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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 27: US President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 27, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Philadelphia, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Democratic National Convention kicked off July 25. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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President Obama is a disciplined man. So disciplined, in fact, that it didn’t surprise many when a recent New York Times article reported that his late-night snack of choice was exactly seven “lightly salted” almonds.

“Not six, not eight,” White House chef Sam Kass told the Times.

But on the TODAY Show Thursday, Obama was happy to have the chance to set the record straight about this oddly specific habit. Spoiler alert: it’s inaccurate.

“This is an example of the weird way that the press works,” Mr. Obama told host Savannah Guthrie. “Michelle and Sam Kass, who was our chef here, one night they were talking about me and teasing me about how disciplined I was, that I didn’t have potato chips or I didn’t have a piece of cake. And this is when Michelle said, ‘Yes, and he just has seven almonds. That’s it.’ To really drive home the point that I needed to loosen up a little bit. And Sam relayed this joke to the New York Times in the article and somehow it was relayed as if I was counting out the seven almonds. All my friends were calling up to say, ‘This seems a little anal. This is a little weird.'”

“After the White House, are you going to let yourself go and have, like, 10 or 11 almonds?” Guthrie asked.

“Absolutely. But, you know, almonds are a good snack. I strongly recommend them,” Obama added. And then: “I am so glad I had this opportunity… This has been really weighing on me.”

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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com.

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