Search
Saturday, November 22, 2008 ..::  ::.. Register  Login

I was a 42 Year Old, Fat, Physical Mess...

then I Lost Over 40 Pounds of Fat,

Gained 10 Pounds of Muscle and

Decreased My Body Fat by more than 18%!!!

 

Dear Friend,

 

Hi, my name is John Bartlett. I'm 42 years old, and until recently, I was a fat, physical mess. Actually, when my wife took my "before" pictures and I looked at them for the first time I was devastated.

 

May 16, 2005 - Before

May 16, 2005 - Before

May 16, 2005 - Before

July - After

July - After

July 31, 2005 - After

 

The person in the pictures couldn't possibly be me. But it was! At 5'8" my body weight had climbed as high as 240lbs. After having my tonsils removed I started to lose weight but mainly because I was having problems eating. I was obese and struggling to get the excess weight off.

 

Me at 240 lbs Me with Dennis Green

 

I had some real motivations for losing weight...

 

First, my wife and I were preparing to adopt a baby from Kazakhstan and I wanted to be able to run around and participate in all the activities our son would be involved in. Up until now I would start to wheeze just from walking the dog around the block. In addition, my blood pressure was very high and the medication was not controlling it.

 

I wanted to be around for my son and see him grow up. I didn't want to die of heart disease and leave my wife alone with a child to raise. I wanted to be active and enjoying life with my expanding family. Besides, what kind of role model would I be as an obese parent?

 

If all this wasn't enough incentive my father had recently died of a heart attack. His death was caused, in great part, to waiting until his 60's to get serious about his health. When he was 60, doctor's orders forced him to begin eating right and working out regularly. But by then it was too late. He died of a heart attack, just 5 days after his 65th birthday.

 

Then came the straw that broke the camels back...

 

For years I had been taking medication for high blood pressure. I thought I was doing fine, but during a recent check up the doctor told me my blood pressure was 180 over ... Well, I don't quite remember the bottom number because the top number completely shocked me. I was scared to death! All I could think of was ending up like my dad. I was following along in his footsteps and I needed to make some serious changes and fast.

 

My quest to lose weight...

 

I became obsessed with fitness and started reading everything and anything on the subject. I searched the internet for the best methods to lose weight and tried many of them. Some I ruled out because they were just plain crap! During my many months of research I came across Tom Venuto's ebook "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle." Actually, I came across his book many times but I just couldn't bring myself to spending another $40. Heck, for $40 I should get an actual book - and a hardcover one at that. So I continued my research without Tom's help.

 

Over many months of research I came to many conclusions...

 

First, listening to professional bodybuilders, who took steroids, would be a mistake. How could I relate to someone with the advantage of powerful drugs? After all, I wanted to get healthy, not become a steroid addict. Also, most professional bodybuilders have far superior genetics than I do. Most are naturally lean and muscular. I am naturally fat.

 

I also discovered that most professionals are sponsored by nutritional companies and are paid handsomely to promote their nutritional products. I've taken all the so-called fat burners and miracle pills and never noticed much of a change.

 

What I needed was a mentor...

 

Someone who was like me. Someone who had trouble losing fat. Someone who didn't rely on drugs. And, someone who achieved his goals even though the cards were stacked against him. I needed this mentor to help reassure me that it was actually possible to lose weight, even though I had a slow metabolism and a tendency to retain fat.

 

Over time I learned more about Tom Venuto. I learned he was like me...just a normal guy who learned the true way to real fat loss. Even after purchasing his e-book I didn't read it right away. But when I did, I knew I had found my mentor! His book took all the research I had done and combined it into and easy-to-read and very comprehensive manual.

 

I made the changes and the fat just melted off..

 

After reading his book I made the changes Tom recommended and once I made these changes I noticed results almost immediately. The fat began melting off and I even gained some extra muscle.

 

May 16, 2005 - Before

Week 4

Week 6

After - Week 11

May 16, 2005 - Before

Week 4

Week 6

July 31, 2005 - After

 

It's worth your time to learn more...

 

As you can see from the pictures above my body has undergone a radical change. During my transformation I documented everything. I wrote down everything I ate, all my workouts, and everything I learned as I was going through the transformation process.

 

Now I want to help everyone that wants to achieve the same results! That is why I developed this site. It is your FREE resource to help you get the most out your weight loss program. Join me each day and you'll learn exactly what I eat, how I train, and everything new I learn about improving my level of fitness. You can also join the forums and chat with me and others and get support and encouragement as you transform your own body. And, best of all, access to my site is completely FREE!

 

Now, I'll be the first to admit that my results are not typical. Actually, they are far beyond average and, although you WILL get fantastic results, I don't guarantee that you will get the same results in the same amount of time.

 

So, no matter if you are looking to develop a bodybuilder physique, just get in better shape, or like me need immediate help for some serious health problems, it is worth the time to learn more. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Join me today and together we will make 2006 the best year ever!

 

Sincerely,

John Bartlett

 

P.S. Click here to access my online training journal now! You will learn first hand what I do everyday to stay in shape.

 

P.P.S. Click here to get Tom's instant downloadable ebook "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle". You will be glad you did.

 

 

Bodybuilding.com_Logo_12x60

WWW.BARTER.NET

 Summary Minimize
Location: BlogsPreparing For The MuscleTech R&D World Bodybuilding Championships    
Posted by: John Bartlett 11/15/2006 1:54 PM

Previous      Next

"You can be as you choose to be. It's an act of discipline sometimes, but it can be done." ~Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard

Weekend Recap:

I arrived at my hotel at around 3:00 AM Friday morning. I got a few restless hours of sleep and then headed for Central Park for a photo shoot. We shot for about an hour. I put a few of the photos on my photos page near the bottom (http://www.shreddedmuscle.com/web/Photos/tabid/73/Default.aspx). After the shoot, I headed over to Tom Venuto's and we spent a couple hours talking about bodybuilding.

All day, Friday, I kept my water intake to a minimum and stayed away from foods containing sodium. I had a couple of glasses of wine Friday night and went to bed early. The wine didn't help me sleep though. I woke up around 1:00 AM for the day. I was pretty tired for the contest but that had no impact on the results.

I got to the contest early and everything was in disarray. I missed most of the pro open classes because I was in the basement waiting in line for my polygraph test. By the time I finally got polygraphed, it was time to get ready for the stage. Once backstage, I got my first glimpse at my competition. I competed in the Masters class - and there was only one. 17 competitors in one enormous class. So there were people my height carrying 30 more pounds of muscle than I was. The competition was incredible. I'll quote what Tom Venuto said when he saw the competition at the show. He said "It was a freakishly competitive show -- I don't think I have ever seen this level of competition in a natural show before --- ever".

To make an already long story a bit shorter, I didn't make the top 5. That was my goal - to make the top 5. But in hindsight, my goal was flawed. Aiming for the top 5 was a mistake to begin with. I shouldn't ever aim for anything but first place. Most of the time I won't make it but maybe by aiming as high as possible, I'll show up at my best. I'm not saying I was out of shape but I wasn't at my best. I could have been leaner. And maybe I would have if I was aiming for the top.

I don't know how I placed because I left before the night show. All I knew is that I didn't make the top 5. Only the top 5 in each division would be performing their routines in the night show. So that left 12 of us that didn't make the cut. I was planning to stay at my mothers house in Massachusetts (a 4 hour drive) so I decided to get there a bit earlier and skip out on the night show.

Below are a few contest photos taken by Tom Venuto:

My Class

Front Lat Spread

   
Hands on Hips Most Muscular  
 

Top 3 in Class

   
  Left Side

I also did a second photo shoot with a different photographer in Massachusetts on Sunday. As soon as I received those photos, I'll post them as well.

After Sunday's photo shoot, it was time to eat. I should have taken a photo of the spread of food I ate. I ordered 2 meals; a big plate of moussaka and a shepherd's pie. I ate every bite and was stuffed. Then I went back to my mother's house where she and I went out to dinner. I ordered 2 meals again; lobster and a Mexican dish. I was so full, I was in pain. I could feel my stomach stretching. But that didn't stop me. I went to a local grocery store to buy some lactase (I'm lactose intolerant) and then headed back to my mother's house for some ice cream. I kept the feast going throughout the next day by starting out with donuts, hitting McDonalds twice and devouring an entire pizza. But by the time I woke up Tuesday morning, I was back on a clean diet again. All that eating is all I needed to kill any craving I might have in the near future. It's time to grow some new muscle now.

I hit the gym both Monday and today (Wednesday). I was still really tired for Monday's workout but today's workout was incredible. I got an awesome pump and felt pretty strong. But that's a story for my next journal as I spend the next 10 weeks gaining lean muscle mass.

In summary, I managed to come to this show carrying more muscle mass than my last show and being almost as lean. So I've been making constant gains. As I mentioned above, I plan to spend the next 10 weeks gaining muscle mass before getting shredded for an early spring contest. I'll start a new journal later today for that very purpose.

Until next time, train hard, eat right and get Shredded!

   

Previous      Next

Copyright ©2006 Shredded Muscle, LLC
Permalink |  Trackback

Comments (2)  
Re: Summary    By wyckofr on 11/15/2006 3:14 PM
Hey John, Sounds like an awesome and exhausting experience. I hope you had a good time. So proud of ya. The after competition feast sounded even more awesome haha. Hope the next 10 weeks of training go well for ya! I've decided the next 12 weeks are gonna be a strict fat loss routine for me. Gotta new focus and am ready to beat this obesity! Congrats again on all your accomplishments.

Re: Summary    By ogordodesagre on 11/17/2006 5:55 AM
I think those judges need glasses!!!, you look realy great, but work goes on and you have to start prepearing for youre next show wright?
Now i need a little help, not for me but for a friend of my at the gym, this guy is all but natural, he doesn't confess what stuff he took but i think is now paying the price for all the garbage they take just to get big in a short amont of time (you know what i meen), he said he went on a routine blood sample, all the values were normal except CK (Creatinoquinase) values, he is about 900!!! i asked if he lost srentght or any other simptom, but is says that every thing is normal, can you explain why do you think he as these values?


  

 Blogs Minimize

  

Copyright 2006 Shredded Muscle, LLC   Terms Of Use  Privacy Statement
Portal engine source code is copyright 2002-2008 by DotNetNuke. All Rights Reserved