Ford brothers drop 12.5 pounds in week 2 of weight loss

Mayor Rob Ford launched the Cut the Waist challenge on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, at Toronto City Hall. He wants to lose 50 pounds in six months.

The Ford brothers have dropped another 12.5 pounds after two weeks of weight loss.

Mayor Rob Ford lost six pounds and Coun. Doug Ford lost 6.5 pounds. The mayor is now at 314 lbs, and Doug is now 269.5 lbs.

"We're working out constantly," Doug Ford said at city hall Monday.

"The Super Bowl is going to be a challenge. It's my favorite day of the year," Rob Ford added.

The ‘ Cut the Waist’ challenge began on Jan. 16. At the start, Rob Ford weighed in at 330 lbs, and Doug Ford at 275 lbs.

By June 18, they each hope to shed 50 pounds.

Ford campaigned on a pledge to “cut the gravy” at city hall but his plans to trim the city budget, including cuts to Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) and the TTC, have met with opposition from councillors and voters.

Last week, the city’s executive committee deferred a debate on a proposal to sell off 675 scattered TCHC properties. The properties, which could have brought in an estimated $222 million, would have been used to make a dent in a $650-million capital repair backlog.

The vote has been delayed for one month.

Meanwhile, a new transit plan championed by TTC chair Karen Stintz is gaining the support of a group of non-partisan councillors at city hall.

The mayor has said in the past that he prefers all rapid transit to go underground, but Coun. Josh Matlow told CityNews Ford can no longer make unilateral statements and assume that he has the votes.

The 2012 budget passed on Jan. 17, after a last-minute flurry of motions restored about $20 million in proposed cuts to services including the TTC, subsidized daycare and shelters.  

With files from Showwei Chu and Shawne McKeown