It seems the stress of the past week has derailed Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's weight loss plan.
After three consecutive weeks of shedding mass, Ford stalled at 310 pounds this week. The weigh-in follows a major defeat for the mayor last week, with city council voting to revive a plan for light rail lines rather than the new subway lines favoured by Ford.
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Ford has joked with reporters at past weigh-ins but was far from jovial on Monday. The mayor simply said "I’ve plateaued," before walking away without taking any questions, according to the Toronto Star.
The mayor's brother, Councillor Doug Ford, did better after hitting his own plateau last week at 259 pounds. Doug weighed in at 255 pounds on Monday.
Both Ford brother's have now lost 20 pounds apiece. Rob started out at 330 pounds and Doug began at 275 pounds.
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Toronto's two political heavyweights have a good reason for going on a diet. "Rob has two young kids and I have four girls. We want to be around to watch them get married and be grandparents. If you're carrying this extra weight...it's not healthy. And we know that," said Doug.
Macleans has reported on the mayor's penchant for root beer and Doug has indicated ice cream will be a particular challenge for his brother.
Ford has faced plenty of ridicule in the press for his waistline. In March of last year, NOW Magazine caused an uproar when it printed a photoshopped photo on its cover prominently featuring the mayor's naked belly.
Even the Globe ran a piece with the headline "Rob Ford’s not popular despite being fat. He’s popular because of it," although the piece was subsequently pulled from the web after widespread criticism.
HuffPost Canada blogger Ben Johnson has argued Ford's weight is a valid political issue, both because the mayor may face serious health problems while in office and because it indicates an irresponsible and short-sighted attitude.
Former mayor David Miller made headlines by dropping approximately 50 pounds while in office. If Ford can match that accomplishment he'll be well on his way to putting the gravy train jokes behind him once and for all.
He'll have his brother to lend him encouragement along the way. Doug told the Globe he's also aiming to also lose 50 to 60 pounds and recapture the fitness of his younger days, when he worked out regularly and could bench press 350 pounds.
The mayor says eventually he would like to make it down to 225 pounds.
With files from The Canadian Press
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