Gov. Christie works out, slims down

By Christina Wilkie - 09/07/10 07:46 PM ET

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has lost a significant amount of weight this summer, but he thinks he still has a long way to go.

Christie told Fox Business host Don Imus that he’s been working out with a personal trainer and “being smart” about what he eats. “But I have more to lose,” said the governor, who said jokingly that one year ago he weighed around 550 pounds.

That size, he said, makes his current progress “like throwing a couple of deck chairs off the Titanic.”

On a more serious note, Christie told Imus that his weight had begun to threaten his health: “I have four children between 7 and 17 ... and I’d like to be around for them.”

Unlike past efforts, the governor says he is losing weight in a healthy way. “I’ve tried every other crazy method in the world but you just lose weight and you gain it back.”

Christie isn’t the only GOP governor with a shrinking waistline. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s dramatic weight loss has fueled speculation of a possible 2012 presidential run.

Asked whether he, too, would like to be president some day, Christie laughed. “No way! Look at me!”