It's no secret that my family means the world to me. I have a beautiful wife and a young son who are an unending source of joy in my life. Nothing I've done in this life is as rewarding or as meaningful to me as being a dad. My wife, my son, and I make our home in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland.

I grew up the oldest of six children in central New Jersey. My sister and my four brothers are many things to me: friends, support network, drinking buddies, and the ties that bind me to home.

My other great passion in life is music; vocal music, to be exact. Since the age of 16, I have been a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society, the world's largest all-male singing organization. Barbershop is a uniquely American musical art form, in which four voices (or groups of voices) combine in close harmony to create an expanded sound that is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

I have been a barbershop chorus director since the age of 21. I currently am the front line music director of the Sons of the Severn chorus in Annapolis, Maryland. Before moving to Maryland in 2005, I was the director of the SomerTones chorus in Somerville, NJ, the town of my birth.

In addition to being a director, I am also a singer, composer, and arranger of vocal music. I sing the baritone part in a quartet called Limelight. I have a growing catalogue of vocal arrangements that spans over 400 years of popular music, and I've written a few original songs, as well.

Anyway, it's really hard to explain the whole barbershop harmony phenomenon in writing. You really have to experience it for yourself. Go to www.barbershop.org to find a show or a chapter meeting near you. And let them know I sent you.

Ever since I can remember, sports have been a part of my life. I got my first set of golf clubs from my grandmother (who was a scratch golfer) when I was a toddler. As a boy, I played recreation soccer and Little League baseball. I continued to play baseball until after I graduated high school, playing one season of semi-professional ball in two adult leagues in New Jersey. I've also played competitive beach volleyball, and dabbled a bit in Ultimate (Frisbee), cycling, and running.

In spite of all this activity, I struggled with my weight for the better part of 20 years. I'm 5' 11" tall, and in my mid-20s, I tipped the scales at over 250 lbs. I got into running while my wife was pregnant with our son, and I lost about 25 lbs. during those nine months. However, once the pressures of having an infant took hold, I stopped running, and the pounds came back.

In December of 2010, with my weight once again approaching 250 lbs., I stumbled upon a website that changed my life for good. Fitness blogger and former endurance athlete Mark Sisson developed a plan called the Primal Blueprint, which adapts paleolithic, hunter/gatherer nutrition and fitness principles to the modern lifestyle.

By following the principles set forth in the Primal Blueprint, I was able to lose 75 lbs. and take eight inches off my waist...in six months. At age 33, I'm in the best shape of my life. I weigh less and have a smaller waist than I did in high school, and I have more functional strength and athletic prowess than ever before. I still have some work to do, but it's all about the journey, and I'll be walking this road the rest of my life.

The best part is, it cost me nothing; not one cent. No pills, no books, no jugs of protein powder, no home gym equipment, no bull. Just common sense (I like common sense). If you want to look and feel better, visit www.marksdailyapple.com and explore your Primal side.