COOK ON CARLAW: Let's weight and see

Well, we're into the third week of Mayor Rob Ford's "Cut the Waist Challenge" and so far Ford has lost about 16 pounds.

Ford has challenged everyone in Toronto to get on the weight-loss bandwagon, and one of those people is my wife's cousin, Lindsay, who lives on Lee Avenue.

Now Lindsay doesn't need to lose "body" weight but she does want to start losing things she feels weigh her down.

Here is a partial list of things she plans on losing:

- Her current boyfriend - Once he's gone she'll have shed about 175 pounds of lard, which isn't fair because "lard" actually does have benefits when used properly.

- Her car - That's two tons off the road and over a year she'd burn up massive amounts of gasoline. By the way, the atmosphere will appreciate her effort since it will cut out a whole lot of carbon monoxide.

- Her credit card debt - Even if she doesn't pay everything off, she is paying them down, which will be a weight off her wallet.

- Her basement clutter - Believe me, I've seen her basement and it's brimming with "junk" or as she likes to call it "hidden treasures". Whatever the term, getting rid of things will lighten the space and make room for something else.

My wife and Lindsay plan on taking yoga. They feel this will lighten their mood, stretch their muscles and make things easier when faced with "the weight of the world".

Lindsay plans on taking some night courses at either U of T or Ryerson. She feels gaining knowledge, no matter what the subject, will make her mind more agile. By the way she doesn't plan on taking any heavy subjects like nuclear fission or astrophysics.

There are many other items Lindsay will "get rid of", but I think the message we can all take away from the Ford challenge is that we can all "lose" something.

It could be weight or debt or furniture or maybe even a bad relationship, but losing it is good for us.

Now there are a few items you don't want to lose such as your mind, car keys or your winning lottery ticket, but overall losing things that weigh you down isn't bad at all.

So I applaud Ford for making the effort and look forward to seeing where he'll be come June 18.