The Primal Kitchen Podcast

It happens to the best of us. You start sneaking a few more bites of bread when out to dinner and trying your buddy’s delicious-looking pizza. Your workouts trickle to once a week, sometimes none. You walk less, couch more. And then one day, you realize you’ve gone off the wagon. You’ve gained belly fat. You’re getting winded going up the stairs. Your once-pleasurable hikes have become grueling affairs that you dread and end up avoiding. Your fridge is full of takeout boxes and you realize you haven’t cooked in two weeks. You need to restart your Primal lifestyle, and fast.

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep302015-RestartYourPrimalLifestyle.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:58am PDT

Eating a Super-Clean, Plant-Heavy, Whole Foods Diet? You Might Have Fruit Belly!

A little discussed phenomenon is disturbingly common among health-conscious eaters, especially those diligent about eating plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains. Granted, not very primal, but even super-primal-aligned folks suffer from digestive difficulties related to eating their abundant servings of veggies and fruit. The condition is called Fruit Belly—a bloated cranky, gurgly, and visceral-fat-hoarding abdomen that grows (or refuses to budge) despite your best efforts to eat healthy, and even despite your success at sculpting the rest of your body.

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep292015-YouMightHaveFruitBelly.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:22am PDT

10 Things You Shouldn’t Do If You’re Trying to Build Muscle

While it’s important to think positive and focus on all the things you should be doing to achieve your goals, it’s equally important that we focus on those things that interfere with our goals and remind ourselves to avoid doing them. Some call it the “not to do list,” which I like. Many of the behaviors on not-to-do lists are deal breakers, so it’s arguably more crucial that we identify and curtail those that apply to our lives. But that’s hard; these are behaviors we might already be doing. Heck, they might be bad habits we’ve developed, or biases we’ve internalized. And so before adopting good behaviors, we should clear out the bad ones. Otherwise, we’re just pissing in the wind.

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep232015-10ThingsYouShouldntDo.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:26am PDT

Why These 10 Famous Thinkers Napped

A few months ago, I wrote a guide to napping that included how, why, and when to flop down for a spell. That wasn’t a random throwaway post. It was the first salvo in a new war. I’m on a mission to legitimize the nap, to destigmatize the siesta for the average working human. And it’s not a selfish thing, because I can already pretty much take a nap whenever I want. I’m concerned about you. In a chronically sleep-deprived population such as ours, a 45 minute foray into the land of dreams can rejuvenate the mind, make up for sleep debt, and make us healthier and happier. Yet those who nap —or simply want to nap — often feel guilty about it, even if they have an hour or two to spare and are falling asleep at their desks. Perhaps it’ll make you feel better to know that some of the world’s greatest thinkers considered naps to be an integral part of their day — and their success.

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep172015-10FamousThinkersNapped.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:06am PDT

The Primal Laws: 7 More Honorable Mentions

A couple months back, I gave you a list of Primal Laws that didn’t quite make the cut, either because they weren’t “big” enough or didn’t apply to enough people. Turns out I was probably wrong: the response was huge and many of you were on the same wavelength. You even offered up some of your own ideas for honorable mentions. So today, I’m giving you 7 more honorable mentions that almost deserved a spot on the final list of Primal Laws. Read the post, take what resonates with you and discard what doesn’t. But give the article a fair shake and really consider how adopting these laws could improve your life.

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep162015-7MoreHonorableMentions.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:55am PDT

What You Need to Know About Foodborne Illness: Part 1

It’s a regular headline: “# of People Sickened by Contaminated Food.” Most recently, it was a case of imported cucumbers with salmonella (one of the most common and serious foodborne pathogens) that resulted in at least 341 people ill and two dead across 30 states. It’s difficult when public service information shifts us toward viewing our food with a nervous eye. The CDC estimates approximately 48 million people get sick from foodborne illness each year. Of those, 128,000 are hospitalized and about 3000 die. So, what do we do with this information?

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep152015-FoodborneIllnessP1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:08am PDT

Why Camping Is So Great: The Benefits of Spending Time in the Great Outdoors

I’ve always loved to camp. From my early days as a kid growing up in Maine (where it seemed like everyone camped), to my death-defying adventures with Outward Bound in the wilds of New England as a teen, to my current setup running a business in the Malibu hills, I’ve been a camper. Even when I’d dedicated my life to endurance training and had little time for anything else, I always made it a point to get away to the woods with the family for a few nights whenever I could. The reasoning was basic: it was relaxing, enjoyable, decompressing, and just plain fun. And that’s why most people camp. It just feels right, doesn’t it?

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep102015-WhyCampingIsSoGreat.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:34am PDT

It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon. What’s the condition of your backside? Can you feel your legs, or did at least one of them fall asleep a few hours ago? And your back? Neck, shoulders – how much tension are they carrying at this point in the day? Not to mention your mood and concentration? Does your attitude take a nosedive this time of day? Has your brain turned to mush? Did you just have to read the same set of instructions or email memo a couple of times because your mind wandered off? How often do you end up feeling like this in a typical afternoon?

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep092015-DailyMovementMakeYouHappier.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:48am PDT

Can Techies Improve Food?

Technology has improved our lives, whether through the creation of new tools or by upgrading existing ones. But are there limits to technological progress? Can technology improve everything? We’ll find out. There’s talk of a “food revolution” brewing in Silicon Valley, helmed by engineers and entrepreneurs convinced they can do food better than both nature and traditional agriculture.

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep082015-CanTechiesImproveFood.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:41am PDT

10 Food Pairings That Make Surprising Nutritional Sense

Some foods and flavors are just made for one another. Bacon and eggs. Strawberries and cream. Basil and tomato. Oil and vinegar. Sweet and sour. The list goes on and on. But what’s behind these classic and nearly universal combinations? Does taste alone drive the decision to, say, add fresh herbs to a charred piece of meat? And if pairings are driven by taste, which sounds reasonably, could it be possible that healthy pairings naturally taste better because we’ve evolved an innate draw towards these powerful combinations? The jury may still be out on that one. Nevertheless, some foods, when taken together, make surprising nutrition sense.

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep032015-10FoodPairings.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:32am PDT

Why Getting Fit Isn’t the Best Exercise Motivation (and 10 Better Reasons to Move Today)

We’re told time and again that in order to get healthy we need to let go of our “lower” instincts (e.g. conserving energy on the couch or preferring to go out and have fun) and embrace future goals. We need to take things seriously – have concrete objectives and clear steps to execute them. It’s about getting down to business and whipping ourselves into shape through the grit of sweat and discipline. Or? 

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep022015-GettingFitIsnttheBestMotivation.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:42am PDT

13 Ways to Move More Throughout the Day (Even While at Work)

This is a guest post from expert biomechanist Katy Bowman, author of Don’t Just Sit There!

What research has demonstrated in the last few years is that people aren’t either active or sedentary—they can be both. Even the active people are, by a new definition coined in movement research, actively sedentary.

Our totally body movement often tends to boil down to what we do for a bout of exercise each day. Trying to extract all of your movement needs from one or two hours of daily exercise is like trying get all your dietary needs from a single daily meal crafted from the same handful of foods every day. This approach just won’t do. 

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

Direct download: MDA-Sep012015-MoveMoreThroughouttheDay.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:17am PDT

On today’s special show, Mark Sisson and Katy Bowman discuss their exciting joint project, “Don’t Just Sit There,” which is a comprehensive multimedia educational course designed to help people overcome one of the major health hazards of modern life: prolonged sedentary periods that compromise your health at the cellular level. Katy is a biomechanist (someone who studies living structures like the human body), author, and popular blogger at KatySays.com. Her focus is on how movement and variability are the keys to a healthy work environment. It turns out that true movement variability at work requires more than simply transitioning from a sitting to standing position at a standup workstation. And it’s not just about assuming the correct ergonomic positions at your keyboards, either. Anytime you have prolonged stillness, you are putting undesirable “loads” upon your cells that can lead to pain, dysfunction, and disease. This includes your eyes gazing at a computer screen at a fixed distance for hours.  

 

Katy and Mark talk about the many challenges of going dynamic instead of static, and some practical tips to mix things up in your daily routine (within the confines and restrictions of the modern workplace environment, of course). This is a great discussion to acquaint listeners with the Don’t Just Sit There program, which comes complete with a detailed eBook and a series of instructional videos to help you custom-design a dynamic workstation and a workplace pattern of movement and variability. So if you find yourself interested in learning more after today’s podcast, then you’ll want to act fast:

 

Tomorrow is the LAST DAY to grab the Don’t Just Sit There program for the reduced price of $27!

 

Plus, if you act now, you’ll receive a whole series of bonus items, which won’t be available past tomorrow evening.

 

So listen to the podcast, then sign up and get moving!

 

Direct download: Ep_83_PrimalBlueprint-DontJustSitThere.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

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