Monday morning marked a new era for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, hopefully a lighter one that comes with a slimmer waist-line.

Ford and his brother city councillor Doug Ford rolled out an old fashioned scale in front of the mayor’s office at 9:30am for a new year weight loss challenge.

The mayor once referred to himself as 300 pounds of fun, and his brother isn’t far off that size.

The mayer hopes to shed 50 pounds by June 18th. That means he’s got about 22 weeks – or five months – to accomplish this ambitious task.

“Anyone can lose weight by going on any short term quick fix diet,” says nutrition Leslie Beck speaking to Newstalk 1010. “That’s a mistake when people go some sort of crash diet, fad diet, unbalanced diet.”

Beck thinks the Mayor should make sure to get in three meals a day with one or two snacks.

“His plan needs to have him eating at regular intervals through the day,” says Beck. “(Snacks) will keep his blood glucose levels stable, keep his energy up and prevent him from getting too hungry at the end of the day.”

“Skipping meals is an absolute no-no on any weight loss diet…It sets you up for failure later. You’re going to be overly hungry,” says Beck.

Rob Ford's Weight Loss Challenge To Shed 50lbs