Ex-Mayor Ford feeling like weight-loss winner

Former Toledo Mayor Jack Ford says that his weight has gone from 344 pounds to 290 in less than three months. THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH Enlarge | Photo Reprints

One of Toledo's best-known public figures claims to have a new lease on life, thanks to a big weight loss.

Former Mayor Jack Ford says he has gone from 344 pounds to 290 in less than three months.

Since shedding the 54 pounds, his blood-pressure and glucose levels are significantly better, he said. His wife, Cynthia, added that the latter has improved so much that he no longer needs to take insulin for his diabetes.

The weight loss is obvious to him every time he looks in the mirror. "This is a suit I haven't worn in probably 20 years," said Mr. Ford, who is a member of the Toledo Board of Education and also spent years on City Council and in the state legislature.

Mr. Ford, 62, has been on kidney dialysis for three years. He undergoes the treatment at home and is checked by his physician weekly. His goal is to drop to 250 pounds to improve his chance of making the eligibility list for a kidney transplant at the University of Toledo Medical Center, formerly the Medical College of Ohio.

To that end, he has been eating meals consisting of salads, chicken, and steak and avoiding potatoes, bread, and other carbohydrates.

Mr. Ford also has been taking a meal-replacement drink sold by a firm called ViSalus Sciences, which bills itself as "a health transformation company." He and his wife have been members of the ViSalus multilevel marketing operation since May.

Last night, the Fords held a reception at the Spaghetti Warehouse to promote ViSalus products - nutritional powders that can be mixed with liquids - and mark the company's appearance in the September issue of Success From Home magazine.

The event attracted about 80 people, including another former mayor, Carty Finkbeiner, who defeated Mr. Ford in 2005. At times it assumed the atmosphere of a pep rally as speakers took the microphone and extolled ViSalus products.

Richard Kerger, a Toledo lawyer, was a sort of master of ceremonies, describing how he was "63 and fat" in October when he started using the ViSalus drink and lost 31 pounds in three months.

The gathering also kicked off a fund-raiser for Feed Lucas County Children Inc., a nonprofit group that provides healthy meals to children. The goal is to raise $2,400 to buy ViSalus products for the organization, Mrs. Ford said.