Senator Loses 50 Pounds, 140 Characters at a Time

Credit Sen. Blunt Staff

Among all the talk in Congress about cutting the fat from the federal budget and trimming the deficit, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has also been focusing on scaling back her own number: her weight.

In May, McCaskill, one of the most prolific tweeters among the members of Congress who use Twitter,  took to the very-public forum to declare to her more-than-60,000 followers that she is on a mission to lose weight.

“I’m tired of looking and feeling fat. Maybe talking about it publicly will keep me on track as I try to be more disciplined. Off to the gym,” McCaskill tweeted in May.

McCaskill said at the time that she just wanted to feel better, healthier and in better shape as she approached her late 50s. Today, the senator is a whopping 50 pounds lighter.

“GOOAALLLLLLLL!! I did it! Lost 50 lbs. Thank you Team Charles and my new BFF…Mr Treadmill. Healthy food and lots of exercise,” McCaskill tweeted last month.

Over the course of the seven months, McCaskill tweeted her frustrations about losing weight, being forthcoming about the battles that everyone faces as they diet.

“This will be a test. Can I be disciplined about healthy food choices in midst of family chaos? Typically food takes center stage,” McCaskill tweeted in May.

A visit to the Missouri state fair in August, where as a rite of passage politicians typically sample local fare, McCaskill took to twitter to vent a little about her temptation.

“Since I’ve been on this health kick I guess a funnel cake is out of the question?,” McCaskill tweeted to her followers.

Just recently in September McCaskill declared over twitter, “It’s official. I have divorced bread and pasta. I’m hoping someday we can be friends again.”

McCaskill is facing a tough reelection race so her desire to lose weight could be partially due to wanting to look better and feel better on the campaign trail.

The pressure on politicians to look good, especially when they are running for office is at times intense.

During Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s, D-N.Y., tough Senate race in 2010 she also sought to lose weight – losing 40 pounds over the course of the year dropping from a six sixteen to a size four in clothes.

Now that McCaskill has just recently celebrated her target weight, she admits that she can splurge a little here and there.

“Facing sweet dilemma. Tx Senators are paying off World Series bet with BlueBell ice cream in a few. I say spluge,” McCaskill tweeted today, “I meant splurge. And yes I did. Chocolate. Yum. Of course just cause it was celebrating the best comeback it World Series history!”