthier and being able to stay around longer. Once you turn 50, you realize, you know, you're not invincible."

A report from Christie's cardiologist released last October said the governor had been "losing weight steadily" since the procedure, though it did not specify how much weight he'd lost. And last September, Christie told "CBS Sunday Morning" he was "more than halfway" to his goal.