My name is John and I am the co-founder of MyBodySite.com.

This is my latest progress report:

Today is October 6, 2008.   On September 7th, 2008, I ran my first sprint triathlon and finished 4th out of 19 first-timers.  For the three months that I trained for that race, I did very little weight training and lost muscle mass.  I also gained some fat as a result.  My current goal is to build from my current weight of 180 pounds to 190 pounds by January 1st 2009, and then to cut back to 180 pounds at a much lower body fat by April 1st, 2009.

My Diet:  As of today, I am switching my diet to a very clean, whole foods diet Monday through Saturday and leaving only Sunday for any cheat meals that involve pasta, bread or dessert of any kind.  I have also modified alcohol to weekends only, red wine only and only one or two glasses of wine only.  My food intake is 6 times a day:

Meal 1:  6:00 a.m. - Protein shake (2 scoops or 36 gms protein + 6 grams carbs + 1 banana)

Meal 2:  9:00 a.m. - Post workout.  7 egg whites, 2 yolks, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 cup coffee with milk, 1 banana (or cup strawberries or blueberries), 1 slice toast with jelly (only fast carb of the day)

Meal 3:  12:30 p.m. -Lunch - 4-6 oz. grilled chicken, fish or beef, 1 cup green vegetables, 1 yam or 1 cup of brown rice or 1 bowl of oatmeal (oatmeal is my fall back if I can"t get a yam or rice but I want to avoid the bread).

Meal 4:  3:00 p.m. - Snack - Protein shake (2 scoops or 36 grams protein, 6 grams carbs)

Meal 5:  6:00 p.m. - Dinner - same as lunch

Meal 6:  9:00 p.m. - Snack -  Protein shake (2 scoops or 36 grams protein, 6 grams carbs)

My Workout:  I am back to a muscle building workout split.  

Monday:       Chest and Triceps

Tuesday:      Back and Biceps + Abs

Wednesday:  All leg muscles  

Thursday:     Bike 6-9 miles + Abs

Friday:        Delts, Traps Upper Back

Saturday:     Run 2-4 miles + Abs

Sunday:       Eat pasta and rest :)

All of my weight workouts for the next 8 weeks will be with multiple sets of each body part with repetitions of 8-16 to complete failure on every set.    My goal is to be sore after every workout and to feed the muscle I break down, with  

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Previous Report:

In 2007, I turned 40. I thought that was a pretty good reason to make my body as strong, hard and cut as it has ever been in my life. It was also part of my inspiration for launching MyBodySite.com, a site that by the end of 2009 will be one of the world"s most visited and used websites.  Our platform will be a household name and our philosophy for overall health and lifestyle will help 10s of millions of people within the next decade.  Put on your seatbelt!

As to my own situation - I am not a professional bodybuilder. I am not a personal trainer. I am not a nutritionist. I just want to be in better shape than I was last year and I want to be a strong, healthy role model for my kids, and for the rest of my life.

Over the past decade, I have found myself repeatedly (and happily) giving out advice about workout and my diet, even when I was far from in shape myself. Although I admit I"m not an expert, I have loved lifting weights since I was a teenager and I have a passion for helping other people to help themselves.

People who are fat, out of shape, weak or unhealthy don"t want to be that way or stay that way.  One thing I have learned is that most people do not have a passion for fitness and nutrition. As a result, they struggle with bad choices every day. Part of the blame lies with the media and the concept of "diet". Ironically, blame also lies with the same people who preach "fitness" in the form of exercise equipment that will never work and supplements that are not helpful to anyone except the people who are already razor fit and getting ready to take the stage in a fitness competition.

MyBodySite.com is my attempt to create a place where millions of men and women, together, can share their collective wisdom in order to rise above the maze of bad information, false claims and misconceptions about diet that have been sold to us all of our lives. You don"t want to be fat or out of shape or weak. And you don"t have to be.

Join us on our journey here at MyBodySite.com and stick to it. You won"t be fat for long.

Here"s a little bit about me. In 2001, I moved to Florida. Before that, I had a lot of stress in my life and gave in to what I call "the Wendy"s diet."  You"ve been on it at some point, or maybe you still are.  It"s also the "oh, I have no time, my kids are in little league and I don"t like to cook" diet.  Soda, french fries, chips, sandwiches with extra mayo, bacon.

Because I have a fast metabolism, I didn"t gain much weight but all of the weight I had, moved from my chest, arms and shoulders to my stomach. The end result for me was that by age 34, I had a weak, flabby physique (and back pain). I was sick of it. I trained with a trainer for over a year and tried to focus on what I ate because building muscle (any muscle) is very difficult for me. At 40, I felt better than I had my whole life and I"m now looking to add 10-15 pounds more lean muscle in the next few years.