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Authors: Mark Sisson

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BOOK: The Primal Blueprint
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You see, the
Primal Blueprint
is more than just a book. It’s the centerpiece of a vibrant community of people connected by the Internet and committed to living their lives to the fullest potential, challenging the status quo, and trying something
old
. I encourage you to participate at
MarksDailyApple.com
. Share your experiences with the program and connect with an audience that can relate to you in a way that goes beyond what a book or even a paid trainer can offer. Every day, I augment the foundation of the
Primal Blueprint
with easy-to-read, hard-hitting but lighthearted commentary on all manner of healthy lifestyle topics, including delicious recipes, workout tips and videos, evaluation of the latest research, and an extensive library of bite-sized inspiration and reminders to keep you eating, exercising, and living to your potential.

In this book, I detail a basic framework of diet, exercise, and lifestyle guidelines that you must observe to be successful. However, making the pieces fit comfortably into your own life is best left up to you. I strongly support you making allowances for, adjustments to, and occasional deviations from the
Primal Blueprint
based on your particular real-life concerns and constraints. You’ll encounter many references to my
80% Rule
in the book (I detail the concept in this section’s sidebar), which basically means you can chill out and enjoy your life rather than invite the additional stress and anxiety that comes from a perfectionist approach or an overly strict regimen. After all, our ancestors had to adjust constantly to their unpredictable environment and have given us the tools to do the same. That’s the
Primal
part. The word
Blueprint
in the title connects us to the familiar analogy of construction plans that provide the foundation for action but are often altered during the actual construction project. A program that allows you to go with the flow frees you to listen more deeply to your own intuitive knowledge, which is far more expert than any outside resource.

The fact that you are in control will give you the most powerful source of motivation you can imagine—instant and ongoing direct feedback that the
Primal Blueprint
is working. No more exercising until exhaustion or obsessing about the arduous restrictions common to popular weight-loss programs. The
Primal Blueprint
is a way of life that is attainable for everyone, not just the socialites in Palm Beach or the gym rats in Venice Beach. It’s time to pursue your own unique peak performance goals and enjoy your life to the absolute maximum, carrying on a tradition that humans have pursued for tens of thousands of years. Thank you for agreeing to take this journey with me. Let’s have some fun and get Primal!

 

Mark Sisson
Malibu, CA
April 2009

 

P.S. The length of this book may intimidate you, and indeed extensive discussion was had about whether this book should be a more abbreviated overview of the 10
Primal Blueprint
laws to kick-start lifestyle change. However, the 20-year journey that has resulted in this culmination of my Primal philosophy does not allow for any shortcuts. If you are not the type to hunker down and blitz through the entire book in a few sittings, you have the option to review the “In This Chapter” and “Chapter Summary” sections that precede and close each chapter, respectively, and dive into areas of particular interest to you. However, if you’re like me, the more you read about our evolutionary history and our straying modern ways, the more you’ll just want to go back to the beginning.…

Striving For Perfection With the 80% Rule

I believe that if you are aligned with the
Primal Blueprint
80% of the time, you will experience great success and likely build momentum toward being even more compliant, with less effort, as time proceeds. Since this admonition is potentially controversial (“Sisson offers a cop out!”), I’d like to further explain the spirit of the rule. Hopefully, you will feel comfortable with my approach, and - more importantly – with yours!

The 80% Rule is not a license to make less than a full commitment to the
Primal Blueprint
– that is, to strive for a “B” grade as your ultimate goal. As my kids have heard me say from time to time on the topic of schoolwork, “If you make a half-assed effort half the time, you’ll get a quarter of results…and it will be twice as hard!” This is particularly true in the important example of moderating your intake of processed carbs and getting off the sugar high-sugar crash cycle that we will cover in great detail shortly. Even a couple of steps out onto a slippery slope aren’t so easy to recover from!

Throughout the book, you will notice a fairly aggressive tone when I assert the risks that following Conventional Wisdom can pose to your health, and the urgency with which you must change your mentality and behavior to protect and nurture your health, fitness and overall well being by following the
Primal Blueprint
. What I suggest is that you strive for 100% success - total compliance for the
Primal Blueprint
guidelines and zero tolerance for the unhealthy foods, exercise and lifestyle habits that are prevalent today. With that in mind, please realize a couple of things:

• Many of the benefits of a strict and disciplined “healthy” lifestyle can be compromised by a perfectionist mentality.

• The forces of hectic daily life (cultural traditions, convenience and fast pace) will divert you from your ideal often, and that this is perfectly okay (just make smart adjustments!). Strive for 100% with the understanding that your efforts will probably get you to 80%.

I’m a big believer in enjoying life, and indeed this has been my overpowering inspiration for developing the
Primal Blueprint
. Remember that the program presented here was inspired in part by assorted dead ends and disappointments, such as my aforementioned experience with physically unhealthy endurance training and competition. My desire to enjoy more regulated energy levels, and eliminate symptoms of digestive distress and sub-par immune function was a driving force in my discovery and implementation of Primal-style eating. If the
Primal Blueprint
urged that you eat bugs and mud ten times a day, it might be emotionally and psychologically harmful, and therefore a bad idea – even if it were technically deemed “healthy” to your physical body.

The 80% Rule exists because I understand how difficult lifestyle change can be. I want you to make an honest and devoted effort, but I never want you to feel discouraged that you aren’t measuring up to arbitrary standards created in your mind or by society. In the Conclusion, I discuss at length how process-oriented goals that emphasize effort and enjoyment of the experience are far healthier than the more common mentality of obsessing about results. Consider the familiar example of failed weight loss efforts triggering self-destructive eating habits. If millions of dieters altered their goals from losing weight at any cost (struggling, suffering, engaging in deprivation, restriction, and obsessive/compulsive calorie counting) to simply enjoying meals more by choosing healthy, great-tasting
Primal Blueprint
foods, and not stressing about portion sizes, regimented meal guidelines, or what the scale says every day, success rates would skyrocket. I think legendary basketball coach John Wooden captured the spirit of the 80% Rule well with this quote: “Perfection is impossible. However,
striving
for perfection is not. Do the best you can under the conditions that exist. That is what counts.”


Perfection is impossible. However
,
striving
for perfection is not. Do the best you can under the conditions that exist. That is what counts.”


John Wooden

INTRODUCTION
What Is Going On Here?

Conventional Wisdom vs. The Primal Blueprint

In the
Primal Blueprint
(PB), we will challenge and reframe these major elements of Conventional Wisdom (CW). Consider these alternatives with an open mind; we will discuss each in detail throughout the text.

Grains – wheat, rice, corn, bread, cereal, pasta, etc
.

CW:
“Staff of Life” – foundation of healthy diet. 6-11 daily servings recommended by US Government and numerous other experts. Provides main source of energy for working muscles. Choose whole grains for more nutritional value, and extra fiber.

PB:
“Worst mistake in the history of the human race” (UCLA evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond). Drives excess insulin production, fat storage, and heart disease. Allergenic, immune-suppressing, nutritional value inferior to plants and animals. Whole grains possibly worse due to offensive pro-inflammatory, immune and digestive system disturbing agents – especially excessive fiber.

Saturated Animal Fat

CW:
Limit intake. Heart disease risk factor. “Eating fat makes you fat.” Replace saturated fats (meat, lard, dairy) with PUFA’s (polyunsaturated fatty acids) like vegetable oils.

PB:
Little or no association with heart disease risk. (Framingham and Nurses Health studies). Should be major dietary calorie source (from animal foods). Drove human evolution/advancement of brain function for two million years. Promotes efficient fat metabolism, weight control and stable energy levels. Major risk factor for heart disease is actually Metabolic Syndrome, driven by excess PUFA’s/insufficient Omega-3’s, high carbs/excess insulin and overly stressful lifestyle.

Cholesterol

CW:
Strictly limit intake. Elevated levels = elevated heart disease risk. Take statin drugs and eliminate animal foods (especially eggs) if total is 200 or over. Consider pre-emptive statin therapy if family history of heart disease.

PB:
Essential metabolic nutrient, little or no relevance to heart disease risk (Framingham and Nurses Health Studies). Only dangerous when oxidation and inflammation occur (from poor diet and exercise habits). Statins can have disastrous side effects and minimal, if any, direct benefit.

Eggs

CW:
Minimize consumption due to high cholesterol content. Choose just egg whites as high protein alternative.

PB:
Zero correlation with heart disease or cholesterol levels. Yolk extremely nutritious, whites minimally so. Enjoy in abundance.

Fiber

CW:
Important dietary goal, derive mostly from grains. Improves gastrointestinal function, lowers cholesterol, speeds elimination, helps control weight by minimizing caloric intake.

PB:
Incidental fiber from vegetables and fruit is optimum. Excess fiber (from grain-based diet) contributes to nutrient deficiency by inhibiting nutrient absorption. Also hampers gastrointestinal function and elimination.

Meal Habits

CW:
Three squares (or six small meals) daily to “keep flame burning”. Skipped meals = slowed metabolism, lower energy levels, sugar cravings and future binging risk.

PB:
Eating frequency is a personal preference, but
it’s all about insulin
: control production and even sporadic eating habits will sustain energy without regular meals (it’s in our genes!). Intermittent Fasting is a great catalyst for weight loss.

BOOK: The Primal Blueprint
10.96Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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