Obama Says He Doesn't Eat Exactly 7 Almonds Every Night

"All my friends were calling me up and saying this seems a little anal, this is a little weird, and I had to explain to them, no, this was a joke,'' Obama said

President Barack Obama steers clear of soda and potato chips and prefers almonds as a snack, but contrary to a recent media report, he say she does not count out exactly seven almonds every night. 

"This has been really weighing on me,'' Obama joked as part of an interview with "Today's" Savannah Guthrie.

A story in The New York Times on July 2 quoted the Obamas' personal chef saying that he and first lady Michelle Obama joke that the president is so disciplined he eats exactly seven almonds at night, "not six, not eight."

Obama told "Today," that the first lady and Sam Kass teased that him that he won't even have a piece of cake. 

"And this is when Michelle said, 'And he just has seven almonds, that's it.'''

Kass relayed that joke to The New York Times, making it seem like Obama is obsessively counting out almonds.

"All my friends were calling me up and saying this seems a little anal, this is a little weird, and I had to explain to them, no, this was a joke,'' Obama said. 

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