For years I’ve known that sitting down all day in front of a computer is one of the worst things I could do for my health. And I’m supposed to be a health and wellness writer, so who was I kidding?

All day long I help OTHER people get well but I was ruining my health in the process. It used to be that I’d work all day and then go play basketball or go for a walk. But moving to suburbia from the city and recent injuries put an end to those. At the end of a day recently, I’d be too tired to do anything but sit in front of the TV – more sitting and more energy drain.

Then at night, I couldn’t sleep because of all the things I didn’t resolve during the day and because my body wasn’t tired – I hadn’t really done any work!

Slowly, as my energy drained away, I’d find myself sitting at my desk in the morning with barely enough mental energy to keep my eyes open. Anything that required a re-thinking or a new idea was an irritation – I just didn’t have the juice. Was I just getting old? Was that it? Were the lights going out?

My knees began to hurt because the muscles supporting my knees were getting weaker. My stomach was getting soft and my back was also hurting because the stomach muscles that supported it weren’t doing their job anymore.

Then in one simple, liberating flash, I knew the solution to my dilemma – I would stand up at my desk. I would do my work standing up. As I write to you now, I am standing in complete comfort with my stomach tighter, my knees stronger and my back pain gone. I’ve even lost several pounds. I don’t know how many but I can see in the mirror the tops of the stomach muscles that had disappeared months ago under a layer of fat.

Best of all, my energy and mental clarity have improved to the point where I can easily spend eight full hours in deep concentration and still have juice for a night of fun with friends or conversation at home.

It’s all because of my little invention – a stand up desk. And I built it for less than $10. Let me show you how.

See this video.