I note this argument, but I ran most of a six mile rim trail last night and the “3,143” calories lost on the day belies the true effect. Don’t be deluded by a calorie count. Frankly, it’s a matter of life or death that manifests the true benefit of running. Your whole physiological presence is altered by the event. I am a 60-year-old heart attack survivor with 5-stents. I am 80–90% clogged, or was two-three years ago. I don’t know now. But, the point is, I am told I look 45 and I have some of the most cut legs. My desire to run and what may appear to you as extreme was the result of a progressive regimen that naturally arose from about two weeks of thinking I was going to die stopping and starting on a short asphalt trail at a rural reservoir because I was out of shape to an eventual desire to run and still stop whenever I want on a dirt trail that is along the rim of the hills surrounding that reservoir. Otherwise, I run about 3.7 miles in my neighborhood, up one fairly steep hill, which takes about 41 minutes. We have to stop making excuses. The point is you have to get in shape. A calorie count is irrelevant. I am lean and mean and it doesn’t take much. Stop making excuses. Your science is not experiential. It is told from the seat of a Lazy Boy. Talk to me after you make an effort.

That’s me on the left.