Thanks to Andrew Rubalcava for this Guest Post! Andrew’s site Go Healthy Go Fit is a newcomer in the health and fitness blogosphere having just started a couple months ago. Be sure to drop by and read Andrew’s interview of me if you haven’t already.
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Everyone has got a different schedule these days. Whether you’re [...]

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Continue reading → Staying Healthy and Fit in Different Lifestyles

Nature’s Candy
Dried fruit? Isn’t that kind of high in sugar? Well, the short answer is yes, but the long answer is that in small doses - such as in a nut-based snack mix, or sprinkled on top of a high-fat plain yogurt (e.g. Fage Total) for a sweet dessert - dried fruit can be a [...]

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Continue reading → How to Make Dried Fruit

A Scrumptious PWO Meal
Before I jump into this week’s Dear Mark post I wanted to direct everyone’s attention to Andrew Rubalcava’s site, Go Healthy Go Fit. Andrew just published an interview with me. Here are just a few of the questions I answered:
Who have been your top 3 favorite bloggers over the years?
How did you [...]

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Continue reading → Dear Mark: Post-Workout Fasting

The freezer has ice cream and frozen pizzas, but it’s the pantry that harbors the usual carb suspects - chips, cookies, crackers, pasta, cereal and bread galore. If you’re not careful this cool and dark space could derail your best efforts to eat Primally. So follow these 10 easy steps and you’ll be well on [...]

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• Discount Low Carb Products Cheap Weight Loss Journal Low Carb Store

Continue reading → 10 Steps to “Primalize” Your Pantry

You see a wall. I see a workout.
Sandbags have traditionally been much-maligned in the strength and fitness communities for their instability, unbalanced weight distribution, odd shape, and general impracticality. As you might imagine, I take a slightly contrary view on the sandbag. In fact, all those characteristics I just listed as reasons sandbags don’t make [...]

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• Belts Strength Training Gym, Workout Yoga Exercise Fitness

Continue reading → The Sandbag Workout

Healthy Mind, Healthy Body
When it comes to meditation, most of us probably think about inward focus, personal relaxation response, a deep concentration that allows for release and inner calm. And, certainly, meditation can offer that as well as an impressive host of physical benefits we’ve discussed in previous posts. (All part of the Primal Blueprint [...]

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Continue reading → Compassion Meditation

Get Sloshed
But not with alcohol (save that for after the workout). Nope, I’m talking about working out with a slosh tube.
A slosh tube is a large PVC pipe filled with water and capped on the ends. It’s a surprisingly effective workout tool. Best of all, you can build one yourself for less than twenty bucks.
How [...]

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• 1930-49 Tube Radios Radios Radio, Phonograph, TV, Phone Collectibles

Continue reading → Build Your Own Slosh Tube

It’s Not the Skull That’s Frightening
We thought we’d take on the ultimate challenge this week: how to make Halloween somewhat healthy instead of horrifically unwholesome. Yes, Halloween, that spastic stroll through Candy Land, the annual Willie Wonka nightmare of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Does it really need to be this way, we ask? [...]

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Continue reading → Healthy Halloween!

A show of hands here. Chronic cardio buffs? Halloween candy freaks? Caffeine fiends? Stress addicts? French bread fanatics? Bad health habits come in all forms, we know. But the question of the day is this: how do we finally rid ourselves of those compulsive longings, those simultaneously desired and resented routines? Is it simply a [...]

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Continue reading → How to Break Bad Habits

Playful Plyos

Not too long ago, we ran a story about how to incorporate plyometric exercise into your fitness round-up, but warned that because of the explosive nature of plyo exercises, this one was probably best left to those that were in the upper fitness brackets (and free of any sprains, strains or other injuries!).
This post [...]

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Continue reading → Reader Response: Plyometric Exercises for Everybody

Equipment or No Equipment, You Can Get the Job Done
Primal living in today’s decidedly post-Paleo world requires making at least a few concessions. We simply cannot live in exact accord with the ways of Primal man. For most of us, it’s just not feasible to live completely off the land (too many humans and their [...]

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Continue reading → The Primal Stance on Exercise Equipment

It’s Simpler Than You Think
Let’s face it: Produce is expensive and, with the economy moving the way it is, it doesn’t look like its going to get any cheaper any time soon. A simple solution? Grow your own.
Now before you quit reading thinking this isn’t the post for you and your far-from-green thumb, it really [...]

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Continue reading → How to Build Your Own Square Foot Garden in 10 Easy Steps

Tough Times Call for… Pasta?!
Though we faithfully subscribe to an evolutionary model of living, eating, and exercising – the Primal Blueprint – we still live in a decidedly modern world fraught with all the inconveniences, global upheavals, and politics it entails. Authentically living like Grok is already tough without access to ample wild vegetation, big [...]

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• BBQ Sauces Outdoor Cooking Eating Yard, Garden Outdoor Living

Continue reading → Abandon the Primal Eating Plan?

Primal Confetti
Loaded with heart-healthy good fats and a good source of protein, nuts are a satisfying - not to mention - tasty addition to any diet. But, if you relegate your nut consumption only to the odd handful of raw nuts you’re missing out on a ton of opportunities to go nuts!
Read on to learn [...]

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• Candy Nuts Advertising Collectibles

Continue reading → Top 10 Ways to “Go Nuts”

Dear Mark,
I love nut, but they most definitely do NOT love me back! Since going “primal” about 18 months ago, I’ve increased my consumption of nuts and seeds. Well actually, I’ve gone overboard.  (Seems I just can’t have a handful and call it a day.) Now nuts and seeds in virtually any amount cause [...]

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• Candy Nuts Advertising Collectibles

Continue reading → Dear Mark: Soaking Seeds and Nuts

You know the drill. You slept late, your son misplaced his lunchbox, the cat threw up in the flowers. You’re already 10 minutes late for work and there’s nary a minute to scarf down a breakfast, let alone one that a caveman would approve of!
Enter the protein bar – it’s individually packaged, it’s relatively affordable, [...]

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Continue reading → Make Your Own Primal Energy Bars in 10 Easy Steps

An Innocent-Looking Hunk of Muscle-Building Metal
Dietary advice and nutrition trends get the brunt of our attention here at MDA, but an equally crucial component to the Primal Blueprint is the development of functional strength and fitness through Primal exercises. Lifting heavy weights, running intense sprints, and incorporating constant, steady movement into your day mimic the [...]

• Weights Dumbbells Strength Training Gym, Workout Yoga Exercise Fitness

• Strength Training Gym, Workout Yoga Exercise Fitness

Continue reading → Kettlebellin’ for Strength

Eggs: They Are What Their Mothers Eat
Ah, eggs. We Primals appreciate your delicious creamy yolky goodness and fluffy decadent ivory insides, like so many edible clouds upon whose buoyancy our breakfast relies. You’re good for us and come naturally pre-packaged. What’s not to love?
The myriad terms used to describe them, for one.
Cage free. Organic. All [...]

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Continue reading → Egg Purchasing Guide

On the Rocks
Thanks so much to everyone for their comments and emails on last week’s “Farmed versus Wild Salmon” post. The response, both posted and personal, was amazing. It’s what I love about doing the blog - getting you, our MDA readers, the information you want and the resources you can use. Keep those comments [...]

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• Fish Animals Collectibles

Continue reading → Reader Response: Better Fish Choices

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy, Fishy…
Last week I noted in my podcast with Jimmy Moore how expensive genuine wild salmon can cost. Since then, I’ve received a healthy number of emails asking for more info, tips, and the real benefits behind buying “wild.”
What exactly are salmon “farms”? How does the farm setting change the nutritional content [...]

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Continue reading → Salmon: Factory Farm vs. Wild

Primal Style
As Primal enthusiasts, we owe it to ourselves to spend time in the great outdoors – early man’s original stomping grounds. Sadly enough, the increasing encroachment of civilization upon nature’s boundaries makes it easy for most people to forget about the wilderness. Opting for the mall or the TV is simply easier and more [...]

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Continue reading → Getting Back to Nature

Last week’s New York Times featured an article about a Dr. Jeremijenko, not a physician but an engineer who offered clients tips for making their personal environments healthier, more naturally pleasing, and more environmentally friendly. Dr. Jeremijenko’s suggestions ranged from planting sunflowers and EDTA soil supplements to leach harmful lead in yards to surrounding yourself [...]

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Continue reading → 8 Ways to Reduce Your Chemical Load

Throw it all in a pan and you’ve got dinner…
A few months ago we served up the popular “Choose Your Own Salad Adventure” post, and we got comments galore. Salads, after all, are perfect PB fare: a diverse veggie base, assorted protein pairings, and various choices for the inclusion of yummy (and filling) fats. As [...]

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• CSI Action, Adventure Trading Cards Collectibles

Continue reading → Choose Your Own Stir-Fry Adventure

Primal Pooches
We imagine many of our readers are strict adherents to the Primal Blueprint. You’re downing almonds by the bushel, guzzling fish oil, and avoiding grains like the plague, but what are you feeding Fido? Our bodies have had over ten thousand years to get used to agrarianism – and the stuff is still killing [...]

• Fish Animals Collectibles

• Fish, Crinoids Fossils Rocks, Fossils, Minerals Collectibles

Continue reading → The Primal Diet for Dogs

Throw it all in a pan and you’ve got dinner…
A few months ago we served up the popular “Choose Your Own Salad Adventure” post, and we got comments galore. Salads, after all, are perfect PB fare: a diverse veggie base, assorted protein pairings, and various choices for the inclusion of yummy (and filling) fats. As [...]

• Action, Adventure Trading Cards Collectibles

• CSI Action, Adventure Trading Cards Collectibles

Continue reading → Choose Your Own Stir-Fry Adventure

Primal Pooches
We imagine our many of readers are strict adherents to the Primal Blueprint. You’re downing almonds by the bushel, guzzling fish oil, and avoiding grains like the plague, but what are you feeding Fido? Our bodies have had over ten thousand years to get used to agrarianism – and the stuff is still killing [...]

• Fish Animals Collectibles

• Fish, Crinoids Fossils Rocks, Fossils, Minerals Collectibles

Continue reading → The Primal Diet for Dogs

Are you using the wrong oil?
A dizzying array of glass bottles. Some more fitting for salads, others ideal for heavier meat dishes, perhaps one perfect for a dessert dish you have in mind. Imports. Domestics. Beautiful labels here and there. Organic – or not. Good culinary oils, to the most discerning tastes, can be almost [...]

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• Perfume Bottles Glass Decorative Arts Antiques

Continue reading → When it Comes to Fat, How Hot is Too Hot?

Do the Math
In my recent Context of Calories post, I explained how the different macronutrients we eat at each meal (fats, proteins, and carbohydrates) have different effects in the body. I suggested that, despite their raw calorie values, it’s far more important to get a lasting intuitive sense of how much of each macronutrient you [...]

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Continue reading → The Definitive Guide to the Primal Eating Plan

Control Your Mind, Control Your Genes
In the last few months we’ve been highlighting new research that illustrates the power of individuals to influence their genetic expression through basic lifestyle choices, whether through diet, exercise, or avoidance of pollution. The message, as always, is that we aren’t passive victims to aging or any propensities in our [...]

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Continue reading → Relaxation Response

Sure, you want to save money at the market, but how does that translate to the dinner table? Here are just a few options (among so many) for serving up healthy food without breaking the bank. No need to concoct strange dishes no one recognizes. These are tried and true meals that show up among [...]

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Continue reading → Budget Eating Recipes

Mad Money-Saving Skills

In the last several weeks we’ve served up budget tips (and you’ve shared great suggestions and discussion) all in the interest of making the PB diet more affordable. It’s tough times out there (still), but it shouldn’t keep us from living the healthiest life possible. Actually, tightening the grocery belt might even have [...]

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• Tee Times Green Fees Golf

Continue reading → How to Eat Healthy and Save Money

Most readers here understand the concepts behind the Primal Blueprint, but some seem to be concerned about the amount of time it must take to prepare PB-style meals every day. Nothing could be further from the truth. My 4-egg breakfast or protein shake take but a few minutes. My evening lamb-chop or grass-fed porterhouse with [...]

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• Evening Womens Shoes

Continue reading → 2 Minute Salad

One of My Favorite Sensible Vices
My wife and I tend to receive a lot of chocolate, usually as holiday or dinner party gifts. Friends and business associates know we’re not dessert people but that we indulge in chocolate and red wine on occasion (i.e. those Sensible Vices). As a result, I’ve gotten to try a [...]

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Continue reading → Is All Chocolate Created Equal?

The all-American breakfast smorgasbord: cold cereal of every variety (from super colon blow to candy coated balls of sugar in the shape of the latest cartoon fad), toast, toaster strudel, bagels, croissants, donuts, coffee cake, pop-tarts, French toast, pancakes, blintzes, crepes, waffles, muffins, scones, hash browns, oatmeal, breakfast bars, breakfast squares, and now even breakfast [...]

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Continue reading → Primal Breakfast Suggestions for People on the Go

There is Light at the End of the Steps
Perhaps you’ve been reading MDA for some time now, finding yourself intrigued, maybe even testing the waters a bit. The Primal Blueprint sounds good to you. It speaks to you. It makes sense. The mind is clearly motivated, but the heart is, well, a bit trepidatious. Maybe [...]

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Continue reading → How to Guide: Making the Switch to Primal Living in 6 Easy Steps

Very nice descriptive video showing how to row correctly with a rowing machine. Rowing machines are one of the best cardio training devices available and I use one each week.Nice to have a resource showing proper rowing machine form.

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Continue reading → How To Row Correctly With A Rowing Machine