The 2012 Primal Blueprint 21-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 21-Day Challenge!
Before we get to all the details, let’s kick things off with a simple contest. Share this blog post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or by email by using one of the icons at the bottom of this post AND leave a comment in the comment board below that finishes this sentence: “My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is…”. (Example: “My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is to completely eliminate grains from my diet, and to lose 5 lbs of body fat.”) That’s it! Help spread the word about this year’s challenge and publicly commit to achieving your own health goals, and you’ll be entered to win a $200 gift certificate to PrimalBlueprint.com.
This contest ends at midnight (PDT) tonight, Sep. 10. A winner will be selected at random and everyone around the world is eligible.
Now, on to the challenge details…
What Is the 21-Day Challenge and Who Is It For?
What’s the challenge? To get Primal, of course! I hold this 21-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.
There’s something here for Primal veterans, too. It’s a good idea to revisit the basics from time to time. And hey, the chance to win free stuff isn’t half bad either.
The actual challenge itself is pretty straightforward. The details can be found in the image below. I recommend downloading the 21-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. Articles over the next two weeks will be about taking steps to align your lifestyle with the Primal Blueprint. The third and final week of the challenge will be entirely comprised of reader-created content. That’s right, MDA readers (you!) will be running the show. Stay tuned.
Above and beyond the challenge as outlined below, I encourage you to make your own personal challenges. Whether it’s eliminating or adding a certain food to your diet, losing weight, playing more often, getting better sleep, or anything else, customize your goals to fit your needs and commit to 21 days starting now.
Why 21 Days?
You may have noticed that this year’s challenge is a departure from the 30 day format of previous challenges. Why? After many years of training clients and interacting with hundreds of thousands of Mark’s Daily Apple readers, my team and I have found that 21 days is the sweet spot for eliminating old habits and replacing them with new ones. It’s long enough to make legitimate progress toward reversing years of adverse lifestyle habits, long enough for most people to get past the low carb flu (if you experience it at all), and long enough to give the Primal Blueprint a fair shake, but not so long as to be seen as a daunting undertaking. In other words, anyone, including you, can give this a go for three measly weeks, and in that time you are bound to see results. If you have weight to lose, it’s reasonable to expect a reduction of three to seven pounds of excess body fat during this period, and to continue at that rate safely until you reach your ideal body composition.
I’m confident that you can transform your life in just 21 days with the Primal Blueprint. So confident that I wrote an entire book about it…
The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation
This 21-day Challenge perfectly complements The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation. The Total Body Transformation is all about making Primal living easy – distilling the philosophy of The Primal Blueprint (detailed in the 2009 hardcover volume) into 8 Key Concepts, 5 Action Items, and a lively 21-Day Challenge of daily endeavors in the areas of Diet, Exercise, and Lifestyle – with corresponding journal exercises. You’ll be shown exactly what to do and when to do it – eliminating any guesswork – to get and stay Primal for life.
If you can spare an hour a day for just 21 days, I guarantee that you will reprogram your genes and transform your life with this guidebook.
Order a copy today to enhance this year’s challenge, and for added guidance and direction.
The 21-Day Challenge Contests
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 three weeks 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 new contests every day for the first two weeks (through Sep. 23) of the 21-Day Challenge, 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 couple 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 for being featured in a 21-Day Challenge contest.
To track all the contests visit the 2012 Primal Blueprint 21-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 – 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 the Mark’s Daily Apple community.
4. The Books
5. What to eat? – Primal Blueprint Recipes on MDA, The Primal Blueprint Cookbook and Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals
6. The Newsletter – Sign up on this page to get 6 free eBooks, a 7-day course on the fundamentals of lifelong health, and more.
7. Have a question? – Contact Me
Tell your friends and family about the challenge so they can get Primal too! And don’t forget. Click the icons below to share this post, and leave a comment telling the world what you are committing to do over the next 21 days, for a chance to win a $200 gift certificate to PrimalBlueprint.com.
Subscribe to the Mark’s Daily Apple Newsletter for Free eBooks, Weekly Challenge Updates and More!
Posted By: Mark Sisson
My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is too lose those last remaining ‘stubborn’ 10 – 15 lbs, get healthy and back to basics. Conquer addictions to bread, salty/sweet foods and mindless hours spent on the net. Enjoy the outdoors with family, friends, and my pup. Kayak, hike and yoga! And heck LGN wouldn’t hurt either! :0)
Count me in. I challenge myself to start to integrate fitness into my life. I will lift heavy things at least once a week, move at a steady pace at least 3 days per week and sprint once every ten days. My goal is to drop a dress size by continuing to eat primal and adding in PB fitness.
My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is as follows:
To eat ONLY the following:
grassfed or pastured local meats
local eggs
local vegetables
local fruits
tea and local wine
local butter
salt and spices
coconut oil, olive oil, cooking spray
stevia sweetened salad dressing
Even eating from these groups I’m a big fruit eater, so to really challenge myself I plan, without counting exact carbs, to keep my carb intake below 150ish.
My goal is 21 days of perfect Primal (and local) eating.
I will allow two non-primal meals from local restaurants during the Primal Challenge. These may include only normal portions and will not include desserts.
My goal with this 21 days challenge is to eat primally all the way, and commit to the exercises. Ideally i will feel a boost on my energy levels and performance in the end.
My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is to move from almost Primal to completely Primal, play more, get more sun, andd hopefully shed some more weight in the process.
My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is to completely eliminate grains from my diet, follow the program 100% of the time, and exercise often as prescribed by Mark Sisson. I am going to roshambo grains, and then we will see who is laughing.
I’m 56 years of age (not old) and I want MORE. Primal is going to get me there. Thanks Mark,for helping me believe in me and completely eliminate grains from my diet, and to losing 5 lbs of body fat.
My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is to stop eating the sweets and stick to a grain free diet. I will continue to stick with my weight training schedule 3 days a week and incorporate more walking to work.
My 21 day challenge goal is to continue to lose fat and gain muscle. Also to get definition in my arms, abs and legs.
My Primal Blueprint 21-day challenge is to stop cheating and to move slowly more often.
My 21 day challenge will be to do what I know I’m supposed to be doing by going primal and stop sweating the small stuff … in other words, I’m gonna get totally Grok-a-fied!
My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is to completely eliminate grains, improve the quality of my sleep, and lose 5 lbs of body fat!
My goal is to cut ourt the sugar that keeps sneaking in and get rid of my brain fog!
My Primal Blueprint 21 day challenge is to gain more muscle and feel even better( if thats possible lol).
My Primal Blueprint 21-day challenge is to play and relax more, kick the sugar craving (again!) and reduce bellyfat. What a great way to get started!
After eating primally since January, it’s time for me to expand into the other areas of Primal living. For the challenge, I plan to move and rest primally. I’m still low energy a lot of the time and getting to bed and sleep is a challenge. I’m a night owl! I’ve not made a concerted effort to lift heavy things or move frequently at a low pace either. I’m going to focus on that! Thanks Mark for the pretext to get moving!
My Primal Blueprint 21-day challenge is to:
1) avoid grains and processed food completely
2) sleep better and get more sun
3) take it easy and not stress out
4) lose the last 10 lbs of baby weight left from having my 9 month old
My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is to become stronger and eliminate grains from my diet, completely for 21 days straight.
My primal challenge is to lose atleast 5lbs (or get to my goal weight) and try to cut out grains from my diet/increase my healthy fat intake.
This is the perfect time to “go all the way” and commit to Primal by cutting out the peanut butter, dairy, and dried fruit. Curious to see how that might affect my weight and digestion after 21 days. My good friend is doing an elimination diet for 3 weeks, so this is perfect timing to do this with her in solidarity (although she’s eating lots of grains and legumes but no eggs, and I’m eating lots of eggs but no grains and legumes!) I’m also committing to going dancing once a week (at least!), as this is serious body-moving fun!
My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is…to cut out all the paleo-ized recipes so that I can get back on track after learning how to cope with my knee pain.
My goal for the 21 day challenge is to start getting the sprinting and playing in. I’m doing good with the food and lifting heavy things but am lacking in the sprinting and playing outdoors with my kids.
My Primal Blueprint 21-day challenge is to go 100% starch and added sugar free. The weight loss will be a side benefit
My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is to eliminate grains and nightshades and to lose some fat and build muscle!
My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is to re-dedicate myself to a grain- and sugar-free diet which I KNOW is so beneficial, and to regain overall muscle tone and energy. I started moving into a Paleo lifestyle 7 months ago, lost 30 pounds and felt so much better, but have slipped up the last few weeks. Time to get back on track!!
My Primal Blueprint 21 Day Challenge is to enter and stay in ketosis for the remainder of the calendar year.
21 Day Transformation here I come…My 21 day challenge is to work on my sleep patern which in turn I hope with help reduce my stress level and increase my energy level.
My 21 day challenge: I commit to >3 hrs movement/wk & 15 min sun/d! (As a breastfeeding mama… it’s literally baby steps to regain my pre-birth fitness… Gotta rebuild to keep up with my little guy!)
My Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge is to loose my belly fat by cutting grains/wheat/sugar (stop that bread!!!), and increase my activities. Overall I want to loose 4-5 Kg for this challenge.
I commit to tracking every mouthful of food I eat. Journalling every day and being more intentional about my exercise programme.