Contest: What Did You Learn This Year?
It’s December 31, the last day of the 2000s. It’s always fun, and often quite moving, at times like these to take a look back and remind ourselves how far we’ve come, to recall where and what we were and how and why we are different now. These exercises can seem a little cheesy, but I think they’re quite useful. Some change comes so gradually that you hardly recognize it’s occurring at all. With a little self-reflection you can acknowledge that real change has occurred, be proud of it and own it, and then commit to further personal growth.
I was inspired by this Mark’s Daily Apple forum thread. In it forum user bonesheal asked, “What did YOU learn this year?” Seeing that Mark’s Daily Apple may have played a small part in raising the consciousness of the people that responded makes the experiment that is MDA all worth it. I started MDA over 3 years ago now with the goal to, as I say, empower people to take full responsibility for their own health and enjoyment of life by investigatng, discussing and critically rethinking everything we’ve assumed to be trued about health and wellness. I’m thrilled to see that people are doing just that. And I look forward to continuing to provide the resources and this forum for change.
At this time I’d like to echo bonesheal and ask, What did you learn this year? List and share your thoughts in the comment board.
I’ll be choosing one lucky commenter at random to win the Primal Holiday Package. This contest ends when the Primal Holiday offer ends – Dec. 31, midnight.
Check back tomorrow for an all new contest! Grok on!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
I learned that when you truly commit yourself to a lifestyle change (both in education and in practice) the rewards are limitless. Sure I’ve lost weight and gotten stronger, but the gains I’ve gotten in health are priceless. That and the ability to pass my newly acquired knowledge to the benefit of others is just amazing. I look forward to learning more about myself and being a positive role model in 2010.
I learned there is always more to learn, no matter how much time is spent researching something. there’s something that was missed or not known. things change and new things uncovered. Having an open mind to this can be difficult as we try to be confident in what we know.
I learned that I need to pay more attention to the people and things that matter most to me and realized that I’ve just been existing and not living.
I learned that giving up sugar wasn’t so hard after all, and that my body runs just fine on a mostly fat and protein diet. Best of all, I know I’ll learn even more about my amazing body in 2010!
I’ve learned how to use my surroundings to make an awesome workout wherever I happen to be.
I now understand how to read myself everyday and understand what is making me stressed and I know how to remove most stressful things from my life
I learned that doctors practice medicine, and since they are practicing, it is okay to question what they are saying.
I learned how to eat healthier.
I learned how the importance of building muscle.
I learned how to develop healthy habits that last a lifetime.
Wow, this is the year that I learned about Paleo and the PB. It has totally changed my life and hopefully the life of the little one we have on the way.
Wow, I learned so much. Everytime I look back on what I learned, it is always so much more than I previously thought. That is why I like to keep an Academic ePortfolio also.
I finally learned about Paleo and Primal from MDA
Finally got down to an acceptable weight
Finally learned how to see my abs
Learned how to follow my passions
Learned how to start and run a blog
Learned how to use social media
Learned what it was like to be treated like a movie start when I did a commercial for ESPN
And so much more, I could go on for pages.
I learned to trust my instincts concerning my health. Listen to your own body! Some parts of MDA worked great for me, and some didn’t. My body thanks me, either way.
I begin the new year with Mark’s philosophies and approach to life in mind.
I learned that I need to listen to my body. Fats and animal proteins make me feel good. Complex carbs, etc make me feel bloated and sick. But we are so often pumped with info stressing the importance of complex carbs and how animal fats and proteins are bad. But I listen to my body now and that’s the best! YAY Primal Blueprint!
That animal fat and protein is vital to my health. (I know this b/c I feel amazing eating them after a long time of vegetarianism.) That grains are not vital to health, and that they are even detrimental to it. That eating a grainfree diet of mostly meat, good fats, veggies, fruits and nuts makes me *feel* amazing. That the primal/paleo diet is what my body was designed to eat, and is the diet I want to eat. That I have much stronger willpower than I ever would have imagined, especially when I’m eating real foods and no grains or refined sugars.
And that I can do tons of strength training stuff just utilizing my own body weight and some awesome yoga poses…(Thanks MDA forum!)
I learned that I DO have control over my life again. After completing a 90 day program I started doing research which eventually led me to eating better which led me to this site. Now that I have started my Primal Journey I have seen my blood pressure go from 140/90 to 122/70 (15% decrease). My strength is up, my bodyfat is down and I feel like I have only scratched the surface. I’m in control. And that feels great.
I learned that any study, theory, or humble opinion should be taken with a grain of salt! Seems anyone with a hidden agenda to get you to go vegetarian can write a book or go on the radio to try and convince you of your imminent demise because you eat a steak! Thanks for the great responses Mark…T-Bones to the people!!!
I learned that Dr’s are not always right. I tore my rotator cuff 5 years ago. Was off work 3 years, the first year physio 5 days a week, then surgery followed by physio 3 days a week and retraining. I have worked out 156 days in a row now with Tony Horton. I have worked out more in mast 6 moths than last 6 years. I am learning to live primal and live one day at a time.
It is the beginning of a new year, a new decade and for me, a new phase in my life. In the last 2 years I have graduated college and finished my university degree. Convocation will be this spring, and it is the first time in my life I will not be a student. I have been in university either part or full time since 1988. I, in part, have always defined myself as a student. For the first time in my life I am at a point where I do not have specific academic goals or plans. It is a little unsettling at times. I will also be turning 40 this year and that is supposed to be a mile-marker of sorts in life, the whole ‘over the hill’ thing and all.
It has been said the only thing we can count on in life is change. Three of my favourite quotes on the subject are:
“Mere change is not growth. Growth is the synthesis of change and continuity, and where there is no continuity there is no growth.”
C.S. Lewis – Essay on Hamlet
“There is nothing so constant as change. Meet it. Embrace it. Enjoy it. Learn from it.
The one thing you can be absolutely sure of in your life is change. It’s the only thing that never changes. The law of nature is that you either grow or you die; there’s no in-between. So, what have you chosen so far? Are you growing in every area of your life? Hey, it’s not enough to be growing and looking great just because you work out. That’s only a small part of your life. What about your emotions, spiritual life, family, friends, career, hobbies? Are they growing as your body does? Become a complete person and not an in-shape and great-looking version of an incomplete person. There’s way more to life than just working out. Go with the flow and embrace changes in all areas of your life. The change will do you good.”
Robert Wolff, PH.D. – Bodybuilding 101
“It’s Very Important to understand the difference between dreams and goals. Dreams are things we wish for–things you enjoy thinking about but don’t really know when they’ll happen. Goals, on the other hand, are specific things you have decided you need to accomplish within a clearly defined period of time.”
Bill Phillips – Body For Life
My life has changed drastically from where I thought it would be 10 years ago. At that time I expected to be ordained and a minister or still involved in parachurch ministry. Yet over my time doing a religious studies and theology degree I became convinced of the validity of the Catholic Church and returned home there. Then, after my work injury and nearly 3 years off work, I moved from the dream of being a professor to working fulltime in IT. I have also gotten back in shape and lost weight twice in that time, first, through Body for Life and then P90X. So I continue to try to have focus and direction in my life. I try to set goals for the body, mind and spirit. I try to set specific goals in each area but use these guiding rules to help me achieve them:
Daily Goals:
1. To get enough sleep.
2. To eat right & exercise daily.
3. To refuse to be a perfectionist.
4. To carefully control finances.
5. To ask for help when needed.
6. To pray and read the Bible daily.
7. To not pressure self into planning my entire life today.
One of the tools I use is journaling. I am currently on my 37th volume since August of 1994. Each term, I journal on these questions.
Guiding Questions:
Who are you?
What do you want?
Where are you going?
Who do you serve?
Who do you trust?
I am now a student of life, with the goal of learning to be. To become better at being. To be a better man, husband and father. Over this past year I have also learned to purge. I went through all my stuff and got rid of what is no longer needed. I only kept course notes from a few courses, not 10 full years of university notes, assignments and research. I even purged my old journals. I only have the current one.
I am looking forward to the changes in the year ahead. We will be moving, though at this point we still do not know where. The kids are growing and changing daily. 2010 looks to be an interesting year. So happy New Year.
Peace and Strength!
Yours, learning to be
Steven R. McEvoy
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I’ve learned that the way to control my weight is the same way to optimize my health! Thanks Mark!
I learned being healthy mentally, spiritually and physically truly made me happy and it really is okay to love me and by finally letting go of the people and things that didn’t fit made me stronger.
2010 is another opportunity for renewal and begin a new chapter in this book of life.
I learned how to be human.
In Nov. 2008, I stumbled on Mark’s video on sprinting. For decades, I had been running long-distance, pumping iron and doing bodyweight exercises, and actually getting fatter. Further, I couldn’t keep my regimen consistent because I couldn’t get results and would frequently catch colds.
I wasn’t convinced that I could give up chronic cardio but I took a chance and did it anyway and started sprinting instead while keeping up the bodyweight and weight lifting exercises. I immediately began to feel better. No more respiratory problems like asthma, bronchitis and sinus infections.
But I couldn’t lose the fat and with a family history of type 2 diabetes lurking, I was worried about my health. The web site made sense, so I bought the book and applied the nutrition principles: ditched rice, grains, pasta, bread and sugars.
Starting on Aug. 1 when I kicked grains to today, I have lost 17 pounds — from 207 to 190. The fat loss has been dramatic. If I had to do it again, I would apply the diet and exercise at the same time.
To attain optimum health, it’s all about hormones. I have learned a lot about how consuming grains affect insulin; and how the quality, not the quantity, of exercise propels growth hormones and testosterone, and determines insulin sensitivity.
Echoing many of the comments already written, I would like to say: Thanks Mark. And he really does reply to personal emails.
I’ve learnt alot from MDA with regards to my workouts & my diet…
Many thanks & happy new year!
I just finished reading The Primal Blueprint, and learned I need to find a better coffee addititive than 1 tablespoon of honey, which contains 20g of carbohydrates (13-20% of daily max to avoid gaining weight). I also learned it’s safer to eat cooked meat than raw meat.
1. I am addicted to sugar
2. I get frustrated with my wife when she buys “snacks” for the kids that are loaded with sugar – that I usually end u eating
3. Alternate day fasting is not that hard to do and it is liberating.
This year I learned that I need to control my mind and thoughts as much as, if not more than my physical actions. I also learned the importance of family and pulling together in hard times.
I have learned that the path I was on was the correct one and this site and the people who contribute have confirmed that as well as taught me more than I though I would ever know. I have learned that our past actually had great lessons to teach and that the present and all our advanced “knowledge” isn’t necessarily correct. I have learned not to judge others who may not have chosen the same path, but inwardly feel for them. I have learned that once converted, its rather easy to maintain.I have learned that I will never finish learning all that I need to know about this topic, it will be a never ending journey.
In 4 short weeks I have learned:
I was working out too hard in the past.
I don’t need to eat continually to suppot my workouts.
I can IF comfortably.
It was easy losing 15 lbs while gaining 3 lbs of LMM.
That I am preaching the PB Plan to friends.
Thanks Mark!
A pond I pass by on the way to work was freezing over last month but a couple dozen ducks continued to swim in one little area of it, rotating in to preserve a small unfrozen space. Relentlessness! Because sometimes 85 percent won’t do it, but 86 percent will tip you over the edge, good or bad. I’ve learned to try a little harder…and if that doesn’t work, try a little harder still. Refine and fine-tune. Friends help. The journey is fun and interesting.
I learned ….
- I’m fitter overall at age 48 than at 22 when I was “faster”
- that “bad” carbs do really nasty things to your central nervous system and body
- that short-term thinking and cynicism are destructive habits that can be changed
- that there is a fitness plan (Crossfit & PB) that doesn’t require daily ice packs, massive NSAIDs, and hours pounding the pavement
- that if everyone just looked around and smiled at the world a little more often, they’d get more smiles in return and feel better about themselves and their world
Thanks, Mark!
I learned…
Today is the same as yesterday and only our actions determine if today turns out a better day. Today I will take action the Primal Way.
I learned that great things require sacrifice
I’ve learned to question conventional wisdom.
I learned that I have to focus on my improvement before(if) I can help anyone else.