Most of the time, we wield willpower like a holstered gun with the safety off. Temptation rears — an ice cream bar, perhaps — and we whip it out, firing blindly and wasting more than a few bullets in the process. The temptation is beat back, and the ice cream goes uneaten, but the willpower that remains is depleted and less effective in subsequent encounters. And the same thing happens every time we’re faced with a decision. That’s a sloppy way of dealing with the constant stream of temptation the modern world presents.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

A few weeks ago, I shared some thoughts on one of my favorite books of late, A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine. I appreciated the comments from folks who connected with the central message: how to cultivate a life with the most peace and contentment possible. The Stoics were fans of living life mindfully and deliberately. When we’re honest, it’s easy to see how easy (and common) it is to spend life by accident. Getting through the day turns into getting through the years, turns into life gone by. What will we be thinking at that stage? Better, the Stoics advised, to be clear about your intentions, thoughtful in your choices, simple in your desires and content in your days. Here’s how I translate that to Primal practice.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Podcasts have become a lifesaver for me. Whenever I’m stuck in traffic (which is whenever I drive in LA), or have a long trip ahead of me (and I don’t feel like or can’t read), I use podcasts to make otherwise wasted time incredibly productive, engaging, and enjoyable. Here are what I consider to be the best Primal/paleo/ancestral health-related podcasts in the world. I’ll also throw in some of my favorite podcasts that have nothing at all to do with health and fitness and Primal living.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Hannah Crum is The Kombucha Mamma, founder of Kombucha Kamp, the most visited website in the world for Kombucha information, recipes and advice. KKamp's mission is to “change the world, one gut at a time.” Along with partner Alex LaGory, Hannah is also an industry journalist and Master Brewer, directly mentoring thousands of new and experienced Kombucha brewers and providing consultation services for Kombucha start-ups since 2007. Together, Hannah and Alex also co-founded Kombucha Brewers International, the industry non-profit trade association dedicated to promoting bottled Kombucha around the world. Kombucha Kamp classes, advice and reporting have been featured in BevNet, Beverage Spectrum Magazine, Whole Life Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Elephant Journal, Vital Juice and many others while her instructional video series with E-How/Expert Village has racked up over 1 million views.

Enjoy a special promotion from this episode's sponsor: DNAFit.com

Click here and enter the code PRIMALBLUEPRINT at checkout for a whopping 30% off your own personal genetic test!

I’m a huge proponent of self-experimentation. We can’t always rely on funding for research relevant to our needs, interests, and desires, and those studies that are relevant are still using participants that are not us. We like control, when it comes down to it. We want to be the arbiters of our own destinies, and running (formal or informal) self-experiments of 1 can help us get to that point. But as helpful as it can be, there are both inherent limits to self-experimentation and common pitfalls people fail to take into account when designing their experiments of one.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

I’m a big fan of coconut oil myself, and I’ve written quite a lot about coconut oil over the years. Remember the days when coconut oil was maligned for being high in saturated fat and thus a high-risk oil for heart disease? It seems that rumor is finally being put to rest. Sure, coconut oil is high in saturated fat, but it’s not the traditional saturated fat made up of long chain fatty acids. The structure of fat in coconut oil is unique—65% of its makeup are specialized fats called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) that, when broken down in the liver, contribute to efficient energy (and fat) burning. It’s more difficult for our bodies to convert MCTs into stored fat.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

It’s the Versaclimber, folks: the most brutally effective piece of fitness equipment you’ll ever use (but probably haven’t). Most people don’t know about it because no one talks about it, few use it, and gyms don’t stock more than one if you’re lucky. Is this because it’s a useless piece of machinery? No. The Versaclimber is almost too good, too effective, too intense an experience for most people. The few that have used it almost invariably quit because it’s so hard. And gyms don’t have many because they can’t convince people to use it, to actually go all out like they’ve never gone all out before.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Join three popular Primal Blueprint Podcast hosts as they get together for the first time and shoot the breeze. Mark talks about his interview with Laird Hamilton and shares some memorable insights about motivation, innovation and intuition. Elle asks each ex-endurance star about his motivation to exercise and how it’s evolved over time. Brad and Mark talk about the difference between a “fun” race and a “positive” one.

Mark also recaps his Paleo f(x) presentation and how people received his message of primal leniency. Other topics include: Will paleo continue to grow and gain more mainstream traction? How do you get people enthused about paleo/primal living (especially if they’re not initially receptive)? How do most people come across the paleo/primal lifestyle in the first place?

Finally, Mark and Elle offers some suggestions for how to get started with primal/paleo eating, even in the face of some seriously engrained habits.

Enjoy a special promotion from this episode's sponsor: DNAFit.com

Click here and enter the code PRIMALBLUEPRINT at checkout for a whopping 30% off your own personal genetic test!

As much as people are willing to pay lip service to the importance of a solid eight hours every night (actually sleeping that many hours is another thing entirely), most do not seriously entertain the value of napping. That’s a real mistake, because not only do humans have a long and storied tradition of snoozing in the middle of the day, there are also huge benefits to naps. Far from being anti-productivity wastes of time, a well-timed nap can boost cognitive function, improve work output, and make you healthier, happier, and a better employee (and person).

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Do you know that sensation in the pit of your stomach when you feel like something is meant to be? I’m not going to lie. I had that feeling the first time I met Mark Sisson two years ago at PrimalCon Oxnard. After just a brief conversation with him and a quick fangirl photo op, I knew my life’s trajectory was about to change—and boy did it ever.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Leslie Klenke, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)