I have just begun reading Mark Sisson’s book, The Primal Blueprint, and I’ve decided to take The Primal Blueprint 30-day Challenge — which began two days ago, eek! — to coincide with my reading. It will involve some dietary changes and some minor adjustments to my current workout regimen, but overall, it seems like a good fit for me at this point in time, especially since I’ve hit my weight loss goal and now need to look toward lowering my body fat percentage and adjusting muscle mass upward. This would be that proverbial last 10% that is always so difficult to complete.
So what will it mean to “go primal”?
Mark explains:
My basic premise is this: The Primal Blueprint is a set of simple instructions (the blueprint) that allows you to control how your genes express themselves in order to build the strongest, leanest, healthiest body possible, taking clues from evolutionary biology (that’s the primal part).
Generally speaking, the diet adjusts from a 40÷30÷30 mix to a higher (healthy) fat, much lower carbohydrate mix while maintaining regular protein intake. Of course, there’s much more to it than that, otherwise there would not be a book about it, nor a web site with thousands of articles on the topic.
Mark breaks it down into 10 rules for living.
The Modern Primal Blueprint® – The Rules of Living Today:
1. Eat lots of animals, insects and plants.
2. Move around a lot at a slow pace.
3. Lift heavy things.
4. Run really fast every once in a while.
5. Get lots of sleep.
6. Play.
7. Get some sunlight every day.
8. Avoid trauma.
9. Avoid poisonous things.
10. Use your mind.
Sounds simple, right? Some of the items are, while others will require an adjustment period. For me, one of the biggest changes will be avoiding poisonous things. So many of the modern “foods” we eat are processed. One of the processed foods on my list is diet iced tea. To conquer this poison, I will first switch to unsweetened tea, and eventually to tea that is lower in caffeine. Some day I may entirely remove caffeine from my diet (again).
Even though it may seem like an extreme life change, The Primal Blueprint is meant to be an attainable lifestyle. My first goal — aside from getting caught up on the first two days of the challenge — will be to reach the 80⁄20 level on the blueprint.
Be well.