Mark’s Daily Apple Readers “Go Primal”

Who’s ready for a little Monday morning motivation? Mark’s Daily Apple readers are putting the principles of The Primal Blueprint to work and turning their lives around as a result. If the Grok tattoo doesn’t leave you speechless there may be no hope for you, but I for one was at a loss for words after reading some of these amazing tales of personal triumph.

What will your story be 6 months, a year, 5 years from now? One of gaining weight, injury and illness?, or one of optimum health and wellness? You have incredible power over how these things play out. Read these stories for inspiration and then pen your own starting today. Grok on!

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Mark,

I’ve been meaning to write you a thank you note with a little bit about my story. Throughout my teenage years, all the way through college, I have always been involved in sports and considered myself to be in pretty good shape.

The problem was, I was never happy with how I looked. It actually held me back from things I enjoyed like going to the beach/pool with friends. Some people would probably think I was crazy b/c I was by no means fat. I had about 195-200lbs on a 6′ frame at the end of college.

Then came active duty Air Force. I always performed well on the PT test. I could max the 1.5 mile run, pushups and situps, but my waist measurement always handicapped my score. I was a person who thought that I was ‘big boned’ and could never drop down to a 32.5″ waist (I was always between 34.5″ and 35.5″).

Over the last couple of years, I had stumbled upon some of your articles from time to time, but was always too stuck in CW to listen.

Last summer, I made a goal for myself to get in as good of shape as possible for my March 2010 trip to Barbados. I started eating smarter (but not really primally), and lost maybe 10lbs. When I went home for Christmas, I was down to 185lbs and was about 60% primal. I was feeling great.

Back to Germany I went, 2 months left to go; it was crunch time. With the exception of a meal with a side of fried potatoes, I was as primal as I thought I could get. It worked wonders. I lost another 10lbs and was down to 175. I could see definition in my upper abs, and I had reached a new level of vascularity.

I can’t thank you enough for sharing your knowledge with all of us Groks. I now have no problem being shirtless, I catch myself staring at this new, toned, weightlifting machine in the gym…and best of all, when I take my PT test this month, I will max the waist measurement with a half inch to spare.

While some of my reasons were for vanity, I can say my energy level is better, along with my digestion and sleep habits. My next goal is getting my Dad to stick with the diet.

Thanks again, and I know you’re busy, so I understand if you don’t respond. Good luck with expanding your business and I hope to see you at the next PrimalCon.

Shane

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Dear Mark,

Last August I weighed 325 lbs. I’m an entertainer and my bandmates fired me because of the impact I had on their image. I don’t blame them. I was only 27 years old but my lipids were in the red zone, my liver enzymes were scary because of substance abuse, and my doctor told me to get into treatment and make a change or else I wouldn’t make it to 40. After leaving treatment, I ditched the grains (a big catalyst for ALL of my obsessive consumption), got a much needed shoulder repair surgery, and most importantly I began reading your blog.

I have tried to get my obesity under control my entire life. Like many chronically obese, I was an “expert” on nutrition, but because of the pitfalls of conventional wisdom, I couldn’t stick with it. It didn’t take me long to adopt the philosophy of the Primal Blueprint – I’m big on common sense and it resonated with me. The main reason, however, was because of the results that I was seeing. It was almost instant – my mood and energy levels improved, I wanted to go outside and play, and the weight came off effortlessly. I got back in the studio and started writing and recording music again. The reason why I am writing you now is because as of today, I have lost 80 lbs!!! I saw my doctor last month and he said “Your lipids came back better than mine, and I eat nothing but f*****g grass all day.” He was absolutely astonished. Thank you so much for bringing this community of people together. Thank you so much for being so bold to get this information out there. It’s given me the tools I need to have a new lease on life.

Now, I have a new band – more energetic and already much more successful than the one I left in August. I have a new audience (the college girls are loving the new me ). I also have a new goal – I want to do everything I can to get this philosophy out to anyone who needs to hear it. I still have a long way to go, but I know that with this momentum and this knowledge, all it’s going to take is a little more time – and a little more bacon .

Thanks again for everything. You and the community helped me get from Rockstar to Grokstar. You can’t know how grateful I truly am.

Sincerely,

Chris

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Mark,

My doctors was so stunned at my blood test results that she asked (half jokingly) if I had really given my own blood.

November 2008 blood work results
Cholesterol: 277 (H)
Triglycerides: 424 (H) (yes, 424 – too high to to be calculated by the lab)
HDL Cholesterol: 34.0 (L)
Uric Acid: 8.0 (H) (I’ve had several Gout attack since 2005)
GFR: 62
TSH: 1.68

My wife and I went primal 3 months ago. We immediately noticed an increase in energy and started working out. She’s lost 25 lbs while I’ve lost 35 lbs (I have more I need to lose).

March 2010 blood work results
Cholesterol: 224 (H)
Triglycerides: 85 (yes, 85 – my doctor did a double take when she saw this)
HDL Cholesterol: 52.7
Uric Acid: no test, but no attacks since going primal
GFR: 76
TSH: 2.48

My weight loss and energy levels have made me a believer in going primal, but these blood work results have simply AWED me.

I was really curious to see if my cholesterol would improve while on a high fat, high protein diet and after 3 months, I couldn’t be happier.

I haven’t been taking high cholesterol meds (tried them briefly, didn’t like them) and the only change I’ve made in the last 17 months was to go primal.

This may be an anecdotal results, but I hope that it spurs others to give going primal at least 3 months.

Also:
November 2008
Glucose: 98

March 2010: 66

BMI is down from 45.8 to 40.6

My wife and I had a celebratory dinner of grilled grass-fed burgers (on lettuce “buns” of course), red wine, and a few sweet potato baked fries. Good stuff.

We really appreciate the non-dogmatic approach to the primal lifestyle.

John – Amarillo, TX

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Hello Mark,

I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my soul. I have been reading MDA since early January, have even posted 1 primal journal (not much of a poster), but have been totally primal for 2 months now…I was partially primal for the month before that.

But I just had a doctors visit today, a follow up for some of the major issues that have been plaguing me.

1. High blood pressure
2. Severe back back
3. Migraines

Well since January I have lost 24lbs in total, the doctor said I can stop my blood pressure meds if I continue doing what I am doing, and on top of that I have not had any back pain or headaches other than very minor(1 on a scale of 1-10) ones. I told him my eating plan, and he was so very happy with my progress and eating plan he heartily agreed with me keeping on it.

I honestly had no idea how much weight I had lost, but I knew I felt better than I ever have….but to see my blood pressure drop to normal(he still wants me to check in to make sure it is staying down), how much weight I have lost and my overall great feeling.

I just wanted to say thank you! Thank you for having MDA up with so much to get from it. For sharing your research and doing all the work involved in that. Not only has it changed my body, but me as well. I will be buying more copies of the book and giving it to family!

Thank you for a life changed, I have not been so happy in so many years.

Best regards,

Michael

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Dear Mark,

I am writing you today with a deep feeling of gratitude and admiration for your tireless work and commitment to improve the lives of others. You are an inspiration and a role model to me as well as all your readers around the world. I hope your day will be a bit brighter knowing that you drove another amazing lifestyle transformation and helped another person enjoy a fuller, happier and healthier existence.

I have the privilege to write you from a truly amazing place, the tropical South Pacific attol of Vanuatu (were just right of Australia if you check the map) where I am serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a small costal village and living a uniquely Primal lifestyle. My goal here is to support sustainable development, live as one with the community & build capacity in people to help them better their livelihoods. I also get to climb coconut trees, walk around with a 12 inch machete, pick fresh mangos in the bush and spear fish for lunch… very Grokkish Id say! All of this goodness thanks in large part to you and Marks Daily Apple.

When a friend introduced to Primal living and your website 2 years ago I could not even imagine the profound impact your work and the Primal Blueprint will have on my life. At the time I was a 23 year old kid toiling away in a prestigious but extremely demanding, 80-hour a week, international finance job which took me from Tokyo to New York. Stressed, woefully sleep deprived, constantly sick, and unenergetic my health (don’t even mention fitness) was at an all time low. I have always been a big proponent of fitness but years of endurance athletics in school, unconscious nutrition, chain-gangesque work schedule, bad advice and conventional wisdom knocked me down every time I tried to take control of my physical wellbeing. I looked for information and knowledge but encountered contradicting and unsustainable advice which made me feel more helpless.

Enter the Primal Blueprint. With the support and encouragement of a friend and the information on MDA I made the switch to Primal living in 2008 and never looked back. Reading your poasts entirely shifted my perspective on healthy living. Here was something that made sense, that was all encompassing and that was proven by thousands of years of evolution… finally! I had the whole picture in front of me and it was a masterpiece. Applying the principles of Primal nutrition I was able to completely transform how I felt, performed, and looked. No more grogginess after that pasta lunch, no more exhaustion in the morning, no more colds, no more lethargy, flu and headaches (I have not been sick in 2 years!). All this while enjoying the lowest body fat Ive ever had and most strength & muscle. One of the most rewarding parts of the transformation was that I saw the effects almost immediately. As soon as I ditched sugar and grain I IMMEDIATELY felt more vitality energy and health. Dumping cardio and replacing it with things like heavy lifting and walking as well as taking control of my sleep had huge benefits not only on my body but my mind.

The confidence, and emotional strength I gained through my transformation helped me make a decision and commitment to live the life I wanted, a more happier & healthier life. In 2009 I chose to get out of the unfulfilling rat race of corporate America and embarked on a journey of international service. I ended up in an isolated village without roads, electricity or running water on an island in the South Pacific where I am successfully continuing my Primal journey (yeah the roosters at 3AM tend to be unpleasant but tracking through the bush looking for wild pig makes up for it). I even managed to build a full gym out of concrete blocks, local wood, sand bags and rocks and I am working on a manual to help other volunteers do the same and live healthy on their islands. Needless to say its been an eye opening learning experience so far.

As I continue my Primal journey and experience more and more benefits of living like our ever-wise ancestors I can not help but feel a tremendous sense of gratitude for your contributions. Thank you for changing my life.

Yegor – Malekula, Vanuatu, South Pacific

Thanks to everyone for sending in your success stories. If you have your own real life Primal Blueprint story you’d like to share and would like to be featured on MDA please drop me a line. Thank you Grok on!

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