Mark Sisson's Blog, page 197
January 9, 2017
Contest: Make a Primal Blueprint Recipe Video
I announced this contest last week to give you a little extra time to work on it. And I’m publishing it again today just in case you missed it in last week’s post.
Per annual tradition, once again it’s time to make some delicious Primal dishes.
US Wellness has long been a favorite meat spot for MDA readers. A few years ago they donated pemmican and the popular 5-gallon bucket of fat. The last several years they’ve gone whole hog. And by hog, I mean cow. And they’re doing it again this year. US Wellness has generously offered up a cow to the winners of this contest.
And I’m not just talking about a bucket of chuck. The winners will receive sirloin, brisket, short ribs, back ribs, rib-eye steaks, T-bone steaks, NY strip steaks, Delmonico steaks, filets, bottom round roasts, center cut roasts, chuck, tongue, liver, heart, kidney, beef tallow, marrow bones, beef stock, and an oxtail. Heart and tongue not your thing? No worries. This year’s winners will get to choose exactly what they want as they’ll be receiving $1500 worth of US Wellness gift certificates they can use to order hundreds of pounds of their preferred bovine cuts – all grass fed, grass finished. Check out this Grass Fed Goodness video where you can watch your prize/meal grazing around in sweet Missouri pastures.
The Contest:
Create and upload a 15 second to 1 minute long Primal recipe video to Instagram. Have you mastered the omelet? Are you an organ meat fiend? Maybe your salad is so mean, it can win a chili cookoff. If so, let the world in on your secrets. Grab your smartphone, and show us how to make something Primal. In previous years, we’ve asked you to upload and record your Primal recipes to YouTube, but this was such a hit last year, we’re doing it again! Creativity is key, because Instagram videos are limited to 1 minute. Just make sure your video relates in some way to the Primal Blueprint eating plan. Show the world (how to prepare) your best Primal dish and you could be the winner of a whole bunch of meat. For ideas on what you can do, check out these clever Instagram chefs:
A video posted by Leslie Klenke (@leslieklenke) on Jul 23, 2013 at 4:20pm PDT
A video posted by Anna Jones (@we_are_food) on Jul 15, 2015 at 1:06pm PDT
A video posted by @barnappetit on Jul 28, 2015 at 7:31am PDT
A video posted by Leslie Klenke (@leslieklenke) on Aug 13, 2013 at 5:37pm PDT
The Contest Details:
Follow the following Instagram accounts: MarksDailyApple, USWellnessMeats, PrimalKitchenFoods, ThePrimalBlueprint, and PrimalPublish.
Upload your video to Instagram with the title of your recipe, list of ingredients and instructions, followed by #1MinPrimal. Then finally, tag @MarksDailyApple in your post.
*Note: If your Instagram account is listed as private, your video will not show up in the public feed. For a workaround, shoot MarksDailyApple a direct message on Instagram and we’ll follow your account.
The Deadline: Sunday, January 22, midnight PST.
Who is Eligible:
This one is global, but keep in mind that the US Wellness gift certificates are not available to residents outside the U.S. In the event of a non-U.S. team winning, a prize of equal value will be given as substitute.
How A Winner Will Be Decided:
Select video submissions will be reviewed and posted toward the end of the Challenge. The Worker Bees and I will choose a list of finalists to be voted on by readers.
Fine Print:
MDA reserves the right to publish any videos submitted.
We ask that any videos submitted to this contest remain live on Instagram after the challenge for future visitors to Mark’s Daily Apple to enjoy.
Good luck, everyone. Can’t wait to see the amazing videos you put together. Grok on!
The post Contest: Make a Primal Blueprint Recipe Video appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.
The 2017 Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge Begins Now
If you want to lose weight, gain muscle, reduce stress, increase energy or just generally look and feel healthier you’ve come to the right place. Oh, and you can win lots of cool Primal gear, too. That’s right, it’s the annual Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge!
Before we get to all the details, let’s kick things off with a simple contest. Click on over to this page and register for the free Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge in the Vimify app. That’s it! I’ll explain more about the app below, but rest assured that you’ll be entered to win a $100 gift certificate to PrimalBlueprint.com if you register for free.
This contest ends at 8 pm PST tonight, January 9. A winner will be selected at random and everyone around the world is eligible, including people that registered before today.
Now, on to the challenge details…
What Is the 21-Day Challenge?
What’s the challenge? To get Primal, of course! Click here to view the full version of a nifty graphic that summarizes the 21-Day Challenge. (I encourage any bloggers out there to share this infographic using the html I’ve included below it.) Additionally, you can dig deeper into each section of the infographic by visiting this more detailed Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge page.
In brief, this is the Challenge. Do it for just 21 days and the results will speak for themselves.
Eat real food.
Avoid sugar, grains, and unhealthy fats.
Align your carb intake with your weight goals and activity levels.
Move frequently at a slow pace: Get between 2-5 hours per week of moderate aerobic exercise.
Lift heavy things: Conduct 1-3 brief, intense sessions of full-body functional movements.
Sprint: Go “all out” once a week.
Get 8 hours of sleep every night.
Get 15 minutes of direct sun exposure each day.
Play! Find time to let go, disconnect, unwind and have fun each day.
No sign-up required. Anyone can participate. Just commit to the challenge, and check back every day for motivation and guidance. Articles over the next two weeks will be about taking steps to align your lifestyle with the Primal Blueprint. The third and final week of the challenge will be mostly comprised of reader-created content. That’s right, MDA readers (you!) will be running the show.
Above and beyond the challenge as outlined above, I encourage you to make your own personal challenges. Whether it’s eliminating or adding a certain food to your diet, losing weight, going barefoot more often, getting better sleep, or anything else, customize your goals to fit your needs and commit to 21 days starting now.
Who Is the 21-Day Challenge For?
I hold this 21-Day Challenge every year to encourage Primal beginners to give this way of eating, moving and living a try because I know it works, I know how empowering it is, and I know it changes lives.
I also do it to motivate those that have been dabbling with the Primal lifestyle for a while, but haven’t fully committed or still have some room for improvement (myself included!), to go all in and resolve to finally take control of their health.
There’s something here for Primal veterans, too. It’s a good idea to revisit the basics from time to time. And hey, the chance to win free stuff isn’t half bad either.
Why 21 Days?
After many years of training clients and interacting with hundreds of thousands of Mark’s Daily Apple readers, my team and I have found that 21 days is the sweet spot for eliminating old habits and replacing them with new ones. It’s long enough to make legitimate progress toward reversing years of adverse lifestyle habits, long enough for most people to get past the low carb flu (if you experience it at all), and long enough to give the Primal Blueprint a fair shake, but not so long as to be seen as a daunting undertaking. In other words, anyone, including you, can give this a go for three measly weeks, and in that time you are bound to see results. If you have weight to lose, it’s reasonable to expect a reduction of three to seven pounds of excess body fat during this period, and to continue at that rate safely until you reach your ideal body composition.
I’m confident that you can transform your life in just 21 days with the Primal Blueprint. But I also know that people want to maximize their chances of success. To help you on that path, I’m offering two helpful tools:
The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge App
I told you all about the app last week. Once again, we’ve partnered with Vimify to bring you a free Primal Blueprint 21-Day Transformation App Challenge for your desktop computer or Apple iOS device. As you move through the Challenge, the app will be updated to reflect the day’s contests, your progress, and the progress of your friends. With the app, you’ll join a community of like-minded individuals working toward common goals. Compare, contrast, compete, encourage, and gently rib each other as you work through the contests and smash your stated goals.
If you haven’t downloaded it, you’ve missed the preparatory tasks. But no worries. They’re really straightforward, and you can do them now so you’re ready for the Challenge:
Purge your pantry of all non-Primal foods and restock it with Primal fare. Take an hour out of your day to toss (or re-home) all the junk, grains, sugar, and vegetable oils in your pantry and hit the local grocery store or farmer’s market to stock up on meat, plants, nuts, and good fats.
Do a Primal Essential Movement assessment. Determining your level of physical fitness won’t take longer than twenty, thirty minutes, and it will give you a good idea of where you stand physically. (Check out Primal Blueprint Fitness for the detailed assessment.)
Invite friends to join you in the Challenge. Time’s a wasting for this one. Get your friends involved. Send them the link to this blog post. Suggest that they download the free app. The strength of this app lies in the community you build, the accountability it promotes, and the healthy competition it provides. You need people to get those benefits.
Today is the last day you can download the app for free and participate in this round of the app challenge. Although it isn’t necessary to join the Challenge, it does enhance the experience. You have until 11:59 this evening (PST) to download it, so get on it.
There’s another tool, too:
The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Transformation Program
Or rather, three tools. The three 21-Day Transformation Program packages are made to simplify and streamline Primal living. They eliminate guesswork and give you everything you need to hit the ground running down the path toward success in the Challenge. And once the Challenge is over, the Transformation packages increase your ability to stay the course and make this a permanent lifestyle change. You’ve got:
The Digital Package. Receive immediate access to digital versions of the 21-Day Total Body Transformation (the official book of the Challenge that perfectly distills the essential aspects of the Primal Blueprint and shows you how to integrate them), plus an audiobook version (if you prefer to listen). You’ll also get digital versions of Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals, the Primal Blueprint Poster (a graphic guide to the lifestyle), the Primal Blueprint Shopping List (a complete list of all Primal-approved foods), and an in-depth 90-minute video of me covering all the major elements of the Primal Blueprint lifestyle. You’ll also receive daily email encouragement for the duration of the Challenge, plus instant access to the app.
The Fuel Package. Receive all of the above, plus physical versions of the book, the cookbook, the poster, and the shopping list shipped directly to your door. You’ll also get a bag of Primal Fuel, a Primal Fuel recipe book, and a Primal Fuel blender bottle. This is the best value of the three packages.
The Essentials Package has everything from the Fuel Package PLUS bottles of Vital Omegas (my high-quality omega-3 fish oil), Primal Calm (my herbal stress-fighting blend), and Vitamin D (because sun is scarce this time of year). If you have been wondering how the supplements fit into the lifestyle, this is the perfect opportunity to give them a try and see how they work for you.
Of course, these aren’t necessary to succeed or even partake in the Challenge, but they do make things easier and your success more certain. Choose your Transformation Package today to enhance this year’s challenge, and for added guidance and direction.
The 21-Day Challenge Contests
The main challenge itself isn’t competitive, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some friendly contests along they way!
Over the course of the next three weeks Mark’s Daily Apple and sponsors will be giving away thousands of dollars in prizes.
Here are some rules and answers to FAQ:
There will be new contests on Mark’s Daily Apple most days for the first two weeks of the 21-Day Challenge, so check back daily!
All contest prizes relate in some way to the Primal lifestyle. You won’t find any miracle weight loss pills, tummy crunching sling-a-ma-doo-dads, or whole wheat health blast jazzer snackers.
Some contests will require a bit of leg work while others will require something as simple as commenting on a blog post.
There is no limit to how many contests you can participate in.
The duration of any one contest depends on the nature of the contest.
Some will last a couple weeks (to give you time to complete the contest task) while others will be as short as one day. All deadlines are Pacific Standard Time.
Contest prizes will be awarded either by a random drawing, by reader voting/polling or by an executive decision (who I think should win!).
Some prizes will only be available to United States residents. If you live outside the U.S. and win a prize that can’t be shipped internationally an alternate prize of equal value will be awarded.
I’m not being paid by any company for being featured in a 21-Day Challenge contest.
To track all the contests visit the Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge Contest Page for daily updates.
New to the Primal Blueprint and Mark’s Daily Apple?
If you are new to the Primal Blueprint and Mark’s Daily Apple and don’t know where to begin, here are some resources to get you started:
1. Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge page – On this page you’ll be introduced to the basics of the Primal Blueprint and can follow numerous links to learn more.
2. The Forum – I highly encourage you to use the forum during the challenge. In it you can start a “Primal Challenge Journal” to publicly state your goals and track your progress. Create a journal to receive positive feedback, advice and help along the way from the Mark’s Daily Apple community.
3. The Books – I’d especially recommend The New Primal Blueprint book if you haven’t picked it up already. With loads of updated information, graphics and details, it’s a comprehensive, go-to source for Primal living.
4. What to eat? – Check out the Primal Blueprint Recipes on MDA and our cookbooks as well as the suggestions in the 21-Day Total Body Transformation book.
5. The Newsletter – Sign up on this page to get several free ebooks, a 7-day course on the fundamentals of lifelong health, and more.
6. Have a question? – Contact Me
Tell your friends and family about the challenge so they can get Primal too!
Best wishes and good luck on your first day of the Challenge. Check back tomorrow for a new contest and an article on going into the Challenge with the right frame of mind. Grok on!
The post The 2017 Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge Begins Now appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.
January 8, 2017
Weekend Link Love – Edition 434
RESEARCH OF THE WEEKThe ApoE4 gene dramatically increases risk of Alzheimer’s—unless you carry parasites, in which case it protects against cognitive decline.
Skipping breakfast leads to less weight and fat gain than eating breakfast, at least if the breakfast consists of sugary cereal.
Diet soda doesn’t really seem to help people lose weight.
Statins aren’t so good for physical fitness.
Ketones may help against inflammatory skin diseases.
What have we done with all that leisure time technology has afforded us? Watched more TV.
Consciousness may emerge from entropy.
NEW PRIMAL BLUEPRINT PODCASTS
Episode 150: Adam and Vanessa Lambert: Power couple Adam and Vanessa talk about their unique perspective on fitness (and, indeed, life) coaching and unveil the exciting retreats they have planned.
Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.
The Power of a Kick-Off Plan: What Elimination Programs, Total Resets, and Community Challenges Can Do For You
What Will 2017 Mean For Your Life?
Interesting Blog Posts
When it comes to controlling the amount of food we eat, quality trumps quantity.
We just keep on lying to diabetics. Why?
Media, Schmedia
Move over, weed. Sugar could be the most popular drug.
Medical studies rarely report adverse effects, even when they occur.
Everything Else
Shopping for a hedge fund manager? Pick one who drives an Odyssey, not a Corvette.
A newborn’s sleep patterns, visualized.
Americans are eating an ungodly amount of Jack in the Box tacos.
Watch a cute baby worm embryo split cells in real time.
Things I’m Up to and Interested In
Ranking that sadly doesn’t surprise me: Dietitians rank Whole 30 dead last.
Study that I just don’t get: Oh, corn oil is totally healthier than EVOO, guys.
Video I’m sending to my peers who complain about every ache, pain, and physical limitation: 67 year-old Ric Flair (yeah, that Ric Flair) deadlifting 400 pounds.
Thing I’m wondering: Can you power wash a lung?
Advice I’m passing along: Be happy with what you have (or else).
Recipe Corner
Butternut squash apple leek gratin just leaks flavor.
Mark likes his cauliflower spicy (reference).
Time Capsule
One year ago (Jan 8 – Jan 14)
8 Kitchen Hacks Every Primal Cook Should Know – Know ’em?
5 Ways to Achieve Your Health Goals in 2016 – They probably work in 2017, too.
Comment of the Week
“Mark you always seems to have a quote or two that makes me deeply appreciate your perspective. This time it was this, “My days are full and rich. I don’t really think or worry about it because I know I’m doing all I can to make the most of it.” It struck a chord with me as I have been reflecting on the fact that we all have a choice whether we want to be happy or choose to worry/live in the past or future/you name it. I suppose no matter how one chooses to live their life we will always have regrets and wish we could have done more with the time we had. Makes me realize more and more how important it is to choose wisely with each passing moment. ?”
– Means a lot, Suji. Good thoughts.
The post Weekend Link Love – Edition 434 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.
January 7, 2017
Pad Thai Salad
Pad Thai is a favorite take-out dish for many, but when it arrives tasting too sweet, oily, and starchy it’s not worth the splurge. When ordering Pad Thai, you can ask restaurants to hold the peanuts, but you’ll have less luck asking them to leave out sugar, vegetable oil, or rice noodles. Especially rice noodles, since they make up most of the dish.
Although rice noodles aren’t the worst noodles out there, it’s possible to enjoy the sweet, funky flavor of Pad Thai without them. Made without noodles, refined oil, or too much sugar, this Pad Thai salad is a winner. Crunchy purple cabbage and bean sprouts are tossed with egg and shrimp and a bold dressing inspired by the flavors of traditional Pad Thai.
Still craving those noodles? Then go ahead and toss rice noodles into the salad, too.
Time in the Kitchen: 25 minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients
1 small purple cabbage, thinly shredded
2 cups bean sprouts (155 g)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (30 ml)
2 tablespoons coconut aminos (30 ml)
1 tablespoon maple syrup (15 ml)
1 tablespoon lime juice (15 ml)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (1.2 ml)
3 tablespoons avocado oil (45 ml)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger (10 ml)
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 egg, whisked
12 to 16 ounces raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (340 g to 455 g)
Optional: fresh mint and cilantro for garnish
Instructions
In a large bowl, toss together cabbage and bean sprouts. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk fish sauce, coconut aminos, maple syrup, lime juice and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
Heat avocado oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, ginger and shallot. Sauté for two minutes.
Push the garlic, ginger and shallot to the side and pour the egg into the skillet. Stir just until the egg begins to set (about 30 seconds). Add shrimp, continuing to stir and break up the egg, until the shrimp are just turning pink (about 3 minutes).
Pour the fish sauce mixture into the skillet. Rapidly simmer 2 to 3 minutes, until shrimp are cooked through. Pour everything in the skillet over the cabbage and bean sprouts. Toss well, and serve. Add fresh herbs if desired.
The post Pad Thai Salad appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.
January 6, 2017
Getting the Six-Pack Back!
It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here. In fact, I have a contest going right now. So if you have a story to share, no matter how big or how small, you’ll be in the running to win a big prize. Read more here.
I was a distance runner in high school, but as the years went by, my commitment to fitness went on the back burner for a busy family and career life. When my father had bypass surgery, it opened my eyes to the importance of taking care of my diet and exercise habits. I’ve always been able to go out and run a few, or more, miles; the biggest challenge for me was my horrible eating habits and late nights in front of screen entertainment. My addiction was sugar, and it was an easy drug to get to, since it’s pretty much in everything we eat. I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, borderline diabetes and depression. I was slowly killing myself. I needed help, and I was ready and willing to do something about it.
I’ve tried everything from Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers to the ViSalus (90 day program). I was successful with the ViSalus program for a short time, but I felt like I starved myself to drop my weight. With ViSalus, I was able to go from 206 lbs down to 165 pounds…seemed like a successful attempt at losing weight.
But wait, what do I do now that I have reached that goal set for me? I turned to my childhood friend, Brad Kearns. He was always supportive and never judgmental of me, even at my lowest point. He gave me The Primal Blueprint, and I devoured it, peppering him with near-constant email and phone questions for over two years.
From that high point of 206 pounds, I now easily maintain a goal weight of around 145 pounds (I’m 5’7″). The journey I took to this point was not easy. There is no quick fix for this. It took me many years to get fat and ugly, and it took a while to get my six-pack back! Once you accept that it’s not a quick fix, write your goals down, log your intake of food, weigh in, and remind yourself it can only get better. And yes, there will be good days and bad days. All part of the cycle of life.
My daily eating habits: Breakfast is a shake with Primal Fuel, bananas, natural peanut butter, chia seeds and flax seeds. Sometimes my breakfast will be eggs from a local chicken farm and lean bacon. Lunch is sometimes a shake, grilled chicken or a salad. Dinner is fish, chicken, meat (depending on the mood I’m in) with lots of veggies. Dessert is fruit, nuts and seeds.
I do weights here and there (dumbbells 25 lbs each), but mainly sit ups, pull-ups, chin-ups and pushups….If I wear my hernia belt, I can also do planks…. Since getting healthy, my knees are not sore (had issues with them in the past…
I run between 120 to 174 miles a month at an aerobic pace. Yes, following the principles of Primal Endurance I was forced to slow way down. This actually helped me get the final success happening. I went from a stall at 170 pounds down to 145 when I slowed down my training pace because this helped me finally free myself completely from sugar addiction/sugar cravings. I decided to cut sugar out of my diet and focus on being a Primal eater….with more mileage on the road (running) – I was able to burn the fat, not muscle using the Maff formula and concentrated on HR training.
It’s hard to believe that it’s true. The sugar addiction that keeps us unhealthy can be traded in for a healthy lifestyle with positive support and a desire to live long and drop dead.
Gil Maroko, Wellness Coach
Meridian, ID
The post Getting the Six-Pack Back! appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.
January 5, 2017
New Year Pitfalls: Where Kick-Start Plans Go Wrong
Yesterday I laid out the benefits of doing a kick-start program—what a good community challenge, elimination program or other total reset could offer you in reclaiming (or enhancing) health. For the most part, I believe in the power of these plans. Obviously, I organize one every year here. I’ve seen countless folks turn their well-being around—lose weight, build strength and stamina, relish new energy, reverse or dial back medical conditions, kick medications they thought they’d be on for the rest of their lives. A kick-start gave them enough structure, support and momentum to move beyond the drag force, and they’re flourishing today as a result.
And, yet, I’d be remiss to to say I haven’t seen them fail for some people. As a professional and a friend, I’ve witnessed (or at least heard the story after the fact) people getting fully sidetracked and even losing their footing on one of these plans. It happens, and there’s usually a clear reason why.
You’ve chosen an ungrounded or unrealistic plan.
Not all dietary plans, challenges and programs are created equal. In fact, a sad portion (dare I say majority) have little regard for how human metabolism actually works.
We’re all well-acquainted with the various fat-averse variants, but there are legions of bad plans that purport irrational claims and/or dangerous methods, such as those promising the moon to people if they only subsist on a handful of calories and virtually zero nutrients for a month or more.
The same can apply to any number of other elimination or combination diets, which pull their rationale out of thin air rather than scientific fact. Others propose extreme “fitness” regimens that overwork the body and exhaust the adrenals, making life hell and the hormonal picture infinitely worse.
Unfortunately, too few people look beyond the wild claims and “before/after” shots to the actual fundamentals of the diet. Does it have unbiased, peer reviewed science to back it up? Does it make sense, from a metabolic, nutritional and even anatomical perspective? Does it require hours of time in the gym (or, on the flip side, no movement at all)? Does it sound fun, sustainable? Happiness matters. So does balance.
The program’s intensity doesn’t fit your personal disposition or current readiness.
Some people absolutely thrive on intensity. The bigger the challenge, the better. Boot camps, elite programs are their style. It’s what gets them motivated and keeps them invested.
But this isn’t everyone. The free spirits, the slow burners tend to live a different way, and that can work, too. (More on that next week…) Likewise, some people might fall somewhere in the middle, but their readiness just doesn’t match up with the all-in expectations of a very intense program.
For most people, kickstart plans and challenges need to allow some room to move. The Primal Blueprint as a whole—and the 21-Day Challenge itself—offers this, I believe. It’s certainly why I choose to live it each day, and it’s what I hear from Primal types again and again. There’s room to breathe, live, indulge, experiment and simply be—whatever and wherever you’re at.
You’re paranoid about perfection.
I’ve seen this many times before. If a person’s dead set on achieving a state of dietary perfection hitherto unknown, it’s almost inevitably a setup for failure. Setting realistic, achievable goals for bettering health is one thing, but committing to a notion of perfection puts an unnecessary strain on one’s aspirations. Stressing about every minute detail of diet and lifestyle gets exhausting and leads most people to abandon the venture altogether.
Allow for the occasional kick-start misdemeanor. Just don’t make a regular thing of it.
You’re allergic to certain foods.
No matter how polished the kickstart plan, if you continue to eat a certain type of food that frazzles your immune response—no matter how “central” it feels to your chosen plan, progress is going to be difficult to achieve. A food allergy, even sensitivity in some people, has the potential to derail progress. First things first: dial in what you can’t eat—or experiment with an elimination program like Whole30 to figure out what might be short-circuiting your process.
You’re trying to do it alone.
Taking responsibility for your own process doesn’t negate the importance of garnering support for yourself. Maybe your inner circle isn’t interested in going Primal with you or taking on whatever goals you have—and that’s okay. (If they do, good for you. Let the experiment bring you closer together.)
Most kick-start programs offer some form of support. For the 21-Day, folks share on the comment boards and forum. Whatever the plan, chat groups offer a place to ask questions and occasionally whine or joke a little. Physical get-togethers (e.g. Grokfeasts) go a step further and connect you more intimately with others who can guide or support your process. Don’t wait for your enthusiasm to wane before getting yourself some community.
Likewise, sometimes we need more. More support. More guidance. More interaction. It’s all very well to be an extensively-researched Grok enthusiast, but it’s quite another to know the ins and outs of human anatomy and how to maximize its potential. Health coaches and other functional practitioners can do just that, so I’d recommend aligning yourself with a health expert if your kick-start plan just isn’t taking off. They’ll be able to guide you beyond any stumbling blocks, point out any nutritional or lifestyle tripping points, and ensure you achieve your aspirations that much faster.
You’re overcomplicating things (or the plan is).
If life and coaching have taught me one thing, it’s that simplicity is king. Depending on where you’re starting from and where you hope to go, too much change at once is like jumping into a glacier-fed lake: shocking. And that shock can put a lot of people off. Just like going from no exercise to a sledgehammer-wielding, barbell-squatting exercise program is shocking. Not everyone is that fast to warm up.
Ease into the process with the least amount of pain, struggle and convolution. It’s not the only one that offers this of course, but the 21-Day Challenge capitalizes impact from its straightforward, uncomplicated, easy-to-follow recommendations.
Thanks for reading today, everyone. Have you or a loved one been caught in any of these pitfalls? What are you doing differently for yourself now? Take care.
The post New Year Pitfalls: Where Kick-Start Plans Go Wrong appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.
January 4, 2017
The Power of a Kick-Off Plan: What Elimination Programs, Total Resets, and Community Challenges Can Do for You
You’re already quite Primal.
You know your way around a grocery store. I mean “around” literally: you know to shop the perimeter.
You’ve struck up relationships with vendors at the farmer’s market. The beet guy had Thanksgiving dinner at your house (being frank, the mashed beets were a bit much).
You read this blog every day, so you’re aware there’s another Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge kicking off next week. If not, read yesterday’s posts in which I give a heads up and ask what 2017 will mean for your life. But if you’re already a devoted Primal adherent, what’s in it for you?
Why You Might Consider a Kick-Start…
1. Everyone falters.
No one’s perfect. Folks slip up. The vast majority of people on a Primal eating plan (or any healthy diet and lifestyle) stray from time to time. Food they’d given up begins reappearing. Old health issues they thought had resolved resurface. Niggling pains, once gone, return to niggle again. People regress toward the mean.
When that happens, something’s gone wrong. But instead of combing through your past to figure out where you went astray, and making a lot of trial and errors in the process, why not start over? That’s where the hard reset comes in. That’s when an elimination program makes perfect sense.
2. Everyone knows less than they think.
No one believes me, but I always use this time of year to participate in the 21-Day Challenge. I do so quietly, without fanfare, but I do it, because I always learn something about myself and the Primal way of living. Me? The guy who wrote the book(s)? Yep. The same holds true for everyone reading this. You know less than you think you do. Believe me.
Participating in a Primal community challenge, elimination program, and/or total reset can—and will—get you back on track by bringing you back to the start of the journey. When you start over and relinquish the story of your supposed expertise, you discover all the things you always needed to learn.
3. Everyone needs someone.
It gets lonely out there. While some people have converted their friends and family to the Primal way or found a group of likeminded individuals, not everyone has Primal “people.” Heck, some people don’t even have a workout buddy.
Contributing to the lack of community is the fact that it’s a busy world out there and folks just don’t have—or make—the time to commiserate in meatspace anymore. Busyness has become a virtue, a status signal. People pride themselves on being too “busy lately” to make plans.
But we need to socialize. We need to bounce ideas off each other. We need to push each other, to congratulate each other, to challenge each other. We need to simply revel in the joy of being in the presence of others. While it’s not quite the same as living in a small village with your extended family or facing down a braying animal with your tribe, participating in a community health challenge like the PB 21-Day gives us similar benefits.
A Kick-Start Can Take Many Forms
You can try an elimination program. The Whole 30 is a famous (and rightly so) example of a Primal-aligned elimination program. Participants pare everything down to the basics to discover how their diet is affecting them, eliminating any potentially problematic foods and then slowly reintroducing them while noting the effects. This equips you with valuable feedback that will assist you going forward. If you’re interested in knowing your food sensitivities, intolerances, or stumbling blocks with any detail, the Whole 30 is probably your best bet.
You can try the total reset. This means starting over from square one, acting like a total newbie. That’s not really acting, either. Because, let’s face it: we’re all newbies in this thing called life. Beginner’s mind, as some would say. No one really knows what they’re doing. Some are stumbling their way through with more grace and aplomb than others, but we all have something to learn.
You can try a community challenge, like the Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge. These are my favorite. I think all resets or elimination programs should include some sort of community participation, simply because we’re social animals who respond best to social pressures. It’s why CrossFit is so successful pairing sound technique and exercise programming with camaraderie.
That said, none of these are mutually exclusive. In fact, I’d suggest you incorporate all three at once for the duration of this challenge. The Whole 30 can be a touchstone for you throughout the PB 21-Day Challenge—and you can structure your entire challenge as a total and utter reset.
As the Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge approaches, what form will it take in your life? What are you hoping to get out of it? What are you hoping to excise from (or add to) your current regimen?
Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care and Grok on!
The post The Power of a Kick-Off Plan: What Elimination Programs, Total Resets, and Community Challenges Can Do for You appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.
January 3, 2017
What Will 2017 Mean for Your Life?
It’s 2017. There are old sci-fi stories set in 2017. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the basis for Blade Runner, takes place in 2019. That’s just two years away. It’ll come faster than you think. The time to make anything happen is now.
But how?
That’s the catch. No one can bestow motivation upon you. External events can trigger or inspire a motivation cascade, but it ultimately comes from within.
As I enter this new year, I’m mulling over a couple different quotes. I don’t normally go for quotes, as I find it too tempting to read them, ponder them for ten seconds, and just move on with life, thinking I’ve done something meaningful. But these are really striking a chord, and I think they’ll help some of you start an internal dialogue on motivation and meaning that could bear fruit in the new year. Let me know what you think.
The first comes not from the Iliad, but from the fairly mediocre yet fun film adaptation starring Brad Pitt as Achilles—Troy.
“Any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.”
Pitt’s Achilles says that’s why the gods envy us, and it’s what makes humans so special and unique among all other organisms. Our finiteness compresses and accentuates our experiences.
The second comes from Alan Watts. It’s long and somewhat ramble-y, but in true Watts fashion, every line matters.
“Let’s suppose that you were able, every night, to dream any dream you wanted to dream. And that you could, for example, have the power within one night to dream 75 years of time, or any length of time you wanted to have. And you would, naturally, as you began on this adventure of dreams, you would fulfill all your wishes. You would have every kind of pleasure you could perceive. And after several nights of 75 years of total pleasure each you would say, ‘Well, that was pretty great. But now let’s have a surprise. Let’s have a dream which isn’t under control. Where something is going to happen to me that I don’t know what it’s going to be.’ And you would dream that and come out and say, ‘Wow, that was a close shave, wasn’t it?’ And then you would get more and more adventurous, and you would make further and further gambles as to what you would dream, and finally, you would dream where you are now. You would dream the dream of living the life that you are actually living today.”
Both quotes speak to the uniquely human condition: We have limitations, we’re aware of those limitations, and we have the freedom (or illusion thereof) to choose how to react to them. Do we flail impotently against, subvert, work around, or redirect them? It is in the context of our limitations that we define ourselves and derive meaning.
I maintain (and Watts would agree) that we must embrace our limitations. Or at least stop spending so much energy bemoaning them.
Our limited time here on earth and the tensions we face throughout it are difficult, yes, but they’re also blessings. They make life worth living. They mark our progress. We can’t help but peer past them and wonder what lies beyond—and then go explore. If there are no obstacles to goad us into action, we’re stuck.
So it’s not just that you don’t have total freedom. You don’t want total freedom. Total freedom paralyzes you. It makes life dull. We don’t appreciate anything if it comes too easily, or if it’s available in endless quantities.
And look: you can try to ignore the obstacles and hardships life places in front of you, or complain about them, but they’re still there. It does no one any good to deny reality. Better to grab it, mold it and be the risk-taking artist of it.
As I moved through my 40s, everything was in fast forward. Christmases and birthdays felt like they came every six months. I’d get up, log my miles on the track or bike, and just try to keep my body together. I tried a few businesses, nothing really sticking. Days bled into weeks. My life was slipping away.
This is pretty normal. Usually, life speeds up the older you get. Your perception of time—which matters more than what the clock says—quickens.
I decided I didn’t want that to happen. So I embarked on the greatest journey of my professional life up to that point: Mark’s Daily Apple and The Primal Blueprint. This introduced the kind of novelty and complexity that forces the brain to perceive time with greater sensitivity, and it gave my life new meaning. Later, I injected even more time-slowing novelty and meaning, including Primal Kitchen, Primal Kitchen Restaurants, and Primal Health Coach.
These days, I’m busier than ever. I’m also more engaged than ever. My entire being is committed. And time? Well, it’s neither slow nor fast. My days are full and rich. I don’t really think or worry about it because I know I’m doing all I can to make the most of it.
Are you? What could 2017 do for that endeavor?
On that note, let me share a bit about what we’ve got in the works here. This year is already shaping up to be a big one for us, and we hope the changes we have in store can help you get a leg up on your personal vision for the year. That’s why I do what I do after all….
First off, I’ll be covering a whole array of new topics in 2017—including many of those recently submitted by you. For some of these I’ll be partnering with Dr. Cate Shanahan next month to take up many of the women’s health issues MDA readers have shared interest in over the years. I have new free ebooks in the making as well as other premium resources and additions to come for newsletter subscribers. You’ll also be seeing more of me on the Mark’s Daily Apple social media accounts. More to come on that…
With the ketogenic eating strategy taking off in popular culture, I’ve been compelled to basically drop everything and complete a book in short order. It will detail a seven-step approach to help everyone from hard-core Primal/paleo enthusiasts to people with just casual exposure to Primal/paleo understand the amazing breaking science and widespread health and athletic performance benefits of becoming fat- and keto-adapted. This book will release in fall of 2017.
Primal Blueprint Publishing is also making a big effort to extend into the digital realm with the release of two comprehensive online multimedia educational courses in early 2017. Primal Endurance Online essentially brings the popular book to life with over 100 hours of video instruction and interviews with endurance experts in a complete home-study course. Paleo Cooking Bootcamp for Busy People is an actual 30-day bootcamp where participants complete a guided 2-hour weekend cooking class to eat meals and snacks for the entire week. Paleo chef Katie French has delivered this award-winning class live in San Francisco, and now the entire bootcamp will be available for you to participate in at home.
On the Primal Health Coach side, we’re planning a new tech platform that will result in a total upgrade of the learning experience. Along with this overhaul, we’ll have new handouts, templates, questionnaires, ebooks and programs to help grads begin their health coaching businesses. We’ll also be implementing new strategies for connecting our health coaches with clients.
And, finally, we’re continuing to expand the Primal Kitchen lineup this year. I just released a brand new Macadamia Sea Salt bar last week, and there’s more products on the horizon‚ including an allergen-friendly mayo, dairy- and soy-free Caesar and Green Goddess dressings, and a new protein powder featuring one of my favorite ingredients. And did I mention three Primal Kitchen Restaurants in the making?
These are just a few of the offerings we have planned for 2017. Here’s to making the new year the best yet!
Take care, everybody, and share what 2017 will mean for you. What are your visions, and how will you be using the Primal Blueprint to make it happen? Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year.
The post What Will 2017 Mean for Your Life? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.
The 2017 Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge Begins Next Week! (and Here’s How to Prepare)
Happy 2017, everybody! I hope each of you had a spectacular holiday season and are ready to take on the new year. Now that the celebrations are behind us, it’s time to begin thinking about our vision for 2017—to choose the commitments that will offer us more of the life and vitality we want to enjoy for our own sakes and for our loved ones. With a new year comes new goals, which is why our team is ready to announce our favorite, much anticipated goal-achieving event of the season: The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge! This year’s challenge will run from Jan 9th-29th, and we have quite the lineup of contests, prizes, and all around fun activities planned for everyone who wants to participate. Whether you’re new to Mark’s Daily Apple, you’ve been incorporating but not quite committing to Primal principles for a while now, or you’re an old timer who is ready for a new layer for Primal living, I hope you’ll join us.
Starting next week, you’ll be able to jump start your new year’s goals with thousands of other primal folks looking to do the same—all in the service of becoming your healthiest self, with the least amount of pain and sacrifice possible. With over 13,000 official participants—and surely tens of thousands more unofficial participants—last year’s challenge was a whopping success. And I look forward to seeing that number rise even higher this year. Are you up for the challenge? Check out some of the fun (and exciting) details for what we have planned over the next several weeks.
1. Get the App
To enrich your experience, we’ve teamed up with Vimify once again to create a Primal Blueprint 21-Day Transformation Challenge accessible from your desktop computer or iOS-compatible device (iPhone or iPad).
First things first: get the Vimify app and join the 21-Day Challenge. Seriously, go download the app—either to your computer or iPhone/iPad—and sign up right now. It’s free, it takes just a couple minutes, and it will enrich your experience in the weeks to come. (Note: When signing up, make sure you’ve entered your email address correctly and that your password is at least 8 characters long.)
From there, you’ll have a series of Prep Tasks to complete before the Challenge starts on January 9, including:
Purge your pantry of all non-Primal foods and restock it with Primal fare. Doing this now allows you to jump headfirst into the Challenge when it begins.
Do a Primal Essential Movement assessment. Determine your level of physical fitness so you know what you’re working with and can plan fitness goals accordingly.
Invite friends to join you in the Challenge. The strength of this app lies in the community you build, the accountability it promotes, and the healthy competition it provides. You need people to get those benefits.
You can also review the Primal Blueprint Guides to the aspects of Primal living that are especially important to success this Challenge, like the 10 Laws, Shopping Guide, Primal Essential Meals, and the Carb Curve.
After that, it’s a waiting game. Once the Challenge begins, the daily tasks will be linked to the daily challenges, contests, and content posted right here on Mark’s Daily Apple.
Important note: If you want to participate in the app challenge you have to sign up by January 9. There is no joining mid-Challenge. The app challenge is available all year on a regular, revolving basis, but for this month only, the entry fee has been waived. Long story short, get in soon!
2. Choose One of the Three 21-Day Transformation Packages
The app is free for everyone. The Challenge is free for everyone. But for those who want to get the most out of the Challenge or could use a little extra guidance, there are three product packages to assist you:
For the Digital Package, you’ll get immediate access to digital versions of the 21-Day Total Body Transformation (the official book of the Challenge), plus an audiobook of the 21-Day Total Body Transformation as well. You’ll also get digital versions of Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals, the Primal Blueprint Poster (a graphic guide to the lifestyle), the Primal Blueprint Shopping List (a complete list of all Primal-approved foods), and an in-depth 90-minute video of me covering all the major elements of the Primal Blueprint lifestyle. You’ll also receive daily email encouragement for the duration of the Challenge, plus access to the app.
The Fuel Package includes all of the above, plus physical versions of the book, the cookbook, the poster, and the shopping list shipped directly to your door. PLUS you’ll receive a bag of Primal Fuel, a Primal Fuel recipe book, and a Primal Fuel blender bottle from which to guzzle all your delicious Fuel creations. It’s the best value of all.
The Essentials Package has everything from the Fuel Package PLUS bottles of Primal Omegas (my high-quality omega-3 fish oil), Primal Calm (my herbal stress-fighting blend), and Vitamin D (because sun is scarce this time of year).
If you’ve been wondering how the supplements fit into the lifestyle, this is the perfect opportunity to give them a try and see how they work for you. Order today to ensure your package arrives by the time the Challenge begins on the 9th.
Note: The app and the products aren’t necessary to participate in the Mark’s Daily Apple 21-Day Challenge (everyone’s welcome!), but they’ll definitely make your life easier and give you a better shot at success.
3. Get Started on the 2017 Primal Blueprint Recipe Video Contest
Per annual tradition, once again it’s time to make some delicious Primal dishes.
The Prize:
US Wellness has long been a favorite meat spot for MDA readers. A few years ago they donated pemmican and the popular 5 gallon bucket of fat. The last several years they’ve gone whole hog. And by hog, I mean cow. And they’re doing it again this year. US Wellness has generously offered up a cow to the winners of this contest.
And I’m not just talking about a bucket of chuck. The winners will receive sirloin, brisket, short ribs, back ribs, rib-eye steaks, T-bone steaks, NY strip steaks, Delmonico steaks, filets, bottom round roasts, center cut roasts, chuck, tongue, liver, heart, kidney, beef tallow, marrow bones, beef stock, and an oxtail. Heart and tongue not your thing? No worries. This year’s winners will get to choose exactly what they want as they’ll be receiving $1500 worth of US Wellness gift certificates they can use to order hundreds of pounds of their preferred bovine cuts – all grass fed, grass finished. Check out this Grass Fed Goodness video where you can watch your prize/meal grazing around in sweet Missouri pastures.
But winning won’t be easy. It’ll take work. And Primal food…
The Contest:
Create and upload a 15 second to 1 minute long Primal recipe video to Instagram. Have you mastered the omelet? Are you an organ meat fiend? Maybe your salad is so mean, it can win a chili cookoff. If so, let the world in on your secrets. Grab your smartphone, and show us how to make something Primal. In previous years, we’ve asked you to upload and record your Primal recipes to YouTube, but this was such a hit last year, we’re doing it again! Creativity is key, because Instagram videos are limited to 1 minute. Just make sure your video relates in some way to the Primal Blueprint eating plan. Show the world (how to prepare) your best Primal dish and you could be the winner of a whole bunch of meat. For ideas on what you can do, check out these clever Instagram chefs:
A video posted by Leslie Klenke ???? Paleo Girl (@leslieklenke) on Jul 23, 2013 at 4:20pm PDT
A video posted by @barnappetit on Jul 28, 2015 at 7:31am PDT
The Contest Details:
Follow the following Instagram accounts: MarksDailyApple, PrimalKitchenFoods, ThePrimalBlueprint, and PrimalPublish.
Upload your video to Instagram with the title of your recipe, list of ingredients and instructions, followed by #1MinPrimal. Then finally, tag @MarksDailyApple in your post.
*Note: If your Instagram account is listed as private, your video will not show up in the public feed. For a workaround, shoot MarksDailyApple a direct message on Instagram and we’ll follow your account.
The Deadline: Sunday, January 22, midnight PST.
Who is Eligible:
This one is global, but keep in mind that the US Wellness gift certificates are not available to residents outside the U.S. In the event of a non-U.S. team winning, a prize of equal value will be given as substitute.
How A Winner Will Be Decided:
Select video submissions will be reviewed and posted toward the end of the Challenge. The Worker Bees and I will choose a list of finalists to be voted on by readers.
Fine Print:
MDA reserves the right to publish any videos submitted.
We ask that any videos submitted to this contest remain live on Instagram after the challenge for future visitors to Mark’s Daily Apple to enjoy.
4. Tell Your Friends
As I said earlier, the more people we have participating, the more accountability we’ll all have and the better your individual results will be.
I’m really excited about this year’s 21-Day Challenge, and I hope you are, too. See you all on January 9!
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The post The 2017 Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge Begins Next Week! (and Here’s How to Prepare) appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.
January 2, 2017
Dear Mark: Raising HDL Particle Number, Who Should Try Ketones, and Where’s My Keto Energy?
For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering three questions from readers. First up, what’s the best way to increase your HDL particle count? There are dozens of articles explaining how to reduce LDL-P, but what about HDL-P? Second, are ketones right—or necessary—for everyone? The final question comes from a reader who, despite sticking with the diet for four months, hasn’t felt the fabled “keto energy.” Should she try ketone supplements, give it more time, or what?
Let’s go:
Any ideas of what might increase hdl-p? There is surprisingly little information that i can find. So far the only thing i’ve found is that resistant starch raises it in pigs fed a western diet .https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/art...
That’s certainly one route—via eating more resistant starch. I’d also guess that eating more prebiotic substrate in general will have favorable effects on HDL-P.
Exercise is a big one.
In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, exercise predicts rises in HDL-P. The largest increases are in smaller, denser HDL particles, which tend to have more antioxidative (protective) potential than larger, fluffier HDL particles.
Endurance exercise also increases HDL-P in healthy overweight middle aged adults, albeit somewhat differently than in rheumatoid arthritis. Instead of increasing smaller, denser HDL-P, exercise in this group increases larger, more buoyant HDL-P (less protective).
Before you assume exercise is good in RA patients but bad in overweight older adults, think about it like this. Rheumatoid arthritis patients bear a large inflammatory burden. They’re under a lot of oxidative stress. In that situation, an increase in the types of HDL particles that protect against inflammation is probably a good thing—it indicates help is on the way.
Meanwhile, in basically healthy older adults, inflammation is somewhat low. Endurance exercise supports and enhances this low inflammatory burden—as indicated by the increase in buoyant HDL-P. When inflammation is low, your body has no need to boost production of the ultra-protective small dense HDL-P.
We see evidence of this in another study (PDF) where overweight older men with elevated cardiovascular disease risk factors went on a short-term diet and exercise regimen. Although their HDL particles lost density, the overall profile grew anti-inflammatory and protective.
Olive and thyme polyphenols seem to decrease LDL-P/HDL-P ratio, which either means reduced LDL-P, increased HDL-P, or both. Either way, it’s a positive development. Polyphenols from other foods and spices probably have similar effects.
Eating dairy fat rich in natural trans-fats like CLA increases HDL-P, at least in guinea pigs. Seeing as how pastured dairy fat does seem to improve cardiovascular health in humans, I’d wager it’s increasing HDL-P as well.
What else?
I admit I had no idea what this article was going on about and had to do a bit of research. Now a question: Are exogenous ketone supplements something that would benefit everybody, including people who are NOT athletes, or is this just the latest “in” performance enhancer? I just want to be able to maintain sufficient fitness for an active, pain-free lifestyle as I continue to get older.
Athletes, especially endurance athletes (but likely everyone who does anything with even a modicum of aerobic activity, which is most) can benefit. I explained why and how in this post.
Older people suffering cognitive decline. The evidence is growing, from the MCTs in coconut turning into ketones and improving Alzheimer’s outcomes to outright supplementation with ketone esters improving cognition in an Alzheimer’s patient.
Patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy. The ketogenic diet is often the best treatment available for epilepsy—it just plain works—but it’s not the easiest diet to follow. It might be easy for the people crazy enough to read a daily health science blog and willing to comb through the hundreds of references it contains, but many “normals” have trouble even identifying “carbs.” That’s where exogenous ketones could help. They certainly help in epileptic rodents.
But for everyone? Ketone supplements are too expensive for most people to mess around with. Ketone supplements can rapidly spike blood ketones to levels shown to be protective against Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and epilepsy, but they have a half life of 1-2 hours, so if you’re taking them for cognitive decline or epilepsy, you’d have to frequently re-dose.
We’ll see how things go.
Are these products really necessary? How much do they really help? I have yet to find the energy everyone is talking about and I’ve been keto for four months. Give it more time?
They aren’t necessary for most people. Or anyone, yet. It’s a very young industry, and the science is developing.
They help me with energy and endurance during my weekly Ultimate Frisbee games. That’s worth it for me, but it might not justify ketone supplementation for anyone else.
You’d just have to try. If you can eat $15, try a sample pack. The financial investment isn’t that large, and you’ll stop wondering if they work or not.
Another thing to consider: keto may not be the right diet for you. And that’s fine. But I suspect you might be looking for something that’ll never be realized.
Ketogenic enthusiasts oversell the diet. Heck, the same goes for any dietary enthusiast, whether vegan, vegetarian, paleo, or macrobiotic. Every diet is “the best thing ever” and grants adherents “unlimited power and boundless energy.”
Don’t fall into this trape. Don’t chase the keto high. Are you getting your work done? Are your workouts going well? Are you reasonably engaged with your life and the people in it?
If the answers are yes, you’re fine. If the answers are no, try something different.
Bottom line: ketone supplements may assist with energy, but they’re too expensive for everyday use for most people. If full-blown ketosis isn’t doing much for you, throwing in some ketone supplements won’t, either.
Thanks for reading, everyone! Take care, and if you’ve got anything to add, be sure to help out with the reader questions down below.
The post Dear Mark: Raising HDL Particle Number, Who Should Try Ketones, and Where’s My Keto Energy? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.
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