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He’s not the man he once was. To be more precise, he is two-thirds his former self. Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre has shed 85 pounds since turning 55 last July.

Coderre has been on a no-nonsense food regimen and has backed that up with boxing and cycling. In Spandex top and shorts, Coderre was pedaling feverishly at times on an exercise bike in the lobby of the Jewish General Hospital. He was participating in a World Cancer Day event, a prelude to the hospital’s Ride to Conquer Cancer in July, in which Coderre has pledged to cycle the entire 200-kilometre course.

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No surprise that Coderre, an ambassador for the Jewish General Hospital Foundation, can talk — plenty — while stationary cycling. Perhaps more surprisingly and a tribute to his current conditioning, he was never short of breath.

It reached a point where I didn’t think I could have gotten into one of Youppi’s suits

“It reached a point where I didn’t think I could have gotten into one of Youppi’s suits,” Coderre cracked. “I was exhausted just tying my shoes, so I knew I had to take some radical action through a protein diet and boxing.”