Primal Blueprint Podcast

On today’s show, Elle Russ and Eli Rohde talk about making the transition from sugar burner to fat burner. Once you adopt new habits and lifestyle behaviors, they’re often easier to maintain than you might have initially thought. But getting over the initial hurdles of making the transition can be a challenge. So on today’s show, Elle and Eli share their own personal experiences, and expertise, when it comes to navigating through the initial stages of going primal. They talk about motivation, willpower, and implementing practical tricks to make the process easy—so sticking to your new habits can become a reality. They cover topics ranging from prepping for a transition, quality vs. quantity when it comes to food choices, curbing the temptation to indulge in too much of a good thing, and not letting perfectionism get in the way of attaining your goals. Special offer: Today's show is brought to you by Audible. Visit audible.com/primal for your free audiobook download!

Taking care of yourself can give you more energy (always a major plus). If your body is in good health, it will serve your hormonal balance and emotional resilience. You’ll likely sleep better and have a better immune response. You’ll be able to do more fun things like kayak or hike or surf for hours. There is almost no end to the benefits of being healthy and what it can do for your overall well-being. That said, let’s be clear. Getting fit and healthy won’t make you more lovable. You won’t suddenly be showered with good fortune. You won’t be released from all your unhealthy tendencies and personal faults. Bad memories and past indiscretions won’t be carried away by a blue balloon. Insecurities won’t disintegrate. Life won’t suddenly morph into a convivial Miller High Life commercial. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

I’m not interested in talking about Supreme Court decisions, the Affordable Health Care Act or for-profit versus non-profit business models. No, today I have something else in mind. It’s a perspective on health insurance that gets almost no attention at all despite the high costs and even higher stakes. Let’s look at an actual definition first. From Wikipedia: “Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals.” And can those darn expenses ever get expensive… Just as budget experts and lifestyle minimalists advise that the best price is no price when that’s an option, I’d argue the same principle applies here. The cheapest health bill is no bill. And what if our daily choices could help make this possible? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Tovar Cerulli, a vegan-turned-hunter, is author of The Mindful Carnivore: A Vegetarian’s Hunt for Sustenance, which has earned praise from hunters, vegetarians, and ecologists alike. He serves as a unique bridge across diverse ways of thinking about human relationships with food, nature, and wildlife, and has led seminars for agencies, nonprofits, and universities across the country. As a consultant in the conservation field, he helps clients integrate conflicting ideas and values, gain insight into unfamiliar points of view, and expand and develop their thinking and perspectives. Tovar’s essays have been published in Outdoor America, High Country News, The Atlantic, Utne Reader, and Northern Woodlands, among others. He lives in Vermont with his wife Catherine and an eclectic mix of cookbooks.Do you or friends have moral reservations about eating meat? What about the actual act of hunting? And how does this all factor into our relationship with the land we live off of? On today’s show, host Elle Russ talks wi

For almost as many years as I’ve been writing this blog and these books, I’ve also dreamed about providing a very real and concrete outlet for people who want (and need) delicious, nutrient-dense food without always having to make it themselves: a Primal restaurant. As much as this movement has grown, it’s still young, still small. Most people don’t know about it, and although restaurants are making initial overtures with gluten-free buns and lettuce wrapped burgers and salad options, the majority of quick and easy “on the go” options are of terrible quality. It’s easy to complain about the sad state of casual restaurants, but that doesn’t help the people who eat there. I wanted to help them. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Though most of your diet is comprised of fresh fruits and vegetables, grass-fed meats, and free-range poultry, you always need a few paleo-friendly condiments, simple snacks, and nonperishable goods. So to help simplify the primal life, I put together a box of all of my favorite paleo staples. These are the foodstuffs I always have on hand and eat daily. With a box of these goodies in your kitchen, you’ll have a really solid foundation on which to build your new healthy routine or maintain your dedication to primal eating.(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Leslie Klenke)

If you follow the 10 Primal Blueprint foundational laws, you’ll be setting yourself up for a healthy, vibrant life. But what else is there? What were the honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut? In no particular order, here are several additional lifestyle behaviors that are central to my life and were a big part of our ancestors.’(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

On today’s show, we feature Mary Vance, a holistic nutritionist who helps clients with gluten-free and paleo meal plans. Through optimizing nutrition, she also specializes in helping individuals get their allergies under control. Mary was an animal lover since she was a child, and became a vegetarian at age 15 when she learned about the horrors of factory farming. She became anemic, and, following popular books based on vegetarianism, tried to heal herself with a diet high in soy, legumes and grains. But her health issues only grew worse, and Mary was left with an extreme hormonal imbalance and digestive distress. After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta, she decided to continue her education and seek out solutions to her health issues that defied conventional medical solutions. So she enrolled at Bauman College in Berkeley in 2004 and graduated as a Certified Nutrition Consultant in Summer, 2006. Since then, she has recovered her health completely, and spends her life making it her mission to help o

If you’re up to speed on all the latest CrossFit Games news, then you’ve probably heard about the Grundler brothers. If you haven’t, you should. Bill and James Grundler have made a splash this year—and for good reason. The power duo are the first brothers to ever compete in the Games together, and they’ve shown that there’s a lot to be gained from having someone close, and knowledgeable, to help you achieve your goals. The two started off competing against each other in high school wrestling (proto-WFF stars by their own tongue-in-cheek accounts). But as the two grew up, they went their separate professional paths—Bill into a career as a high school athletics coach, firefighter and trainer, and James into the music biz, where he toured as the lead vocalist in a popular indie rock band. So how did CrossFit and primal living come into the mix? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

I’m announcing a special offer to everyone interested in the Primal Blueprint Expert Certification program: gain instant access for just $1 down. When my team and I released the Primal Blueprint Certification program last year we had high hopes for it. We envisioned it taking the paleosphere by storm and bringing ancestral health principles deep into the mainstream. With a strong team of experts, we could reach so many more people, change so many more lives, and expand our community ten-fold. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

What, exactly, are the minimum effective doses for exercise? How little do I have to train to stay and/or get fit? And what kind of effects can we expect to get from said minimal doses? The answers to those questions will depend on who’s asking, but we have a few specific examples of people maintaining, improving, or radically transforming their fitness levels with minimum effective doses of exercise. Let’s take a look.  (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

First off: This isn’t the start of a new longer-term Primal Challenge. 1000 days would be fun, but I’m pretty sure we’d run out of ideas — and sponsors. Apologies to everyone out there chomping at the bit for a few years straight of new contests and prizes. You’d get sick of it yourself; trust me. Plus, that shorter 21-day Primal challenge format works because it’s the perfect way to quickly kickstart real change, disrupt bad habits and establish new ones. Today’s challenge concerns long, lasting, sustained, momentous change that happens over a greater timescale.  (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Today’s show features special guest Diana Rodgers, a nutritional therapist, sustainable farm advocate, and author of the inspiring new book, The Homegrown Paleo Cookbook—a stellar resource that shows how we can incorporate classic self-sustaining practices for a healthier life. As a small child, Diana was sickly. This carried over into adulthood, where she went through a rough period of digestion issues. Even so, she was still surprised when her doctor tested and diagnosed her with celiac disease. Heeding the new diagnosis, Diana jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon—only still with a carb heavy diet, which lead her down a path that was dangerously close to type 2 diabetes. But around that time, Diana’s husband landed a job as an organic farm manager. While hanging around the farm, customers showed Diana the benefits of various nutrient dense foods, many of which were higher in protein and fat. She noticed some huge results, and decided to take her knowledge to the next level. She got a certification in nutriti

We’re looking at two sides of the same coin here really: how “basic”/preventative health care (for most people, ideally the span of insurance qualifying/tax deductible services) can evolve to effectively serve more relevant preventative purposes AND how physician training (particularly for family physicians and general internists) might enhance doctors’ effectiveness in promoting healthy lifestyle and behavior change. In the spirit of this latter point, I wanted to highlight a few unique programs that are breaking through old academic impasses and forging the way toward a new view (and practice) of med school instruction. We the public, I think, may have something to gain here. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

For the most part, your diet seems pretty solid. You’re eating eggs on a regular basis. You’ve got, like, six ways to make really good cauliflower. That subtle humming reverberating through the house is just your chest freezer full of half a grass-fed cow. Leafy green vegetables are staples, sweet potatoes appear post-workout, and you’re first in line to buy fresh wild salmon when in season (plus extra for the chest freezer). All your bases are covered, right? Maybe not. From all the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve spotted a few consistent blind spots in the diets of the Primal community. In today’s article, I will reveal the 10 Primal foods you probably need to eat more often. After each entry, I’ll tell you the easiest (and tastiest) way I’ve found to integrate said food into your diet; no excuses. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

On today’s show, Elle speaks with Dr. Gary Foresman, and esteemed MD and integrative medicine specialist. After serving as a traditional physician and teaching as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California Irvine, he became dissatisfied with the shortcomings of established Western medical treatments to effectively treat many of his patients. Determined to help his patients, he began investigating alternative therapies and has expanded his training in many systems of healing, including Ayurveda, meditation, stress management, massage, as well as botanical, orthomolecular and functional medicine systems. Elle and Dr. Foresman discuss topics ranging from the frustrations with traditional Western medicine, sugar consumption’s relation to cancer, anti-aging hormones, psychotherapy, useful blood tests everyone could benefit from, and more! So sit back, relax, and dive into today’s commentary on the benefits of integrative medicine.

Last week, I countered claims that “paleo gots no science” with summaries of five recent (and not so recent) papers supporting the paleo/Primal approach to diet. The reception to that post was strong enough that I got requests to cover a few more this week. So today, I’m going to explain the findings of five more relevant studies. Not all of these studies come from the original list, but each gives an accurate and important portrayal of the effects of eating in accordance with one’s biology. More importantly, these are all interesting approaches to the diet, with some examining higher-carb paleo, some looking at higher-fat and downright ketogenic paleo diets, and still others trying to disentangle the beneficial effects of the weight loss that normally occurs on paleo diets from the effect of going paleo. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

What really should we be monitoring on an annual basis? As many of you know by now, I tend to embrace the devil’s advocate role, particularly in questioning conventional wisdom. It’s not that I’m out for blood or have a chip on my shoulder (although blatant misinformation does get under my skin). I simply don’t believe in accepting a truth or practice on the sole rationale of “that’s just how it’s done.” Standard health care parameters are no exception here. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

People constantly demand proof for the efficacy of the Primal eating plan. And I’m glad they do. The Primal Blueprint makes sense on an intuitive level, and those success stories we see every Friday sure are persuasive, but it’s also important to see broader support in the scientific literature. Many times, people demand proof without really wanting any; they assume it’s all imaginary just-so stories. “Where are the studies?” has become a retort rather than a legitimate query. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Host Brad Kearns talks to cutting edge peak performance and athletic training expert Christopher Smith. Christopher is a decorated PGA who teaches professionally out of Portland, Oregon and is a consultant to Nike Golf and the radical new Golf Board concept (with Laird Hamilton). Christopher is the world record holder and past world champion in the sport of Speedgolf. Check out this astonishing YouTube video of him playing the championship course of Bandon Dunes, Oregon in only 53 minutes while shooting 4 under par! The high-speed video production shows his entire round in only four minutes—one of the most remarkable golf rounds ever played. Inspired by the insights gained from the intuitive, reactive nature of Speedgolf, Christopher created his popular teaching system Train2Trust.com, and wrote the book, I’ve got 99 Swing Thoughts, But ‘Hit The Ball’ Ain’t One. Christopher talks about why most practice for golf and other sports could be a waste of time, how failure can help you get better, and plants an impo