Real Chalk — A Quickie w/ Mark Sisson — 27

Mark Sisson is founder of Primal Nutrition and Primal Kitchen, a fitness author, blogger, and a former distance runner, triathlete and Ironman competitor. He is also the author of numerous books, including The Primal Blueprint, which was credited with turbocharging the growth of the primal/paleo movement back in 2009.

In 2017, Mark officially became a New York Times bestselling author with The Keto Reset Diet. He is also the publisher of MarksDailyApple.com, the #1-ranked blog for over a decade in its health and fitness category.

In this episode, Mark talks about his process of growth in the development of his company Primal Kitchen as a brand and natural food provider. He walks the the Real Chalk crew through the process of searching for quality in the foods we eat, and how to identify specific ingredients that are indicators of low quality foods. Mark also discusses his routine for a sharp morning as well as sharing his favorite meals, and more.

Enjoy!

– Ryan and Yaya

A post shared by Mark Sisson (@marksissonprimal) on Jan 4, 2018 at 4:52pm PST

Back to the basics

Mark Sisson got involved in studying nutrition and creating supplements to resolve his own issues as an injured and sick athlete. He continuously sought new ways to improve and optimize performance using natural products. He talks about his original blog, Mark’s Daily Apple, when he first started his career as a health communicator, and explains how he organically grew his business and reputation through getting on small local talk shows.

“If you choose to have dessert, so what. Enjoy life.” — Mark Sisson

A post shared by Mark Sisson (@marksissonprimal) on Aug 15, 2017 at 5:43pm PDT

Key Takeaways

Finding quality — Mark works with a couple rules that he uses to find quality products in the grocery store. Price is typically a huge indicator of quality, because low priced products simply cannot afford to use high quality oils, and maintain a low price point. He also looks for products that have no more than 5 ingredients.
Metabolic flexibility — Rather than focusing on just fat or carbs as a fuel source, we should maintain a level of metabolic flexibility. We should be able to switch between fuel sources, from fat in food, to fat in the body, to ketones from the liver, glycogen from muscles, to glucose from starchy vegetables.
Big ass salad — Mark swears by his daily “Big ass salad” — it typically includes a mixture of 15 types of veggies, including mixed greens, carrots, celery, and radish. He also includes some type of protein, and one of his Primal Kitchen salad dressings.
Morning hack — Rather than meditation, exercise, or other productive ways to start the day, Mark begins every morning with a a cup of coffee, a sudoku puzzle, and a crossword puzzle to help keep his brain sharp.