One of the key elements of the AIM Institute of Lifestyle Medicine program I have been on for almost ten months is measurement. We began with a battery of tests – you can read about them in my earliest blogs, if you missed those bits. They established a base line through blood work, cardio-respiratory testing, ultrasounds, x-ray and other measurements.

As you know, the results were not good; the only two positive things were: a) I didn’t have any debilitating or terminal diseases and b) now we knew how much we had to do.

Those tests get repeated from time to time. The blood work has been done once, since September – with great results, as I reported at the time. The cardio-respiratory work has been repeated; the bod pod body fat measurements more frequently; and so on.

But I like to test myself much more often than that. However, I don’t have an at-home cholesterol kit (and would not be taking my own blood if I did, no thank you), and I suspect a bod pod is prohibitively expensive. Although it would look cool, in the corner of the living room.

This leaves me with two ways I can measure what I am accomplishing, both inadequate in the big picture, but both helpful and – to me, anyway – interesting.

One is, the heart rate monitor I bought from AIM. I strap it on when I walk, when I do resistance exercise and – lately – when I cut the grass. Turns out, pushing the mower at a reasonable rate keeps me right in my fat-burning heart rate zone for 50  to 55 minutes. Pretty good results.

I use the monitor to check that I am not dropping below or kicking up out of that zone when I walk. The latter is easy to do, especially up hills, but I still have a lot of excess weight (although 54 pounds fewer than when I started), so I am focused on that goal., and my walks are as close to my fat burning zone as possible.

The second measurement is related to the weight loss. I know that Dr. Mike, Zach and the team will insist – quite rightly – that this is not only about weight loss. I know. I am healthier in every way – just check out my blood work results!

But weight is important, we all know that. And my particular personality (if one can call it that) reacts well to lots of information as motivation.

So I weigh myself every day.

My wife thinks I’m nuts; she weighs herself every five days or so.

There are downsides to weighing in every morning. Some days, depending on sodium content of what I ate the day before, or the kind of exercise I did, or how hot the weather is, my weight will go up a pound or two. Those are bad days. I could avoid them, I suppose, if I weighed myself less frequently.

But most days – I’d say 80 per cent or more of the days since Sept. 28, 2011 – I weigh the same or less than I did the day before. As I write this, that is 287 days; I have lost 54 pounds. That means a lot of really good mornings.

I find, personally, that weighing myself daily has the same result, whether I gain or lose: if I lose, I’m motivated to keep going; if I gain, I am motivated to counter whatever evil force has crept inside my body… or, more to the point, I am motivated to be very sure I am following nutritionist Stephanie Clairmont’s tips, to the letter.

It has all worked out really well. I will probably weigh myself every day for the rest of my life. Am I recommending this to you? Not necessarily. I do recommend that you get healthy, and that you find whatever it is that motivates you to do so.

The folks at AIM, by the way, are terrific motivators.

I must admit, it’s pretty flattering when people notice the significant changes in my shape. One recent day, three different people commented on the missing mass of me – including one woman who yelled “Hey, Sexy!” from her car… although she later told me – in the presence of my wife – that she was kidding. Just as well, I suppose.

I get a lot of questions about how this has been accomplished; of course, I refer the questioners to this blog, and also to the AIM Institute and Dr. Mike Sehl – but one question comes up often enough to inspire me to write this particular column. Here’s the question:

“What diet are you on?” I was asked this most recently in church, on Sunday, an interesting conversation during the prelude!

Here’s my short answer: “I’m not on a diet.” Which is both true and untrue, at the same time.

I’m certainly not on a diet, if that implies a program of eating with a desired weight loss goal, and an end in sight. I have been on diets, before (they didn’t work, just like most of yours didn’t work). By and large, they are short term programs that lead to a specific goal, and then, sadly, to long-term gain in the worst sense of the word.

Or (and I am no expert, so take this with a grain of salt substitute), they leave the dieter on a long-term program of unhealthy eating focused entirely on weight, and not at all on genuine health. I know people who completely avoid carbs, which would give fits to my nutritionist, Stephanie Clairmont.

That kind of diet, I am not on.

But I have changed my eating habits, significantly. The thing is, there is no intention to ever change back, and everyone – Dr. Mike, Stephanie, and my wife Nancy – all agree that’s the right way to go.

Last time I wrote, I quoted the authors of “Younger Next Year”, who suggest that we already know at least 85% of the things we eat, which we should not be eating. Cutting them out will probably cause weight loss; reaching the weight loss and resuming those destructive eating habits will probably cause a reversal of all benefits. I know. I have done it.

More than one person has asked if I am planning a celebratory dinner some time when I reach a significant milestone. Will I go out for ribs, wings, fries and beer, they wonder.

Another short answer: no.

Why would I, when I am thoroughly enjoying the food I eat every day; when I don’t feel seven slightly deprived; and when I know that meal is not good for me in any way?

Have I avoided every dietary evil in the past nine months? No. There have been moments when I have scarfed down a treat offered at a party, or eaten a piece of cake baked especially for a special occasion, or passed the two-glass wine quota. Sometimes, that feels like the right thing to do. Just as often, it ain’t worth it.

I have talked to people who have a plan that gives themselves a reward from time to time – they get to indulge in a forbidden food. (And there clearly are forbidden foods, stuff that is bad for you in every way. Fried food, especially French fries; white bread and its cousins; processed snack food; anything heavy in fat… again, you know, you really do!)

Personally, I’m never going to adopt that system. Because I’m better to keep on enjoying the healthy stuff (which, fortunately, I do), and staying away from temptation. I’d rather reward myself with fresh cherries, or a finer than usual glass of wine.

Once upon a time, many decades ago, I was a smoker. I know people, today, who have quit smoking but take a cigarette from time to time. I sit in awe and fear, every time I see that – because I know I could be a puff or two away from rekindled addiction, and I worry that the same might be true for them. I take a similar approach to the dark side of dining – if something is simply not good for me, I probably should skip it, every time.

I’m not suffering. Last night, dinner (with a group of friends at the end of an annual guys-only fishing trip) included fresh, grilled bass caught earlier that day in Long Point Bay; two wonderful salads; some home-made, multi-grain bread; two glasses of wine; and fresh strawberries for dessert.

Tell me an illicit reward menu that would top that!

So, am I on a diet? No. Do I make daily decisions about healthy eating? Yes.

Is it working? Well, just call me “Sexy”.

Dr. Mike Sehl has given me a lot – chiefly, a new lease on life! I am healthier, in better shape, slimmer, more energetic, stronger (everything is relative, okay?), and happier. That’s a pretty impressive list.

He also gave me a book. I know, that’s somewhat less significant than health and wellness, but it was part of the package. The book is called “Younger Next Year”, with the sub-title, “Live Strong, Fit and Sexy – Until You’re 80 and Beyond.” It is written by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D.

The inscription in my book reads, “To Paul: To your health! Mike”.

As I have read this book, during the course of my health and wellness program to date, it has inspired me, amused me, irritated me, infuriated me, and inspired me all over again. The authors are absolutely insistent on the need for us – all of us – to get into better shape and stay in better shape, if we expect to be anything but medically-challenged couch potatoes for the final decades of our lives.

They’re pushy and demanding, and, for the most part, I think they are right.

I highly recommend the book.

Granted, the authors – especially Crowley – tend to have high expectations. They want me to go on a two-week bike hike or a canoe trek and frankly, I can’t see that happening. But they also want me to be active every day, to exercise in the right heart rate zones, to do fat-burning, cardio and muscle-building work on a regular basis. That, I am doing.

To my astonishment, if I don’t do at least one of these things, every day, I miss it! This is totally unlike any experience I have had in the past, during my sporadic attempts at losing weight or getting into shape (sporadic and entirely unsuccessful, I might add). In those days, exercising or dieting (and no, I am not on a diet. I eat differently, but with full satisfaction), were a much-dreaded chore. Today, I can honestly say they are a pleasure.

To be fair, Crowley and Lodge don’t rely exclusively on the “it’s a pleasure” argument. They are not reluctant to scare the crap out of you, warning you about what lies ahead if you don’t get active. They write, “The point of this book is that we have to learn to cure ourselves, or… we will live and prematurely die in unnecessary pain.”

The key word in that sentence – easily missed because of the threat of death! – is “or”. These guys insist we have a choice “between decay and growth.”

And the key? “Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life.” Mike Sehl actually prescribes five days, but admits that six is better. Me, I have been trying for seven, and usually not quite making it, which means I do manage between five and six.

“Younger Next Year” builds a strong and detailed case from their simple premise. 

A lot of the information and advice will be brand new to you, and very helpful. I have the advantage of working with Zach Weston (you can, too – call AIM, right now!) so I already knew about fat burning zones and the right heart rates to achieve specific results. Which is why I have now lost 52 pounds, and still counting.

Some of the suggestions are simply rooted in common sense, but doggone it, we seem to need the reinforcement. So there is value in reading Crowley’s comment: “I urge you to sit down, this second, and make a list of all the mountains of garbage you’re eating you know you should quit eating altogether. I bet you get it 85 percent right before you read our two nutrition chapters. (Hint to get you started: French fries. Almost all fast food. Processed snacks with names that end with the letter ‘O’.)”

I must admit that, acting on the advice of nutritionist Stephanie Clairmont and my own negligible store of common sense, I have had no French fries, and almost no fast food or processed stuff ending in ‘O’ since last September. Have I missed this stuff? Maybe four or five times. That feeling of nostalgia goes away pretty quickly when I discover my waist size is down another two inches.

So, I say, read this book.

I have recommended it to my friends. In fact, I recommended it to my most enthusiastic supporter (wife excepted), John. “I am reading this great book,” I said. “Younger next year!”

John growled… literally, growled. “That’s exactly what I told you when I recommended that book to you three years ago, you ass!”

So, with that confession, I say to you – don’t be an ass like me. Call AIM. Read the book. Get active. Be younger next year… it can be done.

I haven’t written in a while, and I apologize for my absence, but life has been a little disrupted in the past month.

Two major events have occurred, which impacted on every facet of our lives – including our AIM program. As I write this, I have only just resumed my faithful daily exercise and nutrition regime.

The first disruption is by far the most important one – my wife, Nancy, had a “silent” heart attack which causes some symptoms but went undetected until she noticed a marked decrease in energy. When I took her to hospital, her heart rate was down to a range between 18 and 30 beats per minute – it should be 70.

The excellent medical team at Cambridge hospital (we went there because she’s a volunteer chaplain at Cambridge) took very good care of her, and within the day had determined that she needed a pacemaker – which was implanted at St. Mary’s hospital the very next day.

All of this took place just 10 days before our busiest time of the year – the New Hamburg Live! Festival of the Arts. I am executive director; Nancy is producer. It ran from May 28-June 3, 13 events in seven days, non-stop work for the organizers.

Amazingly, Nancy was able to participate (although she’s not lifting anything yet). She even sang in the Sunday gospel concert (she’s the one with the pacemaker, in the middle in the photo above, along with Nick Settimi, Vicki St. Pierre, Denise Pelley, Erin Bardua, Doug Worthington and Don Worthington).

Why do I tell you all this in a blog specifically about my AIM health and wellness program? I am convinced that our work with AIM had a significant positive impact on both Nancy’s medical outcome, and my work at the Festival.

Nancy has been exercising and eating healthily, right along beside me, since September. In fact, she has probably been wiser in her eating habits than I. The doctors don’t yet know what caused the heart attack – they may never know, they say – but while the episode disrupted her heart’s electrical system, it apparently did not damage the heart muscle. I wonder if this is because she is in much better shape than a year ago, thanks to the AIM program.

I do know that my exalted duties as executive director of an Arts Festival involve carrying cases of bottled water, carrying and stacking chairs, hauling speakers and lights, and generally working my butt off, as well as wearing a tux on occasion.

I found the physical activity astonishingly easier this year than last – last year I was 50 pounds heavier and in terrible shape; this year, I am on the road to health.

And if I do say so myself… I looked a lot better in a tux, too!

None the less, I also learned that hauling water, being on my feet from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., and rushing madly about is not a substitute for the carefully thought-out regime the AIM folks have developed for me. My 45-minute walk today was more challenging than it has been for months. But I’m back on the job… and Nancy will soon be exercising right beside me, pacemaker be praised.

Dr. Mike Sehl looked up from the report he had been reading. I was a bit anxious, because those numbers and obscure designations like “hsCRP” and “ALT” told the story of my state of health.

Mike smiled. “They’re all in the right direction,” he said. Well, that was good news, perhaps modestly so, but good news none the less.

Then he added, “In fact, you couldn’t ask for more progress than you currently have, here.” Wow!

So I asked him to elaborate.

Some brief background: at the end of September, 2011, when I received my “comprehensive annual health assessment”, Mike and his team conducted all manner of tests on me, as they do on anyone who enrolls in the program. They discovered the base line of my state of health – and it wasn’t good. You may remember that they assessed me as having a physiological age of 78 (not good, since I was 60 at the time), with all kinds of issues.

Some of those issues were related to cardiovascular fitness and strength. I have been working on them with Zach Weston, with great results. Some were to be attacked by a healthier eating plan, working with Stephanie Clairmont.

As you know, that has all been unfolding ever since. And I have had some chance to compare my cardiovascular progress, and to watch my weight decline by 49 pounds, so far.

But my blood tests in September had shown a number of serious issues, and the tests I took in late April were the first chance to see if there were improvements in these areas.

Here are some of the key figures:

In September, my cholesterol level was 5.87. Anything above 5.2 indicates a risk for developing heart disease. Today, my reading is 4.89. In September, Dr. Mike had considered putting me on a drug to control my high cholesterol levels. No need for that, today.

The triglyceride test measures the risk component for heart disease and diabetes. Anything over 2.3 is in the danger zone. In September, I measured 3.21. In May, I am at 1.6.

HDL is sometimes called “the good cholesterol”; LDL is its evil twin. HDL should be above 1.0. I have actually dropped a bit, from 1.05 to 1.02, but I’m still in good territory. My LDL reading has dropped from 3.35 in September to 3.1 today.

When I had the health assessment in September, I was, frankly, too fat for the ultrasound to allow accurate readings. There were hints of problems (chief among them the fact that I was too fat to allow accurate readings!) There was apparently fat in my liver, among other things.

That was also indicated by a distressing number in my September tests. ALT is a test that detects liver injury. You should be below 36. I registered 63 in September – not good news. Dr. Mike decided to see what impact my healthier lifestyle might have.

This time, 49 pounds lighter, my ultrasound was successful. It showed a smaller liver! And the test result? My ALT score dropped from 63 to 22. Liver problems solved.

Let me make this clear: I do understand that my health and wellness program is not a diet, and it is not only about weight loss.

It’s about being healthy, having a physiologically younger body, and living longer. All terrific goals, and I, for one, am irrevocably committed to the program.

But nonetheless, I still have bathroom scales. And a weight loss goal. As well, some good friends have offered a very nice added incentive should I lose 60 pounds. So it’s not surprising that I place a disproportionate emphasis on my weight as a measure of my accomplishments on this program. 

Besides, I don’t have a bod pod in my basement, nor can I write a script for extensive blood tests to see if my cholesterol readings are improving. So my day to day comparative measure is those darned scales.

Incidentally, I did just have those aforementioned blood tests, and I will bring you up to date on the results in the next blog. But for today… the scales.

Which were telling me I had stalled in my weight loss. Sure, I have lost 47 pounds (no small achievement, literally), but reading the scales had started to become a rather boring hobby. Up a pound, back down, up a pound again (restaurant meal, thus sodium), back down.

I took my case to Zach and Stephanie. That would be Zach Weston, Director of Exercise Physiology at AIM, and Stephanie Clairmont, Registered Dietician and Nutritionist.

I’m trying to imagine what would have happened if I were on my own in this. Well, first of all, I would weigh something close to 47 pounds more than I do. But second, even if I had managed to lose some weight and start working out, I would have been lost… eating right, exercising, and stalled.

But my team (I hope they don’t object, but I do think of them that way!) knows their stuff. Zach did some analysis of the way I have been exercising, and concluded that I was doing no harm, but perhaps not as much good as I could be with the same amount of time and effort.

And here’s the key: he told me to back off, a bit. I wear a heart rate monitor when I exercise, which records the sessions, and Zach plugged it into his computer and discovered I was not spending enough time in the lower heart rate zones – the zones that are vastly more effective at burning fat calories.

The higher heart rates do other good stuff, but are not as effective when it comes to getting rid of fat – one of my key goals.

Stephanie asked me what I have been eating; I have been following our plan, developed right at the beginning, a simple but effective approach to reducing quantities but enjoying food, none the less. Her answer to help me lose more weight? She added food to my diet – specifically, she insists I have some carbs with lunch and within 20 minutes of a strenuous, TRX workout.

Within days of those consultations, my slow but steady weight loss resumed; my bathroom scales are no longer in danger of being abused as an act of frustration.

This is all just one example of the enormous value of having health advisors who understand the science behind the program. Dr. Mike Sehl often sits me down and explains something new about the science of getting healthy; Zach and Stephanie are sharp and intuitive, but they both rely on scientific measurements … and results.

I have to say, I am loving those results.

Today is a pretty meaningful semi-anniversary. It marks six months to the day of my initial assessment at the AIM Corporate Health and Wellness Centre.

And if you have been following this blog – this is the 24th entry – you will know that those two words, “health” and “wellness” did not really apply to me on September 29, 2011.

“Obese”, “out of shape”, and “lucky you’re not dead” were more to the point.

But I bought into the program. Dr. Mike Sehl is a very convincing proponent of the whole proactive approach to being healthy. Zach Weston understands the science of getting into a healthy state, and staying there. Stephanie Clairmont is the most understanding and helpful dietician and nutritionist you can imagine. So, in truth, buying in wasn’t all that tough… I knew I was simply becoming part of a superb team, all focused on making me healthier and, in consequence, happier.

Surprisingly, the succeeding six months have not been all that tough, either. I have moved from my initial commitment to walking 30 minutes, five times a week, to somewhat longer walks, almost every day, along with more rigorous, resistance workouts, two or three times a week.

Stephanie and I worked out a sensible approach to eating on Day One, and with very minor tweaks, it has stayed virtually the same, since. She keeps checking, though!

I have acquired a treadmill (which mostly doesn’t work, resulting in the development of creative alternatives), a TRX system (which works very well), and a heart rate monitor (which is absolutely essential, if you are going to be serious about the science of being healthy; I’ll talk more about this in my next blog).

The results, so far?

Today, I weigh 220.5 pounds. Sometime last August, I weighed 265. I have lost almost 45 pounds. When my wife Nancy’s accomplishments are added in, our household is 85 pounds lighter.

I’ve also lost girth. I’m wearing pants with a 40 inch waist… it was a tight 46 inches, last summer. I have given dozens of articles of clothing to the thrift store.

Earlier this week, Zach popped me back into the bod pod, to check my percentage of body fat.

Let me stress that the work is not done, here. My body fat percentage is 39.6%. Anything over 30% is deemed obese, in my age range. However, on September 29, 2011, my body fat percentage was 47.4%. I have come down, a long, long way.

And there is better news – since my last bod pod assessment, in January, I have lost more body fat than I have pounds of weight. Which means I am actually increasing muscle mass (me!). Amazing.

There are challenges, of course, but they are not really all that difficult. Some discipline is required. Have there been slips? Occasionally. I’m encouraged by Dr, Mike to drink up to two glasses of wine a day, but that should be the limit. I have, a few times, had more. I have even had a very occasional pint of beer… although I quickly realize, after the fact, that it was not really worth the calories! A rusty nail every month or two, on the other hand….

I feel terrific. I can only imagine how I will feel when I hit my original weight target — losing 60 pounds; when I slip out of the “obese” category; when I finally hit what would be an ideal weight for me, which I am guessing is something close to 180.

These things will happen, because I don’t feel like I am on a diet or in an unusual training program; instead, I have changed a few things about how I live, changes that I will be able – and happy – to hold on to for the rest of what I hope will be a healthier life.

Here’s the problem: our treadmill is still not functioning. The company that made the treadmill we bought in November is being very cooperative, shipping new parts almost weekly… but they are not the right parts. So the doggone treadmill still is not working.

In fact, the last time the service guy was here, he didn’t put it back together, because he was afraid we might try to use it anyway, and electrocute ourselves or burn the house down. I may exaggerate, a little.

Not having a treadmill does not mean we cannot walk – the incredibly absent winter we have just enjoyed (and I really do mean, “enjoyed”, non-winter guy that I am) has meant that the roads and sidewalks have been mostly open for walking, so we have hit the road on our walking days.

But every other day, more or less, I want to do a more vigorous workout that combines walking with some resistance training (I cannot believe I am writing this – I sure as heck would not have, six months ago).

Not surprisingly, Zach Weston had the answer. Zach’s the Director of Exercise Physiology and a number of other things at the AIM Institute of Lifestyle Medicine; he’s the guy I meet with every two or three weeks to tweak my exercise regimen.

“Do you have any stairs in your house?” he asked.

Of course.

“Are they near the TRX?” (that’s the inexpensive resistance training equipment that now hangs from a rafter in our basement).

Yes.

And from that has come a very exciting – I do not exaggerate, this time – workout plan based on Zach’s suggestions, and put together to meet my specific needs.

Every second day or so, I spent 45 minutes alternating between step-up-and-downs on the bottom stair (in sets numbering between 40 and 80), and 15 reps of one of the nine exercises I now do alternately on the TRX. I usually repeat a couple, for 11 or 12 sets on the TRX in total. I throw in some light weights at the end, and finally some stretches.

My contribution to all this (in addition to the self-discipline that still surprises me!) is that I have put together a one-hour workout play list on I Tunes. I’m a music freak, so any time I hear good tunes, I am in!

I chose songs that work well with that step-up, step-down rhythm – Get Back, by the Beatles, The Way You Make Me Feel, by Michael Jackson, Smooth by Carlos Santana, We’ll Be Together by Sting, The Valley Road by Bruce Hornsby, and some others.

A good set of songs helps carry me through the final, challenging 15 minutes.

This workout does two great things – it puts me in my personal fat burning zone for a significant amount of time, but by the end, stair-stepping (and even doing a few stair pushups) to Bruce Hornsby, my heart rate can get up to 140, a good accomplishment since I still take Atenolol, and way better than I could manage at the beginning of this marvellous experiment in which I am a very willing guinea pig!

It also, by the way, demonstrates that you don’t need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on fitness equipment for your home – the TRX system is about two hundred bucks, and the stairs came with the house.

The tunes, on the other hand – well, my wife has some specific opinions about the amount of money I spend on ITunes. But, on the other hand, she does want me to put together a workout playlist for her, too.

There is a great deal of solid science behind the process that is converting me from an obese slug to a healthy human being. From time to time, during my visits to AIM Institute of Lifestyle Medicine, Dr. Mike Sehl sits down with me and shares something new he has discovered that supports his contention that healthy living and preventative medicine are the only sensible way to go in our health care system.

Now, I am not a doctor, and I do not intend to play one in a blog. So my first piece of advice is, if you want the medical details about these matters – talk to Mike.

I will tell you that my most recent conversation with Dr. Mike led me to detesting body fat even more than I already did, every time I looked in a full-length (should I say, “full-width”?) mirror.

Mike told me that when we was a medical student, fat was seen as an inert substance – not good for health, but not malign in its own right. That has changed. It turns out, excess body fat actually functions much like a gland, and it secretes harmful substances into our bodies.

Increased body fat  – a Body Mass Index anything over 30 is dangerous, and I have still to come down to that level – means, for example, increased levels of angotensinogen (a term I assure you I had never heard before), which leads to hypertension – high blood pressure. Mike told me, “Body fat actually produces that; fat is an active part of the problem.”

Fat produces other substances related to high blood pressure, as well. And – there is a long explanation for this, but trust me – it’s directly related to the chance you will develop diabetes, because high body fat means your naturally occurring insulin cannot do the job it’s intended to do.

The news does not get better – high body fat, says Dr. Mike, is related to increased coagulation of the blood, which increases our risk factor for stroke and heart attack.

So excess body fat is not just a cumbersome, clogging thing we lug around… it’s that, but while we’re lugging it, it’s also actively trying to kill us. Hmmm…

And – this is not good news to the likes of me – the location of body fat is important. “Our waist circumference seems to be connected to the worst fat…. Your waist circumference and your percentage of body fat are very active in secreting enzymes that go on to cause these problems.”

Rats. Most of my body fat is located right there.

Or – and here’s the good news – it was. I still have a long way to go, but as of a few days ago, I had lost 41 pounds. I’ve run out of holes on a belt that I could not even use six months ago. I had to wear a tux and a fancy shirt to sing in a choral concert last Saturday and – well, let’s just say I could have shared them with the guy next to me, and it’s a good thing they put the bass singers in the back row.

So while my body fat is not down to the levels I – and Dr. Mike – are aiming for, I am taking significant steps away from the toxic dangers outlined in this column.

And speaking of steps – at the advice of Zach Weston, I have been mixing up my exercise routine, and I am amazed at how much I can now do without keeling over. Let me brag for a moment – last night, I did ten sets of 15 exercises on the TRX, interspersed with 440 steps on our stairs, and some work with light weights.

I know plenty of people who can do much more than that, and I applaud you. But in my case, one tenth of that activity would have left me prostrate, six months ago. Now, it leaves me sweating, smiling and feeling pretty damned good about myself.