Marks Daily Apple
Serving up health and fitness insights (daily, of course) with a side of irreverence.

Mark's Daily Apple

18 Apr

How Small Wins Can Lead to Big Success

possibleattainable 1They say it’s the little things, and maybe it is. When we think of health goals (among other objectives), our minds often gravitate toward the dramatic, the transformational. Go big or go home, some even say. While that last point might be pushing it (all positive change is positive), I tend toward the big and bold myself. I believe in the possibility of transformation (the titles of my books are obvious evidence of that). Yet, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Unfortunately, too many people get psyched out by the size of the enterprise itself. They focus on the large expanse between where they are now and where they want to be. That’s exactly where they shouldn’t be placing their attention. Success isn’t built by daily yearning for a distant goal. It’s in creating and celebrating the small wins we can plot along the way.

Keep reading…

17 Apr

10 Psychological Hurdles Keeping You From Losing Weight (and How to Overcome Them)

hurdles

A few weeks back, I discussed nine (more) reasons you might not be losing the weight you want, and I got a lot of responses. Those were mostly “physical” reasons grounded in physiological terms we usually use to describe weight loss or gain. In other words, they were the ones you expect, things like eating too little and tanking the metabolism, suffering from “hidden stress,” disordered eating, or training too hard with inadequate nutrition. Today, I’m doing something a bit different. Instead of couching everything in the body, I’m focusing more on the ways in which our minds (which, of course, are part of the body, but we typically separate the two in common parlance) trip us up and prevent us from losing weight.

Let’s jump into it.

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16 Apr

6 More Tea Ingredients That Can Help You Unwind, Relax and Chill Out

tea2Last week, I made the case for the inclusion of chill-out, relaxing, and otherwise anti-stress teas and herbs, particularly for the stress-wracked among us (and who doesn’t deal with significant amounts of stress?). Several readers on the last post made the comment that, while effective, these tea ingredients don’t necessarily please the palate. I believe one even used “feet” to describe the flavor and aroma of valerian tea. That may be true, but I’d argue that when your sanity, your testosterone:cortisol ratio, and your mental well-being are on the line, pharmacological efficacy of a particular herb supersedes any concerns regarding its flavor. Stress kills, and, well, we want to live – and live well.

With that said, let’s look at a few more options. With any luck, you’ll find at least a couple that you can stomach and perhaps even enjoy.

Keep reading…

15 Apr

Insider Recap: PrimalCon Oxnard 2013

primalcon2013 320x240 1In case you missed it, PrimalCon Oxnard 2013 took place this last weekend. This recap of the festivities was written by Mark’s Daily Apple team member and PrimalCon attendee Erik Cisler.

It was supposed to be sunny all weekend. That’s what weather.com kept telling us in the days leading up to PrimalCon Oxnard 2013. Sure, it was windy and kinda cold, but we were confident things would clear up. And then Friday morning, the attendees huddled together to hear Mark give the opening address of the weekend under a grey sky. “Don’t worry, guys. The sun will come.” Technically, it did. Right after lunch, it popped out and the grey dematerialized. It wasn’t exactly warm, but at least we had sun.

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14 Apr

Weekend Link Love

chain 1Rich Food, Poor Food has hit select Costcos! To commemorate it – and to let Costco know it would behoove them to carry it everywhere - we’re putting on a raffle. Buy a copy from Costco (or any other online or brick-and-mortar store), send in your receipt, and be entered to win some cool prizes.

Research of the Week

The connection between obesity and altitude.

Want the blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and blood lipid-related benefits of “cardio” without, well, the tedium and downsides of running? Walking works just as well.

Keep reading…

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