I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually feeling for Rob Ford. Just look how he’s struggling with weight loss.
It wasn’t me laughing when Ford referred to himself as 300 pounds of fun. I considered them 300 pounds of heart-attack-inducing lard, and while I’ve always loathed the mayor’s politics, I never wanted him to suffer. So I was encouraged when he took the challenge to drop a few pounds.
It is not easy being a fat boy, even if you wield some political clout. And losing weight is one of the most difficult projects an individual can embark on. You can’t go cold turkey on food the way you can with booze and drugs. You have to eat, but not too much, and scarf back stuff you probably don’t really like much. No wonder Ford was caught sneaking into KFC.
And you have to be in it for the long haul. There’s no such thing as instant success, even if that would make for a better media blitz. And whose idea was it that Ford should lose 50 pounds in less than three months? That’s a set-up if I’ve ever seen one. Lose weight that fast – if you can – and you’ll never keep it off.
You try getting thin under unremitting public scrutiny. It doesn’t help that competitive brother Doug – who’s big but hardly obese – is breezing through his own weight loss campaign while openly mocking the mayor for not dropping poundage at the same rate. How can you not feel some sympathy?
Too bad Ford’s disastrous diet comes on the heels of our former mayor’s spectacular physical transformation. Comparisons here are grossly unfair, though. David Miller was a thin guy who rapidly gained weight because he was eating all the wrong things – burgers, mostly – while he was ferried from campaign stop to campaign stop during his mayoral run. He was someone who dieted – and jogged and biked – back to his regular weight.
Ford’s not so lucky. He’s an endomorph who’s at a genetic disadvantage and has to change every aspect of his lifestyle – including getting out of his car, now a political no-no – if he’s ever going to slim down. But, personality-wise, he’s a terrible weight loss candidate. The essential characteristic of a successful dieter is discipline, and the mayor doesn’t have any. Given that he can’t contain his anger or commit to mayor-related tasks he doesn’t like – which is why he spends most of his time gabbing on the phone with constituents – should we be surprised that he’s having trouble resisting immediate gratification in pursuit of long-term rewards?
When you watch Ford at his final weigh-in on June 18 – if he shows up – you may see a bloated guy with a bloated ego who gets what he deserves when he fails the weight-loss test. Me? I see a very sad fat boy shamed by his pushy brother into a project doomed to fail.
susanc@nowtoronto.com | twitter.com/nowtorontonews
