Mark Sisson's Blog, page 54

The Curse of Being a High Achiever

Where are my high achievers at? These are the folks that constantly knock their goals out of the park and make it look easy, whether they’re training for a marathon, dialing in their diet, or Marie Kondo-ing their house. They’re the ones who get the promotions, the bigger bank accounts, the smaller pant sizes…

We live in a culture that celebrates busy-ness. I’ve seen it manifest in my clients (they typically come to me in the post-crush-my-goals stage, once their nervous system is toast) but also in my personal life.https://www.statista.com/topics/2099/...

As a curriculum director, health coach, fitness instructor, and small business owner, I’m indeed a high achiever, to the point of it being a real problem. I am physically uncomfortable in the presence of low productivity or what I often perceive in myself as “laziness”. I don’t settle for mediocre outcomes either. I will torment myself to produce nothing short of perfection, to the detriment of my mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health.

Are You Born a High Achiever?

I wasn’t always this way. And there’s a good chance you weren’t either. Being a high achiever often goes hand-in-hand with people pleasing and perfectionism – all things you likely picked up as a kid.https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/bl... You might have been rewarded for straight A’s or gotten kudos after a game-winning goal. Maybe you had a parent or caregiver that was never satisfied or emotionally distant (which you mistook as unsatisfied). Or perhaps you learned that by achieving more, you managed to secure the love, safety, and acceptance of your family or caregivers.

In these situations, your self-worth becomes tied to your performance, meaning you’re only “good enough” if and when you’ve accomplished something exceptional. And even then, your inner critic probably doubts that it’s enough.

The Need to Always Do Better

What we’re really talking about here is fear. Fear that you need to continue excelling, producing, winning, and succeeding in order to not be rejected or lose the approval of others.https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/bl... It’s sort of a security blanket to make sure you’re safe and accepted, even if it’s only a temporary feeling.

That’s just one of the reasons it’s so exhausting to be a high-achiever. You’re always striving to do better for fear of decreasing your self-worth, constantly operating at 110 percent. The problem is, this amount of chronic stress takes a huge toll on the body and eventually leads to some sort of physical, emotional, or mental breakdown.https://www.mind-body-health.net/hpa-... Keep in mind this isn’t true for everyone. But for a lot of us, especially those of us with perfectionist tendencies, it’s quite accurate.

 

Pros of being a high achiever:You always bring your A-gameYou’re driven to get resultsYou’re highly motivatedYou’re passionate about what you doYou’re competitiveYou thrive on positive feedbackCons of being a high achiever:You hold yourself to perfectionist standardsYou’re afraid of failingYou believe you’re only as good as your last accomplishmentYou tend to overcomplicate thingsYou don’t take time to appreciate your successesYou’re prone to burnoutBurnout: How Crushing It Leads to a Crash

Research continues to prove that burnout is real – and that it’s more significant among high achievers and perfectionists.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30220... Recently classified as an official medical diagnosis by the World Health Organization, there are three indicators of burnout including:https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2...

Feeling depleted or exhaustedDissociation of negativityReduced efficacy

Not only that, evidence shows that burnout leads to dysregulation of the body’s hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis — if this is you, you’ve probably already noticed the signs.https://nutritionaltherapy.com/hpa-ax... Under normal conditions, when we perceive a threat or feel stress, cortisol (also known as the stress hormone) is released into the body. Once the stressor passes, cortisol levels go back to normal. But when stress becomes chronic and cortisol stays high, the body eventually compensates by downshifting cortisol production to abnormally low levels.

In this study led by the Netherlands’ Bart Oosterhold, researchers further investigated the relationship between HPA axis functioning and burnout symptoms.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25433... They looked at two groups of participants: one with a formal clinical diagnosis of burnout and one with symptoms but no formal diagnosis. Researchers analyzed saliva samples of all the participants and found that both groups had significantly lower morning cortisol levels compared with a group of healthy control subjects.

Why does this matter? Because low chronically cortisol levels can lead to cardiovascular disease, fatigue, muscle weakness, digestive issues, and the inability to “crush it” even if you wanted to.https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?do...

What You Really Want is Balance

I wholeheartedly believe you can achieve all of your health goals without creating more health challenges along the way. The key is to make your high achiever tendencies work for you, instead of against you. I do it by following a philosophy I call Hustle Just Enough. And you can too with these five strategies.

Acknowledge your accomplishments. Most high achievers are so busy doing, they don’t even stop to acknowledge the thing they just did. We tend to race past the accomplishments we were working so hard to achieve because we’re already thinking about our next task or goal. Owning and appreciating the fact that you set a goal and reached it helps build self-confidence and self-respect. So, stop for a minute and think about some of your recent accomplishments. Better yet, write them down and keep a running list.Don’t be afraid to say “no.” If you’re programmed to always say yes, congratulations, you’re on the fast track to burn out. Steve Jobs said it best when he stated, “It’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.” When you overcommit (whether it’s because of fear or guilt, or maybe you don’t know how to say no), you’re valuing other people’s priorities over your own. Practice saying no to smaller requests and see what happens.Have a self-care routine. Rest days are just as important as the days you crush it. In the fitness world, insufficient recovery leads to overtraining syndrome. Same thing happens outside the gym. That’s why having a self-care routine is so crucial. Make time daily to meditate or do deep breathing exercises, go outside for a refreshing walk, laugh, call a friend, or do something with zero productivity value.Check in with your subconscious. High achievers often have thoughts that they’ll be seen as incompetent, despite their track record of successes. It’s a psychological phenomenon known as Imposter Syndrome and I’m no stranger to it. For instance, the other day I taught a one-hour yoga fusion class and spent 5 whole hours fine-tuning the playlist, the programming, scripting, and practicing my cues. Why? Because I was worried it wouldn’t be perfect. If Imposter syndrome is something you struggle with, you’ll want to read this article.Know you have a choice. Feeling like you don’t have a choice can exacerbate burnout. So, start to take back control of your life in small ways. Choose scrambled eggs over toast for breakfast. Decompress by going for a walk instead of staring at your phone. Or go to bed early verses watching another movie on Netflix. Remember that at any time you can opt for situations that support your overall mental, emotional, and physical health. Even if your situation can’t change, you always have the freedom to choose how you perceive it and how you respond to it.5 Ways to Hustle Just Enough

Chronic crushing it often leads to a crash — one that can take years to recover from. So instead of pushing more, doing more, and forcing every aspect of your life, use these strategies to learn to adopt a hustle-just-enough mentality. And if you need help, don’t hesitate to reach out to PHCI’s health coaches for one-on-one support.

Acknowledge your accomplishmentsDon’t be afraid to say “no”Have a self-care routineCheck in with your subconsciousKnow you have a choice

Are you a high achiever? Tell me what you do to avoid burnout.

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References https://www.statista.com/topics/2099/stress-and-burnout/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolution-the-self/200807/parent-pleasing-people-pleasing-part-1-3https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201506/5-problems-are-unique-high-achievershttps://www.mind-body-health.net/hpa-axis.shtmlhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30220213/https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases:https://nutritionaltherapy.com/hpa-axis-dysfunction-symptoms-root-cause-and-how-to-support/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25433974/https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.132.3.327

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How to Manage Unproductive Anger

If you ask the average person on the street to list “Primal emotions,” anger will be one of the first examples they offer. You understand why: It’s raw. It’s overpowering. It feels like it comes from deep down below, from somewhere instinctual. To most people, anger is the realest emotion of all because it’s so sure of itself. There’s no mistaking anger.

Though anger has a negative connotation these days, it’s there for a reason. All emotions have a purpose. If they didn’t, emotions as a physiological category wouldn’t have arisen and survived millions of years of evolution. An emotion is an adaptation to an environmental condition. Anger exists because it promotes—or promoted—a survival advantage. Those animals who felt something approximating anger outcompeted those who didn’t. That’s what it comes down to.

On the surface, anger is a self-protective adaptation. By showing anger, we display a capacity for aggressive action to those who would threaten us or our tribe—and most socially astute, reasonable people (and even many animal predators) will retreat in the majority of situations. Anger, in this way, is part of the “checks and balances” system inherent to our social contracts. It gives the other party pause to consider whether it’s really worth the trouble to encroach.

But like other emotions, anger is also an internal messenger. When we feel the rush of anger overtake us, that’s an internal signal that a line has been crossed. Maybe someone has threatened or harmed a loved one. Perhaps you’ve become aware of an injustice. And when a line has been crossed, anger is your signal to act: to defend yourself, your family, your integrity, your home, or your ideals.

Unfortunately, the line isn’t always worth defending. Sometimes we mess up and feel angry over something silly. A line has been crossed, but it was a ridiculous line that doesn’t objectively deserve the response. That’s what we need to figure out and manage: why are we angry and what can we do about it?

You certainly can’t just ignore it. The visceral energy of anger is remarkably durable. Because it’s a fact. It exists. It will come up. Lines will be breached. Most of us no longer live in the same ancestral environment where raw unfiltered anger makes obvious sense, but arise it will all the same. We kid ourselves if we think we’re immune to its inherent human force. How can we keep it reined in enough to not thwart our own well-being or run afoul of the law? How can we control or manage it—even channel it? In short, how can we have and express well-deserved anger without getting burned by it?

Tips for Managing Anger (So It Doesn’t Manage You):Practice mindfulness, and bring that deep awareness to anger when it rises.

This isn’t about leaving society. It’s simply about being cognizant of what you’re feeling and how those feelings unfold in you. To do this, we learn to stop identifying with our feelings and come to observe them instead. Mindfulness practices can be essential here. And it doesn’t have to be as involved as an hour long meditation. Alternatives exist. The “count to ten and breathe deeply” stuff you tell kids trying to handle their anger works on adults, too.

Get back in your body while you’re at it.

Use the awareness to feel yourself become flushed in the face. Notice the blood retreat from your extremities. Sense the emotional force rising in our abdomens or pulsating in your forehead. Then breathe into those sensations, disarming each before they take off into uncontrolled rage. With practice, we can nip anger (when we deem it unproductive) in the bud by not trying to manipulate ourselves emotionally but by putting our full focus on physical “symptoms” and addressing those.

Ask if it’s really worth getting angry.

Taking a step back in the heat of the moment—or better yet before the anger actually erupts—to objectively assess the merits of your anger can make a big difference. Long commute? Sure, that’s annoying, but is it worth it to get angry? Who is it helping? What adaptive effect is the anger producing? Remember: anger is suppose to be beneficial. It’s supposed to trigger positive results, actions.

Keep going.

Follow the thread of your anger to determine who or what you’re really angry about. If you’re angry at your long commute, are you angry at the traffic? The other drivers? Your boss? Probably not. Maybe you’re actually angry at yourself for getting yourself into this position. See? Now we’re getting somewhere.

Or maybe you’re angry at something you saw on the news. Some politician said something, and now your day is ruined. What’s that about? What the hell are you doing to yourself? How can you avoid this kind of anger in the future? Politicians are always going to say and do infuriating stuff. What if—stay with me now—you stopped listening?

Fortify your line.

Remember how anger is an emotional reaction to a perceived breach of your line?

Our lines are porous these days. Whereas most ancient humans did meaningful work, had plenty of leisure time, slept when it got dark, ate whole natural foods, and knew nothing of what transpired the next village over, the standard baseline setting for the modern human is tons of chronic stress, not enough sleep, poor diets, too much news consumption, unfulfilling jobs, and a disrupted, discordant way of life. In many ways, our lives are harder and we are more susceptible to anger than ever before. We know more things and thus have more to be angry about, and when we get angry we are less equipped to deal with it.

Your family being threatened is one thing. That always deserves anger. There’s no getting around that. But if you find yourself blowing up over silly things on a regular basis, or everything, you need to fortify your line. Keeping your micronutrient intake up, getting regular physical activity, sleeping enough, managing your stress, taking care of business in general, limiting your news intake, finding a higher purpose or power toward which to strive—these are the baseline anti-anger interventions.

Find healthy outlets for aggression.

Modern life can keep us peaceful—or subdued, depending on how you look at it. Some folks do well with this, while others just don’t. Your quick temper might be a sign you’re not getting your thrills from the physical risk and adventure you inherently crave. It’s not wrong to feel aggression, but it should be directed in a healthy direction. Instead of picking fights with strangers in the parking lot, try martial arts, boxing lessons, or competitive sports.

Transmute your anger.

Anger is energy, unfulfilled. Directionless energy that has to go somewhere, has to express itself. If there are things in your life you aren’t taking care of, that frustration can explode outward as anger—often in response to something otherwise inconsequential or minor. Direct the simmering energy within toward a productive outlet.

Thanks for reading, everyone. How have you learned to manage your anger? What role does it play in how you operate day to day? 

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Dear Mark: Keto and Selenium Deficiencies – Something to Fear?

Dear Mark,
A friend of mine just found out that I’ve been eating a keto diet for the past few months, and they told me I should stop right away and get my selenium levels checked. They said I could be at risk of a heart attack because of keto. Now I’m freaking out a bit. Help?

Don’t freak out. Let’s look at the evidence.

First Off, What is Selenium, and Why Do We Need It?

Selenium is an essential trace element that we get from our diets. Enzymes called selenoproteins play a variety of important roles throughout the body. Notably, selenoproteins in the thyroid gland facilitate the conversion of T4 to T3.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22009... Selenoproteins require adequate selenium intake.

Selenium deficiencies can be very serious. Selenoproteins act as antioxidants. Without enough selenium—or really, selenoproteins—to offer protection, heart muscle cells can sustain free radical damage.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11848... This is the case with Keshan disease, a potentially fatal cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle). Keshan is a region in China where the soil is depleted of selenium. As a result, residents were suffering high rates of heart disease before a supplementation program was introduced. Selenium deficiencies can also lead to male infertility because a selenoprotein known as GPx4 protects spermatozoa from oxidative stress.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19856...

However, your friend might want to know that aside from severe deficiencies, the jury is still out on the role of selenium in cardiovascular disease. Some, but not all, observational studies have found that low selenium is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23... Others have found that high selenium may also be a problem.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20031... Selenium supplementation doesn’t appear to prevent heart disease, but clinical trials have mostly been carried out in adult males who already get enough selenium from their diets.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...

In any case, selenium deficiencies are rare except in certain parts of the world where the soil is significantly depleted. Most adults in the U.S. get at least twice the recommended daily intake.https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Sel... So already, your friend’s basic premise seems shaky, but let’s do our due diligence here and ask whether following a keto diet puts you at greater risk.

Is There Any Evidence that Keto Causes Selenium Deficiency?

Yes, specifically among children who were prescribed a therapeutic ketogenic diet to treat intractable epilepsy.

As of 2020, there were at least 66 documented cases of selenium deficiency among children on a therapeutic ketogenic diet.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... Three deaths were attributed to cardiomyopathies associated with low selenium.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2... A fourth child died after experiencing QT prolongation (abnormal heartbeat, essentially). However, QT prolongation can be triggered by acidosis,https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10881... so selenium might not have been the culprit here.

It’s unclear exactly how prevalent selenium deficiency is among pediatric epilepsy patients on keto. One study of 110 kids found that nearly half of them had low selenium. None of them showed evidence of cardiomyopathies as a result.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27873... Another study followed 91 children who were following a variant of the keto diet and receiving vitamin and mineral supplementation, including selenium, for 12 months.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21615... Selenium levels decreased over time, with some kids falling under the recommended range by the end.

So it’s clear that selenium deficiency is a risk for these kids. However, the current medical opinion is that nutrient deficiencies can be managed with proper monitoring and supplementation and, moreover, the risk of serious adverse events is small.

What about in Healthy Adults?

I haven’t seen any evidence that selenium deficiency is a concern among healthy adults following ketogenic diets, much less heart problems as a result.

Here’s the deal: it’s incredibly easy to get selenium in your diet, keto or otherwise. The RDA for selenium is 55 µg per day. Here is just a sampling of the selenium content of common foods:

One 5-ounce can of tuna: 103 µg4 ounces (113 grams) of coho salmon: 43 µg4 ounces of skinless chicken breast: 31 µg4 ounces of 80% lean ground beef: 23 µg2 ounces of beef liver: 20 µg1 large egg: 15.4 µg

You can see that most keto dieters will exceed the RDA without even trying. If you’re concerned, eat a Brazil nut. Yep, just one. A single Brazil nut packs 90.6 µg of selenium.

So Why Are Kids with Epilepsy at Risk?

It boils down to the specific type of keto diet they are prescribed. All the kids in the aforementioned studies were following a therapeutic ketogenic diet designed for intractable epilepsy. This diet is wildly different from a Primal keto diet, and this is the crux of the matter.

Therapeutic keto diets usually follow a 4:1 ratio, meaning that for every four grams of fat, the child gets 1 gram of carbohydrate and protein combined. In other words, they have to restrict carbs and protein enough so that together they only comprise 20 percent of their food intake. In fact, the goal is to eat the bare minimum of protein necessary, in order to drive ketone levels as high as possible. As you can imagine, this makes the diet difficult to follow. It also increases the risk of nutrient deficiencies and associated health problems. (Hence the increasing interest in “modified Atkins” diets, which might be just as effective using 2:1 or even 1:1 ratio that allows for more protein.)

The keto diet an average person follows for health, weight-loss, or longevity purposes is probably nowhere near as strict a therapeutic 4:1 diet, nor should it be. The version of keto I recommend in The Keto Reset Diet and Keto for Life contains plenty of protein and embraces a colorful variety of plant foods to cover your nutritional bases.

All in all, this isn’t something I’m worried about. Any version of a Primal keto diet that includes meat will contain plenty of selenium. To ease your mind, you can always ask your doc for a selenium test, but that seems like overkill in my book.

One last note: as with any vitamin or mineral, it’s possible to get too much selenium. Don’t go eating a cup of Brazil nuts per day because your friend has you worried. Just eat your regular, balanced diet, and you should be good to go.

References https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22009156/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11848134/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19856162/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1829306http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23590757https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20031863/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7433291/https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7049795/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12681013https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22367552https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10881264/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27873289/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21615805/

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DIY Parallettes: Plus a Dip Bar Workout

With gyms closed for the foreseeable future, now is the perfect time to expand your home workout. This simple, relatively inexpensive DIY parallettes project sets you up for a wide variety of dip bar exercises. Learn how to make your own parallettes with instructions, a materials list and a follow-along video with Primal Health Coach Brian. This post also includes a breakdown of a dip bar workout for beginners to get you started.

What are Parallettes?

Parallettes or planche bars can support an impressive range of exercises, ranging from beginner to advanced. Sometimes these bars are referred to as pushup bars or calisthenics dip bars, however, those tend to be a bit longer and lower to the ground. Though often associated with gymnasts, parallettes can be invaluable tool for expanding anyone’s range of bodyweight exercises.

 

How to Build Parallettes

Purchasing parallettes at the equipment store can be pricey – with some options costing up to a whooping $100 a piece (and you’ll want two).

Reaping the benefits of parallettes exercises doesn’t have to break the bank. Skip the big spending and head to any hardware or home improvement store to make your own parallettes. The materials cost roughly $20-$30, and building doesn’t require any special tools. These durable and inexpensive parallettes can be made entirely from PVC pipes in just a few minutes.

What You’ll Need

Most hardware stores will be willing to cut the PVC pipes for you to your exact dimensions. Be sure to have these lengths on hand before heading to the store.

Four 1 1/4″ T-socketsFour 1 1/4″ elbow socketsEight 1 1/4″ end caps

In addition to the fittings, all you need to buy is one 10ft 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe. Have them cut into the following measurements:

Eight 6-inch piecesFour 10-inchesTwo 14-inch pieces

Tip: Go when it’s not busy to for the best chance of someone being available to cut them for you.

How to AssembleConnect your two 14-inch pieces to elbow sockets.Attach your four 8-inch pieces to the other side of the elbow socket.Add a T-socket to each 8-inch piece.Attach a 6-inch piece to all remaining sockets.Place an end cap on each of the 8-inch pieces.Make sure each connection is secure and sturdy before beginning your workout.

After this quick assembly, you’re ready to begin your parallette bars workout.

Parallettes Bar Exercises for Beginners

Parallettes strength training uses your own body instead of weights for a Primal workout. Like any new piece of gym equipment, start with simple exercises to become comfortable before transitioning into more advanced movements. Google or YouTube videos might show the impressive feats achieved with parallette bar exercises, but before testing your limits, follow along with these dip bar exercises for beginners to become more familiar with the bars and test your strength.

Parallette Push Ups

Parallette push ups provide a greater range of motion and a deeper stretch in your chest. Keep your back flat and extend fully down, and then all the way back up. Elevate your feet on a well-secured bench for a more advanced take on the parallette push up.

Parallette Dips

There’s a few approaches to dips.

Place the bars vertically at your sides, with your feet out in front of you, and then proceed to raise up and down while fully extending your arms. You can also place the bars in front and behind you with your feet resting on the bar in front. Your body should make roughly a V-shape on the ground and then lift into an L-shape, parallel to the bars.

Band-Assisted Plank or Planche

Use a workout band to loop your feet behind you, keeping your body parallel to the floor, as you would with a normal plank position. You might find that over time you can remove the band as your strength increases.

L-Sit Progression

To start off this progression, build your core strength by tucking your legs as you lift into a “sitting position” with a parrallete supporting each arm.

You can then continue the progression to supporting your lower legs with a band to achieve the “L shape.” Over time, as core strength builds, you’ll be able to remove the band and move into the “L shape” unassisted.

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6 Chocolate Recipes to Share with the Ones You Love

If you’re not sure how to express your love for your significant other, your children, close friends, parents, or other special people in your life, chocolate is a safe bet. Chocolate is the universal language of love, and a language that we’re particularly fluent in over here at Mark’s Daily Apple.

We put together six Primal, paleo, and grain-free chocolate recipes that you can enjoy with the special people in your life, with zero guilt.

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Hearts

If you think making chocolate at home is too complicated, you’ll be surprised by how easy this recipe is. Simply melt cacao butter, then whisk in cacao powder, and avocado oil with a little sweetener, and you’ll be in chocolate heaven. What’s really fun about making chocolate at home is experimenting with all sorts of flavors. Nuts, nut butters, coconut flakes and coconut butter, spices, dried fruit … the flavor variations are endless.

This recipe is for purists, though, who like dark chocolate with just a hint of added flavor. In this case, it’s hazelnuts, which pair perfectly with chocolate.

Get the recipe

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fat Bombs

These little fat bombs are the perfect treat and a great way to up the healthy fats in your diet while eating keto. We used Primal Kitchen® Peanut Butter Collagen here, but you can swap it out with vanilla or chocolate varieties. Store these fat bombs in the fridge or freezer to keep them firm. For a more chocolatey fat bomb, melt your favorite super dark or sugar-free chocolate and dip the tops of the chilled fat bombs in them. Dust with more Collagen Fuel and chill before enjoying.

Get the recipe

Grain-free Fudgy Brownies

https://www.marksdailyapple.com/paleo-or-keto-fudgy-brownies/

Keto eating should always put nutrients first, but there’s nothing wrong with having treat recipes on hand for when you’re making the conscious choice to enjoy something sweet. This recipe offers it all—whole food, Primal friendly ingredients for whipping up either a Primal brownie batch…or a keto version. You’ll enjoy the rich texture and deep chocolate taste without the typical sugar rush.

Tips: This recipe has a primal option sweetened with dates and a keto option sweetened with a granulated monk fruit sweetener. Feel free to use Swerve in lieu of the monk fruit. These brownies are extra fudgy and taste even better after being refrigerated, so we highly recommend allowing them to cool, cutting them and then placing them in the fridge for a few hours or overnight before enjoying.

Get the recipe

Keto Chocolate Bacon

Why is this only a recent invention?

You likely have these two ingredients on hand in your kitchen most of the time. Very dark chocolate (90%) has a bitterness akin to coffee that enhances all of the flavors paired with it, and what better flavor spotlight than slightly sweet, salty, smoky bacon? You can guild the lily by adding toasted unsweetened coconut or finely chopped nuts to the chocolate before it sets, but we prefer this as a twosome.

Get the recipe

Mini Chocolate Hazelnut Tarts

If you’re looking for a dessert worthy of a celebration, look no further. Rich, smooth, and decadent on the inside; crunchy and nutty on the outside. The full effect? Nothing short of fabulous. Enjoy as a “small bite” portion with coffee after dinner, or allow yourself the total indulgence of savoring the full tart.

What we love about this recipe (besides everything) is the customizable flavor. Add espresso powder or a flavored extract like vanilla, orange or peppermint for a bold as well as sweet taste.

Get the recipe

Dark Chocolate Brazil Nut and Coconut Bars

These dark chocolate coconut and Brazil nut bars are pretty to look at, easy to make, stay fresh for weeks and are filled with healthy fats, flavanols, and selenium. What more could you possibly want from dessert?

The idea to use a silicone ice cube tray for shaping chocolate comes from this recipe for dark chocolate snack bites. Pouring warm chocolate into a small ice cube tray yields nicely shaped, nicely sized chocolate squares.

The possibilities here are endless. Any type of nut or seed, dried fruit, sea salt, spices like cinnamon or turmeric…they can all be used to embellish the flavor of dark chocolate.

Get the recipe

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Weekly Link Love — Edition 117

Research of the Week

Stories persuade more than facts.

Numeracy at age 4 predicts future math mastery.

Runner’s high depends on cannabinoids, not opioids.

Living near a street lamp may increase the risk of thyroid cancer. Rather specific, isn’t it?

Date seed tea increases T.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 469: Ben Ivey: Host Elle Russ chats with Ben Ivey about The Entrepreneur Lifestyle.

Health Coach Radio: Michelle Mansueto talks about finding your voice at the table.

Media, Schmedia

Is China building a gene-edited race of hyperintelligent soldiers?

Much baby food, even organic stuff, contains high levels of heavy metals.

Interesting Blog Posts

When and where did modern humans originate? The answer isn’t so simple.

Does creatine reduce the amount of sleep you need?

Social Notes

Reminder: Brad Kearns and I are premiering our new video at 10 AM Pacific today. We’ll also be there available to chat.

What they’ve gotten wrong.

Everything Else

Scientists analyze ancient Neanderthal poop.

Environmental exposures early in life and risk of obesity.

RIP.

Calf: the second heart?

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

I am not surprised: “Evolutionary history” has an effect on the risk of disease.

Interesting idea: Unfermented pasteurized milk drives aging, fermented milk reduces it.

Famous last words: “Breaking the link between animals and meat is a solution to this problem.”

Important result: Teens living in high sound environments have worse sleep.

Fascinating argument: Not all hunter-gatherers were nomadic.

Question I’m Asking

Who’s lining up to eat this monstrosity?

Recipe CornerGluten free chocolate lava cake. Not a staple, but a fine treat.I’d eat this jalapeño popper soup.Time Capsule

One year ago (Feb 5 – Feb 11)

4 Scenarios Where Detailed Testing Makes Sense – Well, where?Keto FAQs: Top 30 Most Common Keto Questions Answered – Before asking, check the FAQ.Comment of the Week

“With an Irish mother and a Greek father that leaves me between milk and baklava….”

-Could be worse, Eelbrood.

(function($) { $("#df7wDia").load("https://www.marksdailyapple.com/wp-ad..." ); })( jQuery );

References https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22009156/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11848134/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19856162/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1829306http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23590757https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20031863/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7433291/https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7049795/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12681013https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22367552https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10881264/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27873289/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21615805/

The post Weekly Link Love — Edition 117 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Ask a Health Coach: Quick Breakfasts, Cravings, and Breaking Down the Food Pyramid

Hi folks! Welcome back for another round of Ask a Health Coach. In today’s post, Erin will be answering questions about what to cook for quick weekday breakfasts, how to end the stigma of cravings, and why we’re still teaching outdated nutrition principles in school. We love getting your questions, so post yours in the comments below or over in our Mark’s Daily Apple Facebook Group.

Francine asked:
“I need quick grab and go breakfast ideas. On the weekends I have time for a more elaborate meal like eggs and bacon, but what are your recommendations for weekday mornings?”

I actually get this question fairly often, so I’m glad you asked. As a society, we are busier than ever.https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/bl... And it sounds like weekdays mornings are so busy for you that making time for a healthy, supportive meal is totally off the table. Many of my clients want super quick breakfasts they can eat on the run. Something to replace their standard grab-and-go yogurt and banana routine.

My answer typically to them begins with a follow-up question like, “how fast do you need it to be?” I want to know how much time you’re planning on devoting to this pretty important act of self-carehttps://foodandnutrition.org/blogs/st... And yes, feeding yourself well is a fundamental form of taking care of yourself.

When people tell me they only have a few minutes to make breakfast, all I hear is “I don’t value myself.” Somehow, they’ve decided that getting out the door or onto their first Zoom call of the day is more important than fueling themselves appropriately. They’d rather sacrifice their metabolism and blood sugar than take a few extra minutes cooking up a satiating, satisfying breakfast.

Really then, it all comes down to priorities. By not making time for a proper meal, you’re essentially saying that your health isn’t a priority. Again, I get it — you’re busy!! But I’m assuming if you don’t have time to make a plate of eggs and bacon, you also don’t have time to:

Stop mid-morning to look for a snackShop for bigger pants due to added weight gainManage diabetes or other chronic conditions

Need more food for thought? A recent study showed that participants who had their largest meal at breakfast ended up losing significantly more weight than those who ate their biggest meal later in the day.https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article...

Seriously though, why would you limit taking care of yourself to the weekends? Give yourself that time every day and your body will thank you. It doesn’t even require that extra much time. I’m fairly certain you can scramble a few eggs in three minutes or less. You can cook a sheet of bacon in the oven while you’re showering — or bake it in advance and store it in the fridge. You can even yank the leg off of a whole rotisserie chicken in under 10 seconds.

Which leads me to another interesting perspective. What if breakfast food didn’t have to look like traditional breakfast food? Leftovers from last night’s dinner make a darn good breakfast — anything from burgers to brussels sprouts.

Jenny asked:
“My middle schooler came home with a food pyramid chart that goes against everything I know is right. You know, the whole 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, and pasta on the bottom tier with fats categorized with sugar at the top. I’m fuming!! How do I educate my son with the correct information without starting something with his teacher?”

Honestly, I’d be fuming too. I’m also not surprised. This US-based food pyramid has been around forever. Even though it was replaced a few years back by My Plate (which is just slightly better) and fairly similar to Canada’s guidelines, it’s still making the rounds at grade schools, which unfortunately is teaching our kids a whole lot of garbage that they’ll need to unlearn later on in life if they want to be free of chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.

That being said, knowing where the food pyramid came from actually sheds some light on why it’s so controversial. According to this research, it was designed as a marketing tool for the USDA — and completely ignored the advice given to them by their own team of nutritional experts.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2...

Originally, the food pyramid featured fruits and vegetables as the biggest category of foods. However, that version was dismissed and revised to encourage people to eat more refined grains, not coincidentally subsidized by the USDA.

So, it’s a problem on a lot of levels. The biggest one being that it’s obviously still being taught in school. I’m lucky enough to have had a few conversations with teachers in the Mark’s Daily Apple community and although their lesson plans support the Food Pyramid, they’ve taken it upon themselves to educate their students on the history of the Food Pyramid and My Plate guidelines, plus provide science-based information on the health benefits of avoiding a processed food diet (and not just the ones in the 6-11 servings category). And I encourage you to do the same. The more accurate information you can share with the next generation, the better off they’ll be now and as they get older.

Jason asked:
“Can we talk cravings? I realize that a lot of it has to do with childhood and our coping mechanisms, but I’m sick of carrying around an extra 10 pounds because I can’t control myself. I’d love your advice on this.”

You’re absolutely right, Jason. Your cravings could be how you cope with stress or boredom, they could stem from something from your childhood (i.e. being rewarded with food for good grades, eating when you’re sad, remembering grandma’s snickerdoodle cookies, etc), or a multitude of other psychological reasons.

Cravings can also come from the type of food you’re eating. Most processed food is engineered to make you want to scarf down more of it.https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/food-c... Food manufacturers work hard to make their food more attractive to consumers whether it’s in the combo of highly-addictive fat and sugar or the highly-targeted marketing that makes you suddenly feel starving at 10pm.

The problem with cravings though isn’t in the craving itself, but how we perceive it. I see a lot of health coaches and nutritionists out there acting like craving *forbidden foods* is a huge problem that needs to be solved. They put a layer of shame and guilt on it that doesn’t need to be there.

Listen, it’s in our nature to want a quick source of energyhttps://wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2015/08/... also in our nature to appreciate the fact that food brings us joy. I’m not saying it’s healthy to polish off a bag of cookies every night. But feeling bad about it isn’t the answer either.

When you remove the emotional layer from eating and see it through the lens of biology, you can start to tear down the rules that have been served up to us via diet culture. The rules that say you’re only good if you eat *good foods* and bad when you eat *bad foods* are total nonsense. Not only that, they create a lot of angst and emotional conflict around eating that’s really unhelpful.

Instead of thinking that you can’t control yourself, be curious about your relationship with certain foods. You might ask:

When do your cravings come on?Are you physically hungry?Do you need something on an emotional level?How do you feel when you eat the foods you crave?How do you feel afterward?

Notice patterns in your beliefs and behaviors without judging yourself. You might discover that you crave certain foods if you didn’t eat enough protein that day or if you were particularly stressed out. You might realize that you love potato chips and decide that allowing yourself to have them more regularly prevents obsessing over them. Or you might figure out that you just can’t keep them in the house. No one knows your body better than you, so take the time to evaluate your actions and honor your choices, judgement-free.

Got anything to add? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments.

(function($) { $("#dfPgUPs").load("https://www.marksdailyapple.com/wp-ad..." ); })( jQuery );

References https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22009156/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11848134/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19856162/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1829306http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23590757https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20031863/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7433291/https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7049795/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12681013https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22367552https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10881264/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27873289/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21615805/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mysteries-love/202004/why-are-we-busier-ever-despite-having-nowhere-gohttps://foodandnutrition.org/blogs/stone-soup/practice-self-care-with-food/https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/105/3/e211/5740411?redirectedFrom=fulltexthttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2190/32F2-2PFB-MEG7-8HPUhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/health/food-cravings-engineered-by-industry-1.1395225https://wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2015/08/17/why-do-humans-crave-sugary-foods-shouldnt-evolution-lead-us-to-crave-healthy-foods/

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You’re Probably Doing Push-ups Wrong. How to Fix Them (with Video)

For most people, the push-up seems like the simplest movement of all. You get down in the prone position and use your hands to push yourself away from the ground, then lower yourself until the chest touches, and repeat. Not everyone has the strength or technique to do them, but everyone pretty much knows what a push-up looks like. There’s no real mystery around it.

How To Do the Basic PushupAssume the pushup position: elbows locked; hands about shoulder width apart, flat against the ground; toes on the ground; torso and legs straight, core tight; body parallel to the floor.Lower yourself to the ground, touching your chest to it.Push yourself back up, squeezing your pectoral muscles and completing the full range of motion.At the top, continue until your elbows are completely locked and your shoulder blades are fully protracted.Repeat.

But here’s the thing: most people are doing them wrong. Doing them wrong doesn’t just shortchange your results. It can also increase your risk of injury.

If you want to get the most out of your push-ups and come out of them stronger, healthier, and fitter, read on for some form fixes.

 

Be a stiff lever.

When you’re doing a push-up, you’re a single cohesive slab of human. You are a plank. You are a lever, and your toes are the fulcrum. To be a good lever, you have to tighten up everything: abs (all trunk muscles, in fact), lumbar muscles, glutes, quads. Everything. Make sure you maintain a tight, rigid body. Think of your legs, hips, and torso as if they formed a straight line (they should). Maintain that plank throughout the exercise; maintain the lever.

If you don’t stay tight throughout the movement, you’ll shortchange your results. You won’t generate as much power. Imagine trying to use a floppy crowbar to pry off a baseboard. It just wouldn’t work as well.

Mind your head position.

Rather than looking ahead, you should be looking down at the ground right in front of you. This places your neck in a neutral position and maintains the straight line from head to foot.

Don’t look ahead. Look down.

Elbows in, not flared out.

Flaring out your elbows places your shoulders in an internally-rotated position, which is a major cause of shoulder pain during the exercise. Your average person who claims “push-ups hurt my shoulders” is doing them with flared elbows and severe internal rotation.

Check your hand position.

A good cue for maintaining proper shoulder and elbow position is to externally rotate your hands when you place them on the floor so that your thumbs are pointing straight ahead and your fingers are pointing out to the sides. This forces your elbows to stay in against your body and protects your shoulders.

Protract your shoulder blades at the top.

At the top of the push-up, your shoulder blades should be fully protracted—moving your shoulder blades away from the spine. As you descend, they will retract—moving your shoulders blades closer to the spine, or “packed in” against the spine. This ensures full range of motion (and, again, healthy shoulders).

This is different from the bench press, where your shoulder blades stay retracted throughout the entire movement.

Quality over quantity.

Hammer this into your head until it becomes like breathing: Technique is more important than speed. Form begets function. The major problem people run into with push-ups is they’re chasing a number rather than chasing quality.

I’d take 10 good, hard, perfect push-ups over 40 sloppy, rushed, easy push-ups. The former will get you stronger. The latter will get you injured.

If you’re interested in making push-ups even harder, try thinking of your toes as a passive fulcrum:

Instead of “going down,” you rotate your body toward the ground around the fulcrum of your toes. This is a pretty subtle change, but it places an incredible amount of weight on your chest, triceps, and shoulders. It will feel like you’re “leaning forward” and your hands will feel “farther back” than usual. If you need another cue, imagine touching your shoulders to the ground.

Everything else still applies: stay in rigid plank formation (you’re a lever, remember?), press fully up, don’t do half reps, keep your elbows in, control your shoulder blades and move them mindfully.

The result is a legitimately difficult upper body exercise. You might not be able to bang out 50 pushups like this on a whim, and you’ll probably end up doing these more slowly than before, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Another benefit is they feel easier on the joints.

(function($) { $("#dfqEZka").load("https://www.marksdailyapple.com/wp-ad..." ); })( jQuery );

References https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22009156/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11848134/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19856162/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1829306http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23590757https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20031863/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7433291/https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7049795/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12681013https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22367552https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10881264/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27873289/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21615805/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mysteries-love/202004/why-are-we-busier-ever-despite-having-nowhere-gohttps://foodandnutrition.org/blogs/stone-soup/practice-self-care-with-food/https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/105/3/e211/5740411?redirectedFrom=fulltexthttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2190/32F2-2PFB-MEG7-8HPUhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/health/food-cravings-engineered-by-industry-1.1395225https://wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2015/08/17/why-do-humans-crave-sugary-foods-shouldnt-evolution-lead-us-to-crave-healthy-foods/

 

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Navigating the Grocery Store on a Budget

So you want to eat nutritious, delicious food without spending a fortune on groceries? I hear you.

You might have heard the rumor that going Primal or paleo is expensive. Yes and no. The truth is, I do spend considerably more on groceries now than I did in my pre-Primal days. However, that’s mostly because I pay more for grass-fed, pastured, and organic options when possible, which isn’t mandatory. I choose to allocate a hefty chunk of my monthly budget to food, but I’m not convinced that eating Primally has to be way more expensive than a typical grain-based diet. Not in the big picture, anyway.

Even if you do experience some supermarket sticker shock, those higher grocery bills are at least partially offset by savings elsewhere. My family rarely eats at restaurants anymore, and I don’t even know how much I used to spend driving through McDonald’s for a Diet Coke (and maybe some french fries) on my commute home from work. Also, you probably believe, as I do, that nutritious, high-quality food is an investment in your health. The money you spend now will hopefully save you money on future medical bills. The immediate savings can be impressive, too. We’ve collected hundreds of success stories from readers who were able to get off various prescriptions once they started following the Primal Blueprint.

Still, I know the theoretical future savings don’t necessarily help when you’re looking at the balance in your checking account today. Never fear, there are ways to make your dollar stretch while still avoiding grains, sugar, and dodgy oils.

Making the Most of the Meat Department

The meat department is where you can net some of the biggest savings if you shop smart. Here’s how you do it:

1. Compare the butcher case, the prepackaged meat case, and the freezer section to find the cheapest price per pound or kilo. Don’t shy away from frozen meat, poultry, or seafood. Nutritionally, they are pretty comparable to fresh.

2. If you have freezer space, stock up when things are on sale. Check out weekly specials, but also hit up the grocery stores right after major holidays. In the U.S., for example, you can get turkeys after Thanksgiving for a steal. When buying in bulk, ask the butcher to wrap individuals portions separately—two steaks or one or two pounds of ground beef per package. Before freezing meat at home, make sure it is wrapped tightly, labeled, and dated.

As a side note, if you are choosing less expensive cuts of meat, it’s probably worth it to invest in a pressure cooker that doubles as a slow cooker to get the most out of your meat.

3. Buy whole chickens, fish, and bone-in meat. Not only are they’re usually cheaper, but also, you can use the bones to make bone broth. Save carcasses, fish heads, and bones in the freezer, along with vegetable scraps, until you’re ready to start a batch.

4. Embrace offal. I know preparing liver, kidney, or tongue at home is a big hurdle for some people, but it’s so worth it—financially and nutritionally!—to push past the mental block. Beef heart is usually much more expensive than beef roasts or steaks, but it’s fantastic.

The Best Way to Save Money on Meat:

Talk to your butcher! Tell them what you want to make and get their recommendations for budget-friendly cuts or substitutions. If you find roasts at a lower price per pound/kilo than steaks, ask whether the roasts can be cut into steaks. For example, strip steaks come from boneless beef top loin, and pork chops are cut from pork loin (not tenderloin!). Your butcher will probably even be willing to cut them for you, but if not, you can do it at home with a sharp knife and a YouTube tutorial. At many stores, butchers can also cube meat for kabobs, cut up a whole chicken or turkey, debone chicken, tenderize beef, even clean and fillet whole fish. Some will also sharpen your knives!

Prevail in the Produce Section

1. First things first, in-season produce will usually be cheapest, so plan your menu accordingly. That’s if you menu plan. I typically choose whatever’s freshest and most affordable and then figure out what I can do with it when I get home.

2. Don’t buy more than you can use. Most articles about budgeting advocate for one big weekly trip, but I think going at least twice per week is better if you have time. You won’t have as many issues with produce spoiling in your fridge. Buying giant tubs of salad greens may be more economical than smaller packs, but not if half of it gets slimy before you can use it. I’d also rather buy fresh herbs a day or two before I need them, or else they’re likely to be forgotten in the back of the crisper drawer. (Growing herbs is the most economical option if you have space and, unlike me, you can keep them alive.)

3. Speaking of salad greens, look at the price per ounce/gram of a head of lettuce versus bagged salad, or a whole zucchini versus precut zucchini noodles. Decide if the convenience mark-up is worth it to you.

4. What about organic versus conventional? Buy what you can afford, and don’t stress. If you can afford some organic, prioritize the EWG’s Dirty Dozen and/or the fruits and vegetables you consume in the greatest quantities.

5. Finally, you shouldn’t have any qualms about buying frozen vegetables. Frozen vegetables are usually picked at the peak of ripeness and flash frozen, so they may even be nutritionally superior to produce that has been shipped from far away. Berries are usually much cheaper frozen than fresh. Frozen spinach and kale are great for smoothies. There are a few vegetables I won’t buy frozen because I don’t enjoy the texture (looking at you, Brussels sprouts), but for others, like green beans, I prefer frozen over fresh.

Eggs and Dairy

Eggs offer a nutritious source of affordable protein that you can turn into a ton of different dishes. There’s no question that farm-fresh, pasture-raised eggs have a richer color and, according to most choosy egg lovers, better flavor than conventional eggs. But, if conventional are more to your wallet’s liking, they are still a great choice.

I’m going to get potentially controversial here and say that if you’re really trying to budget, you could consider skipping the dairy section. Dairy is optional on a Primal or Primal+keto diet, and I can’t count how many people have told me that their longstanding troubles with gastrointestinal symptoms, acne, joint pain, and various autoimmune issues cleared up after they eliminated dairy.

Not interested in giving up dairy entirely?

Buy organic or grass-fed butter in bulk when it’s on sale and freeze it.Look at the price difference between heavy cream and half and half or light cream. Heavy cream is the darling of keto diets because it has more fat, but don’t get sucked into the hype. The carbs are basically the same. Choose the less expensive option.Good cheese is costly—I treat it more like a “treat” than a staple food.Greek yogurt and sour cream taste good, but you don’t need them.Mastering the Middle Aisles

1. Skip the snack foods and cereal aisle entirely.

2. Spices: Look for the bigger boxes or bags of salt that are cheaper per ounce than individual shakers. You don’t need the most expensive Himalayan pink salt. Grab Redmond Real Salt or Celtic sea salt on sale. Before buying any spice rubs or blends, check the label. If it’s mostly salt, you might be able to make a copy yourself for less money by mixing individual spices. If it’s mostly sugar, skip it. Your best bet for spices you use a lot is to look for places to order in bulk online.

3. Baking section: This is another one I recommend skipping to save money. Almond flour, coconut flour, and alternative sweeteners like monk fruit and erythritol are way more expensive than white flour and white sugar, and calorie for calorie, they aren’t worth the money compared to meat, eggs, and vegetables.

4. Condiments and cooking oils: Obviously, we have strong feelings about avoiding seed and vegetable oils like canola, corn, and safflower here. Better cooking oils like avocado, olive, and coconut do usually cost more than cheap vegetable oil, so my best advice is to stock up when you find sales. Check out Mark’s Guide to Olive Oil for tips on choosing the best one. You can also ask the butcher about getting some inexpensive beef or pork fat to render your own tallow or lard.

5. Nuts: Another optional and often expensive category that you could absolutely skip to save money. If nuts are on your list, conventional is fine, but check the label for funky oils. Look in the bulk foods section to see if they’re cheaper there.

6. Canned fish: Canned fish are tremendously nutritious, and it’s worth it to pay more for quality here, in my opinion. You don’t want the cheapest canned fish. Look for sustainably caught fish packed in water or olive oil. The good news is, these do go on sale fairly often, so grab extra cans when they are marked down.

Stretching Your Dollar

Top 9 tips for making your grocery budget go further:

Eat offal.Make friends with your butcher. Ask them how to cut roasts into steaks. Let them tenderize or grind tougher, less expensive cuts of meat for you.Buy whole birds, whole fish, and bone-in meat. Make your own broth.Avoid waste by shopping more often for produce and meat.Learn how to store your produce properly so it stays fresh until you eat it.Bigger isn’t better if you won’t use it all, but buying in bulk can save you money. Stock up on non-perishables when they are on sale.Use your freezer to save money and avoid waste. Buy frozen meat and produce, and buy meat in bulk when you can. Freeze leftovers to avoid waste.Sign up for customer loyalty cards and use the coupons they send you.Prioritize meat, produce, eggs, canned fish, and high-quality fats. Dairy, nuts, and grain-free baking ingredients are optional and unnecessary.

Bonus #10: Round out your Primal diet with potatoes and legumes if you want. They are budget-friendly and relatively nutritious, though they deliver too many carbs to be staples of a keto diet.

Also, bear in mind that a giant bag of rice or generic cereal is cheaper than meat or most veggies on a cost-per-serving basis, but not on a cost-to-nutrition basis. You may not be used to thinking about food in terms of nutrient-density or even energy, but how much are you really getting from that rice? Reframing in these terms can help you feel better about spending money on Primal foods.

Remember, Grocery Stores Aren’t Always Your Best Option

I might be in the minority here, but I love grocery shopping—wandering through the produce section, seeing what I can find at the meat counter. However, budget-conscious shoppers should think beyond the grocery store.

For produce, farmer’s markets and CSAs often offer better prices. Plus, you get fruits and vegetables that are locally grown and freshly picked, and you can talk to the farmers about their growing methods. The same goes for eggs and sometimes even meat, nuts, and honey.

If you have a chest freezer, it’s worth the time to investigate buying a whole cow, sheep, or pig. Consider cowpooling if you have limited space.

Shopping online can be more cost-effective, especially if you are buying in bulk or looking for specialty items. Things like loose-leaf tea, coffee, bulk spices and nuts, or cases of canned fish or coconut milk can often be cheaper online. Look into ordering directly from brands you love.

Shop around locally. Get to know the options in your town and surrounding communities, including large grocery stores, smaller and specialty markets, co-ops, warehouse stores, farm stands, and small farms that sell directly to consumers. You might decide it’s worth your time to shop at several different places to take advantage of the best prices at each. Some apps will also compare store prices for you.

Finally, consider doing even your local shopping online. Thanks to the pandemic, many stores offer online ordering and curbside pickup. That gives you the chance to browse sale items and menu plan from the comfort of your home. It also means you won’t tempted to make impulse buys as you wander the aisles.

Your turn: How do you eat healthfully without breaking the bank? What items are you willing to pay more for, and where do you cut costs? 

(function($) { $("#df7h1in").load("https://www.marksdailyapple.com/wp-ad..." ); })( jQuery );

References https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22009156/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11848134/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19856162/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1829306http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23590757https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20031863/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7433291/https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7049795/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12681013https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22367552https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10881264/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27873289/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21615805/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mysteries-love/202004/why-are-we-busier-ever-despite-having-nowhere-gohttps://foodandnutrition.org/blogs/stone-soup/practice-self-care-with-food/https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/105/3/e211/5740411?redirectedFrom=fulltexthttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2190/32F2-2PFB-MEG7-8HPUhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/health/food-cravings-engineered-by-industry-1.1395225https://wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2015/08/17/why-do-humans-crave-sugary-foods-shouldnt-evolution-lead-us-to-crave-healthy-foods/

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Two Meals A Day – The Diet Book To End All Diet Books

As you probably know, I’ve been working with Brad Kearns for the past dozen years to promote the Primal Blueprint lifestyle and crank out books, online courses, and even that great binge of PrimalCon retreats from 2010-2014. After we finished books like the updated and expanded Primal Blueprint 4th edition, The Keto Reset Diet, and Keto For Life, we had a sense there was nothing more to say about healthy eating and supportive lifestyle practices. Alas, as the ancestral health movement and the science and user experiences continue to grow and refine, there always seems to be more to say! Even the most devoted primal enthusiasts have room to optimize, and all of us who have taken personal responsibility for our health have more potential to influence and role model for family and friends.

Two Meals A Day seems like a true breakthrough because it transcends niche dietary strategies like primal, paleo, keto and even plant-based to expand the focus beyond food choices and macros to simply eating less frequently and allowing stored body fat to become your primary source of energy. The program is simple, sustainable, stress-free, and appealing to anyone regardless of dietary preferences. The timing is great because market research reveals that “intermittent fasting” has surpassed the red hot “keto” as the top search term, and for good reason. You see, a revolution is afoot in the world of diet and metabolism. Emerging science is validating some shocking insights that will once and for all topple the long-standing conventional stupidity of the calories in-calories out model, and the resultant decades of epic fail that has been the mainstream approach to weight loss. As we roll into 2021, a confluence of great work from science leaders like Robb Wolf (author of Wired To Eat), Dr. Satchin Panda (author of The Circadian Code and promoter of the Time Restricted Feeding concept), Dr. Herman Pontzer (author of Burn and promoter of the Total Energy Expenditure theory) and Dr. Jason Fung (author of The Obesity Code, which cites dozens of studies revealing the folly of calories in-calories out), and Dr. Tommy Wood (“eat more healthy food!”) is pointing us in an empowering new direction.

We now have an excellent understanding on how the body really works and can finally chart an accurate direction to achieve and maintain ideal body composition and escape from the epidemic disease patterns driven by carbohydrate dependency. Here are some bullet points to summarize the emerging science:

Calories in-calories out is a myth. Fat loss is about hormone optimization, mainly through avoiding the epidemic disease pattern of hyperinsulinemia.When you eat is just as important as what you eat. Too many meals and snacks—even when choosing the healthiest foods or following ketogenic macros—will compromise fat reduction goals.Fasting is the centerpiece of a healthy dietary strategy. Immune function, inflammation control, internal antioxidant production, cognitive function, and cell repair (autophagyhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... and apoptosishttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... all optimized when you are in a fasted state.Eating fewer calories and burning more workout calories will not result in fat loss. (50,000 women in the eight-year Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Trialhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16391... proved this!)Eating more calories and exercising less will not result in significant fat gain. The body finds was to increase caloric expenditure (See The Obesity Code for details.) Diet-induced thermogenesishttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... is especially relevant with protein, where around 25 percent of protein calories you consume are allocated to their digestion.Humans have an upper limit on average daily caloric expenditure. When we try exceed it, the body finds ways to compensate. As Nourish Balance Thrive principal Chris Kelly says, “reproduction, growth, repair and locomotion are a zero sum game. Overload one [e.g., overtraining] and you will compromise the others [e.g., immune function or muscle protein synthesis]”

If all of these pillars of modern dietary strategy are shattered, what do we see when the smoke clears? We enter an empowering new paradigm that is of course aligned with the fractal eating patterns and nutrient-dense food choices of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Here is a bullet point summary of the secrets to losing excess body fat and keeping it off, avoiding the global pandemic of metabolic disease (and, ahem, increased vulnerability to other pandemics), and living a long, healthy, happy life:

Hormone optimization: Produce an optimally minimal amount of insulin over a lifetime, mainly through making good food choices and engaging in a popular new fad I’ve coined, intermittent eating.Eat ancestrally: Choose nutrient-dense ancestral foods and superfoods (Check out Brad’s new Carnivore Scores Chart for a tiered ranking of the most nutritious foods on earth) that are highly nourishing and satiating. This is the natural and only reliable way to optimize appetite and caloric intake.Move frequently: Increasing all forms of general everyday movement ensures that stored body fat remains your preferred source of energy. Inactivity compromises fat burning and promotes carbohydrate cravings.Lift heavy things and sprint once in a while: These Primal Blueprint laws turbocharge fat burning and help increase or maintain adequate lean muscle mass.Prioritize sleep: Insufficient sleep compromises fat burning and promotes carbohydrate dependency. Good sleep makes you a good fat burner.Form an empowering mindset: There is an entire chapter in Two Meals A Day about mindset, because self-limiting beliefs and behavior patterns can sabotage your best laid plans for success. Any dietary or lifestyle transformation has to start with believing in yourself, and then taking consistent, habitual actions to realize your dreams.Eliminate the Big Three: Refined sugars, grains and industrial seed oils are the proximate causes of the global metabolic disease epidemic. Strive for a strict 21-day elimination period of the Big Threeso you can escape carbohydrate dependency and start to upregulate your fat burning genes
Avoid chronic cardio: Repeat after me – burning more calories makes you consume more calories and become lazier and less metabolically active throughout the day. Chronic cardio will also destroy your health and your heart.Avoid calorie restriction: Your body will engage in assorted compensatory mechanisms to preserve energy when you restrict calories; you’ll have lower energy levels in general, and likely downregulate important thyroid, adrenal and sex hormone functions. Dr. Tommy Wood counsels fitness enthusiasts to, “eat as much nutritious food as you want until you start adding a bit of fat, then dial it back.” Robb Wolf offers an epic sound bite on the topic: “If you want to perform better and live longer, lift more weights and eat more protein.”Avoid hyper-palatable processed foods: Sugar and fat are never found together in nature. Combining the two to create a delicious treat hijacks the reward neuro-circuitry in your brain, compelling you to eat more and more. Ever heard of ice cream, cheesecake, buttered popcorn, chips and guacamole, pizza, milk chocolate, fast food burgers, fries and shakes, and all manner of processed crap (HoHo’s, Ding Dong’s, Twinkie’s, Big Baller Brands, Ring-a-Lings, etc.)? If you insist on indulging, a high fat, low sugar treat is recommended. If you choose to have a sugary treat now and then, do some microworkouts right afterward to mute the insulin response!Avoid snacking: This surprisingly destructive habit halts the burning of body fat immediately and prompts an insulin spike—yes, even if you eat a high protein or high fat snack. Enjoy meals where you consume nutritious food to your heart’s content, and give your body a break in between to optimize fat burning and stabilize appetite hormones.

Yes, I have just slammed you with a whirlwind of life changing, paradigm shifting information. Maybe you’re deep into this primal game and much of this is refresher course, or maybe your head is spinning and you need further guidance to unwind the brainwashing of conventional stupidity. Whatever level you’re at, I think you’ll find Two Meals A Day an informative and inspiring read. I think you’ll be particularly interested in the mindset chapter. It’s become clear to me in recent years that we have plenty of information at our fingertips, but we still struggle with the execution and/or enjoying ourselves along the way. I’m all about living awesome, and we have to make this a centerpiece of our quest to live primally in the modern world.

Here is a quick overview of what you’ll find in the book. With our partners at Grand Central Publishing, we’ve put together an attractive package of pre-order bonuses you can take advantage of on the book’s website.

Introduction: Laying the foundation of: eat less frequently, and eating the right foods. Overview of nailing the essentials in the coming chapters – ditch refined carbs and oils, emphasize ancestral foods, embrace intermittent eating, reduce meal frequency and snacking, form an empowering mindset, get lifestyle dialed. Embracing a new paradigm away from conventional stupidity. Presentation of several FDCS (flawed & dated conventional stupidity) with corresponding ENT (empowering new truths.) How we got into this mess, (flawed science, manipulative marketing), and understanding the evolutionary rationale.

Chapter 1: Clean Up Your Act
Detailed list of foods/products to eliminate in each Big Three category: grains, sweetened beverages, dairy, industrial oils, baking ingredients, condiments, fast foods, processed foods.

Chapter 2: Intermittent Eating, The Fast-est Way To Health
Fasting is the central focus, not nitpicking food choices and macronutrient profiles. Autophagy, antiflammatory, immune, mitochondrial, and disease protection benefits of fasting. Beware of trying TMAD before you have metabolic flexibility (= gluconeogenesis, stress hormone bath). Female considerations for fasting. TMAD transcends the diet wars. Time Restricted Feeding/digestive circadian rhythm.

Chapter 3: Emphasize Nutrient-Dense Ancestral Foods (And Superfoods)
Details about how to make the best choices (and things to avoid) in ancestral categories of meat, fish, fowl, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, high fat dairy, and high cacao dark chocolate. Make an effort to emphasize nutrient-dense superfoods, many of which are sorely lacking in modern diet. Superfoods include: fresh local organic produce, organ meats, bone broth, pastured eggs, oily, cold water fish, fermented foods, high cacao dark chocolate.

Chapter 4: Form An Empowering Mindset
First, obtain the necessary knowledge base/understanding what to do. Then, operate from a position of compassion and gratitude. Importance of/commitment to journaling. Identify flawed subconscious programming and learn how to overcome it. Believe in yourself and the process, get inspired! Implement plan of action and learn how to form habits (importance, mindfulness, repetition, endurance.)

Chapter 5: Follow A Fat Burning Lifestyle
Create optimal sleep environment and evening routine. Get rest, recovery, and down time in hectic daily life – discipline screen use, experience nature, nap when necessary. Increase general everyday movement (JFW, tons of workday breaks, workplace variation, formal movement practices). Conduct comfortable cardio workouts, and brief, intense strength, sprint, and microworkouts. Emphasize recovery in your workout patterns.

Chapter 6: Putting Two Meals A Day Into Play
Different strategies such as making gradual progress with no backslides; eating break-fast WHEN; a morning-evening meal pattern; and perhaps best of all, implementing an intuitive strategy.

Chapter 7: Advanced Strategies For Fat Reduction
A progression of fasted workouts, with the variables of duration of fast before, type of workout, and duration of fast after. Other strategies include extended fasting, sprinting, and exposure to cold. These practices can help you break through plateaus and further improve your metabolic flexibility.

The Twelve-Day Turbocharge
You’ll put everything together with a challenging 12-day experience featuring action items and corresponding journal exercises in each of five areas: Food, Fasting, Fitness, Mindset, and Lifestyle. This experience will allow you to custom design a sustainable long-term lifestyle strategy featuring your favorite foods, workouts and daily patterns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Kitchen sink comin’ at ya! We’ll cover topics like:

How do I know I’m ready for fasting?I enjoy snacking. I feel like it gives me an energy boost and a break from my stressful workday. Can I continue?If it’s not about calories in, calories out, what is the secret to shedding excess body fat?Does working out make any kind of contribution to my body-composition goals?What is the best way to lose excess body fat without causing compensation-theory rebounds?Is low carb just for endurance athletes, or can strength and power athletes benefit, too?How do I know whether my insulin production is okay or excessive?How can fruit be worse than other carbs when it has so many nutritional benefits?Recipes

Enjoy over forty delicious and convenient recipes in a variety of categories that boost dietary nutrient density and make your meals a celebration.

Pre-Order Bonus Items

When you pre-order a copy from your favorite retailer, you can return to the book’s website to claim a bunch of cool bonus items: A $10 coupon to use at PrimalKitchen.com, a detailed audio summary of the entire book, and a Sneak Peek PDF with choice excerpts and recipes.

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