The 2011 Primal Blueprint 30-Day Challenge Begins Now
If you want to lose weight, gain muscle, reduce stress, increase energy or just generally look and feel healthier you’ve come to the right place. Oh, and you can win lots of cool Primal gear, too. That’s right, it’s the annual Primal Blueprint 30-Day Challenge!
The 30-Day Challenge Details
So what’s the challenge? To get Primal, of course! I hold this 30-Day Challenge every year to encourage Primal beginners to give this way of eating, moving and living a try because I know it works, I know how empowering it is, and I know it changes lives.
I also do it to motivate those that have been dabbling with the Primal lifestyle for a while, but haven’t fully committed or still have some room for improvement (myself included!), to go all in and resolve to finally tackle whatever it is they want to address in their lives.
The actual challenge itself is pretty straightforward. The details can be found in the image below. I recommend downloading the 30-Day Challenge flyer here, and clicking on the links to learn more about each of the topics. (And maybe print a few copies to hand out to friends!)
No sign-up required. Anyone can participate. Just commit to the challenge, and check back every day for motivation and guidance.
Above and beyond the challenge as outlined below, I encourage you to make your own personal challenges. Customize your goals to fit your needs and commit to 30 days starting now.
The Primal Leap – One-on-One Support
This 30-day challenge perfectly complements The Primal Leap. The Primal Leap is my effort to provide one-on-one support and step-by-step guidance to those looking to lose weight, take control of their health and get Primal for life. If you would like expert feedback and be told exactly what to do and when to do it The Primal Leap is for you. Learn more here.
Community Support
Just like last year, I highly encourage you to use the forum during the challenge. In it you can start a “Primal Challenge Journal” to publicly state your goals and track your progress.
Create a journal to receive positive feedback, advice and help along the way from myself and the Mark’s Daily Apple community.
The 30-Day Challenge Contests FAQs
The main challenge itself isn’t competitive but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some friendly contests along they way!
Over the course of the next month Mark’s Daily Apple and sponsors will be giving away thousands of dollars in prizes.
Here are some rules and answers to FAQ:
- There will be a new contests nearly every day for the duration of the 30-day challenge (through Oct. 11), so check back daily!
- All contest prizes relate in some way to the Primal lifestyle. You won’t find any miracle weight loss pills, tummy crunching sling-a-ma-doo-dads, or whole wheat health blast jazzer snackers.
- Some contests will require a bit of leg work while others will require something as simple as commenting on a blog post.
- There is no limit to how many contests you can participate in.
- The duration of any one contest depends on the nature of the contest. Some will last a few weeks (to give you time to complete the contest task) while others will be as short as one day. All deadlines are Pacific Standard Time.
- Contest prizes will be awarded either by a random drawing, by reader voting/polling or by an executive decision (who I think should win!).
- Some prizes will only be available to United States residents. If you live outside the U.S. and win a prize that can’t be shipped internationally an alternate prize of equal value will be awarded.
- I’m not being paid by any company that is sponsoring the contest with a prize.
To track all the contests visit the 2011 Primal Blueprint 30-Day Challenge Contest Page for daily updates.
New to the Primal Blueprint and Mark’s Daily Apple?
If you are new to the Primal Blueprint and Mark’s Daily Apple and don’t know where to begin here are some resources to get you started:
1. Not sure what it means to “Go Primal”? Check out these articles for the basics:
- The Definitive Guide to the Primal Blueprint
- The Definitive Guide to the Primal Eating Plan
- How to Succeed with the Primal Blueprint
2. The Primal Blueprint 101 Page
3. The Forum – Ask any and all questions you have about the Primal lifestyle.
4. The Book
5. What to eat? – Primal Blueprint Recipes on MDA and The Primal Blueprint Cookbook and Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals
6. Have a question? – Contact Me
Tell your friends and family about the challenge so they can get Primal, too! Use the “ShareThis” link below to send this article via email.
Subscribe to the Mark’s Daily Apple Newsletter and Get Challenge Updates All Month Long
Posted By: Mark Sisson
My personal challenge is to be able to continue my primal journey into the weekend where I have difficulty resisting SAD urges
I love beeing primal. And i have “converted” to of my closest friends to this lifestyle. What i want to do now. Is to have at least 2 of my co-workers to be primal. I Know they are interested, but i will help them take the last step!
My personal challenge will be to stop stress about not getting enough food. I shall start to eat when im hungry, and stop when im full. Not “force feed” myself.
My personal challenges are (1) no diet soda; (2) no grain creep!
My challenge is to maintain a strict paleo diet for 30 days.
My challenge for the month, along with the going “hardcore” grain-free (my boyfriend has happily agreed to participate along with me, which will be great!) is to walk the dog every evening, and to actually remember to take my vitamins every day.
I’ve got the eating part pretty much under control. My challenge is the primal fitness.
I feel like I’ve got the diet and exercise part down. I plan to focus on getting more sleep during this month.
My personal goal is to follow the plan 100% and not “cheat” for the entire 30 days. This includes staying away from grains and sugar and getting to the gym or outside for workouts.
This is my goal as well. 100% Primal with NO cheats. I’ve been cheating all summer long eating ice cream from a local Dairy. It’s made from grass-fed milk/cream, but added maple syrup to sweeten…which I used as an excuse. Too many carbs! Gah!
That is my goal: the eating plan/diet. I have backslid to grains, sugar, dairy… ugh. No wonder I have headaches and have put on 10 lbs this summer! I’m sticking with eggs, meat, veggies, very little fruit and staying away from my nemesis–Greek yogurt and Swiss cheese.
” I have backslid to grains, sugar, …”
OMG…how could you!?
Refuel primally while training for two triathlons this month!
I’m going to use this as motivation to start lifting heavy things.
Done and done! This is going to be interesting since this is my first day going Primal!! Looking forward to it!
I guess you could say my challenge will be getting through the carb flu and grain withdrawals.
Good luck! This is a great community for support! Stick with it.
Eat more primal foods! Don’t cheat on my diet.
My personal challenge is to move from more of a low carb lifestyle to more primal. Less preservatives, bad oils, etc.
My personal challenge is to give up the diet soda! That has been my crutch, and I know I can do without it! Grok on!
- Exercise outside every day for at least half an hour
- Do one sprint day every week
- Do at least one heavy lifting day every week
- Stretch for 30 minutes total a day
- Get at least 7 hours of sleep a day
- No Diet Coke
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Sorry… I’m just excited xD
My personal challenge is to finally wean myself off sugar altogether and find some tasty primal treats to have instead!
My own personal Challenge will be to really & truly do the weekly sprints. Really & truly!!
As a side note – I love the annual challenge because I love catching everyone else’s enthusiasm, I love reading all the comments, hearing the stories, & seeing how excited each prize winner is.
I just love this community!
I just got into Primal a couple of weeks ago, so my goals are simple: to eat only Primal and to get outside to walk every day.
right on Claire… I’ve been Primal for a couple years now and love seeing new folks joining in.
My hubby and I are going to do the challenge and were just talking this morning about finding some ways to play together out in our yard. (That won’t get us arrested.)
We’re thinking things like catch, frisbee, tag….etc. Also a game of Pick Up All the Crap in the Yard.
My goal is to spend more time away from noise created by electronics/TV/man-made ‘stuff’.
I want to incorporate more silence (or just natural noise) into my day.
Mark, excited for the challenge – always fun to take time to recommit!
My personal challenges are:
1)to give up the slice of bread I eat every morning – the only non primal food I still eat!
2)to attract more followers to my brazilian primal blog and spread the primal lifestyle on the country;
3)get my mom to join in!
My personal challenges are:
To eat no crap.
To get 3 hours low-level cardio each week.
Stand more at work (I’m standing now!).
Let’s grok!
My challenge is sticking with it long enough for it to become habit.
I did well with last year’s 30-day challenge–for about 45 days. Then one can of non-diet soda led to another, and another, and soon I had quickly fallen off the wagon (and off the road, through the ditch, and all the way down the ravine), erasing the 30-ish pounds I had lost and adding another 20, to boot. This time around I’ve been at it for a couple of weeks and am using some non-primal crutches (Zevia sodas, primarily) to help me through the rough spots until I’m strong enough to do it right.
Is there a hashtag we should associate with retweeting this? like #PrimalChallenge or something?
My personal challenge is to incorporate 2 heavy lifting workouts and 3 hours of easy moving into my weeks. With 5 kids I’m pulled in at least 8 different directions each day, so I know it will be tough!
Awesome!
I have a few personal challenges:
Eat more vegetables, try new Primal recipes, encourage my friends to get involved, and play more!
Personal challenge #1: Eat/drink exactly zero dairy for the next 30 days. It’s been my major crutch and I want to kick it to the curb. I have a little extra motivation since I had some last night after not having any for a couple of weeks and it caused me some pain.
Personal challenge #2: Work sprinting into my weekly exercise. Possibly in place of one of my 3x/week weighlifting sessions.
Personal challenge #3: Walk at least one continuous mile every single day. My dog will appreciate this one. It will also be much easier since September is when the weather starts getting semi-tolerable outside in lovely (ha!) Phoenix.
Personal challenge #4: Build, and start using, an aquaponics system to grow yummy vegetables and fish. I’ve already got the 55-gal food-grade drums for fish tanks and grow beds.
let me know if you have any issues, I’ve had an aquaponics set up for a year now. I made plenty of mistakes that i’ve learned from. but plenty of yummy veg too!
mostly stick to the KISS method.
Keep It Simple Stupid!!
I’m excited to participate in the challenge this year! I only lurked and half participated last year…
my 30 day challenge to myself is to be MORE primal… I’ve been slacking. I need to make a weekly meal plans and to PACK A LUNCH.
My personal Challenge will be to give up the grains and legumes and finding new ways to eat snacks and food. But, the biggest challenge for me will be to erase everything I learned as “right” thus far and reprogram myself to learn what is good and bad for my health!
My challenge is to make dinner for myself+husband with healthy fats every night!