[John M Berardi]

Finalist #6
Male Over 40 Category

A few years back, it was the end of the workday and I wasn’t feeling too well. Felt dizzy, groggy and with a pounding headache. I managed to make it to my car and slept in it for about 30 minutes.

When I woke up, I drove home. And as soon as I walked in, I dropped my briefcase and then dropped in the hallway. Slept for a couple of hours and once I woke up, I was fine.

This wasn’t the first time I felt like this and I was getting annoyed. An appointment was made with the doctor who looked me over and couldn’t figure it out. Then he says: “Well if it happens again, come and see me!”

In my mind I’m thinking “WTF? NO! I don’t want this to happen again, I want to prevent it.”

And off I go on this path to wellness. Yes it has been a long trip with plenty of trials and tribulations. In the long run, I’ve figured out how certain foods were affecting me and what I should eat and avoid. Since my early twenties, exercise has been a part of my life but has not been a consistent endeavor as I used to let certain events interfere with my fitness.

Then I stumbled upon Dr. John Berardi through T-Nation. It took a while before I ordered PN. But once I decided to purchase it (more than a year ago), it seemed so easy to follow the rules. I decided that I would gradually incorporate those ideas into my life and see how I progress.

So my biggest body transformation did not start this past July but instead started July 2006.

I made tremendous progress, however, once I started incorporating HIT routines during these last few months.

Yvon Before The PN Challenge


Yvon Before the PN Challenge

What also helped was the fact that I surrounded myself with intense but fun individuals. Whether it’s my colleagues from work or my new training partner Steph from back home, these people pushed me and vice versa.

The most important transformation however has not been my body but my mind. I used to think that if everything would be perfect in my life, I would be able to build the best body I’ve ever had.

That perfect day will never come and if I wait for that day, I will never progress. And it doesn’t matter what life throws at us. We all go through it. These life challenges could be about death, separations, and divorces, failed businesses or any other issues. We still have to move forward no matter what.

To have improved so much during these last few months considering my obstacles is simply a testament to that new mindset. I’m now looking forward to my continuing improvement during these next few years.

C’est pas beautiful ça?

Yvon After The PN Challenge


Yvon After The PN Challenge

In the last few weeks, I’ve had more questions about my routines and food than ever before. Granted not everybody will want to do what I do - but most are still interested in participating and I do feel the best way to help people is to show them what I do for myself.

People do not want to be preached to - but if by observing my behavior, they can learn something - then great!

To this end, I can’t say enough about how PN has shaped my way of thinking and eating.

It has helped me realize that I need to include more variety in my food selection.

I’ve been eating more fish than ever and including a wide variety of produce whereas before, I kept with the basic foods such as chicken, a few veggies and a couple of fruits.

Today my diet is more varied and fulfilling and having a basic set of rules simplifies my cooking.

Editor's Note:
During the course of the PN Challenge, Yvon dropped his body weight from 202lbs to 188lbs. According to his skinfold measures, he dropped 5% body fat during the challenge, with about 11lbs coming from fat and only 3 coming from lean mass.