The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series) [Paperback]

Mark Sisson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 2012 | Series: Primal Blueprint Series

The Primal Blueprint is a simple, flexible plan to help you look and feel your best without struggling or suffering, by adapting the simple lifestyle practices of our hunter-gatherer ancestors into modern life. Sisson presents the compelling premise that you can reprogram your genes in the direction of weight loss, health, and longevity by following 10 immutable Primal Blueprint lifestyle laws validated by two million years of human evolution. Weight loss is largely about insulin; moderate your production by eliminating sugar and grains, and you will lose the excess body fat you desire even while eating delicious, satisfying foods. Plus you will improve your energy level, reduce inflammation, and eliminate disease risk. Eating meat, eggs, and a generally high-fat diet not only is healthy but is the key to effortless weight loss, a healthy immune system, and boundless energy.Slowing down your typical cardiovascular workouts, and incorporating brief, intense strength sessions and occasional all-out sprints can produce fitness benefits far superior to workouts that are longer and more grueling-and can eliminate the risk of burnout.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Former world-class endurance athlete (2:18 marathon, 4th place Hawaii Ironman), BA degree in biology (Williams College), former Anti-doping Commissioner of International Triathlon Union and its liaison to the IOC, founder and CEO of Primal Nutrition, Inc., owner/founder of MarksDailyApple.com a top-ranked health and fitness blog with over 700,000 unique visitors per month.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Primal Nutrition, Inc.; 2 edition (January 14, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982207786
• ISBN-13: 978-0982207789
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (245 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness
  • #19 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Nutrition
  • #20 in Books > Medical Books > Nursing

More About the Author

Health and fitness expert Mark Sisson is the publisher of the acclaimed MarksDailyApple.com, a popular health blog with millions of pageviews each month. His 2009 book, The Primal Blueprint, climbed to a top-10 ranking in amazon.com's health and fitness category, and has been critically acclaimed for challenging many flawed elements of Conventional Wisdom about diet and exercise. Sisson's "Primal" theme encourages us to reconnect with our hunter-gatherer ancestral roots: eating natural plant and animal foods, getting plenty of low-level daily activity interspersed with occasional brief, intense exercise, and engaging in lifestyle behaviors that balance the stress of hectic modern life. Sisson was one of the world's most versatile and accomplished endurance athletes, with a 2:18 marathon to his credit and a fourth place finish in the Hawaii Ironman World Triathlon Championships. He also served as the first anti-doping leader of the International Triathlon Union and consulted internationally for the International Olympic Committee on endurance training, nutritional supplementation, and the effects of performance enhancing drugs on athletes. He is the founder and president of Primal Nutrition, Inc. a Malibu, CA supplement company. Sisson lives in Malibu with his wife and two children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Continuous References to Web Site... Why Buy the Book?, February 6, 2011

By 

Steph (Detroit, Michigan) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series) (Kindle Edition)

First let me say that I am a believer in the Primal Blueprint Plan. I stumbled across Marks Daily Apple web site and wanted to learn more. I was pleased to discover that he had written a book. I figured rather than dig through the web site to find out more, I would buy the book and have the whole plan at my fingertips -- no more searching the web site.

WRONG. The book continuously gives an introduction and then section after section, refers you to marksdailyapple.com for more information. It doesn't say where on the web site, either. If I have to mine through the web site, why did I need to buy the book?

I agree with other reviewers who indicate the book is very repetitive without giving solid examples -- lots of overview. There isn't a 7 day plan or 30 day plan or sample work outs, just generalities. Again, if you want examples, you are referred to the web site.

I purchased the Kindle version of the book -- there are no charts or graphs, all text. I am not sure if the printed book is presented in the same format, but I find it hard to read. For example, identifying fruits from most favorable to occasional, a chart would have been easy to read. Instead, it is written in paragraph format.

Again, I am a supporter of the plan and am beginning to adopt it myself. However, I can't really recommend the book. It seems that all the info you need is on the web site. If you buy the book, you will be referred to the web site anyway.

691 of 823 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but needs improvements in certain parts, October 18, 2009

By 

Michael Bluth - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series) (Hardcover)

So I read Sisson's book and have been a regular reader of his website [...]

I found that the book gives a good introduction to the Paleo-style way of life (cut the sugars, grains, processed carbs, and processed fats/trans fats) and focus on proteins and fats (good fats). This is from the simple premise that we evolved in an environment where grains weren't highly available and that sugar was difficult to extract (as there were NO government-subsidized grain programs and NO Green Revolution of the 1960s to mark the explosion of cheap grain availability). Furthermore, our primitive ancestors tended to be a lot more active than what we have been especially over the past half century (hugely to blame thanks to sedentary-style desk jobs that much of America has switched onto).

It all makes sense, and I do believe with everything Mark is saying --- and I would recommend this book.

The only reasons why I gave this book a 3/5 was because I felt that the biochemistry needed a bit more explanation as it was a little unorganized (he gives some basic facts about human metabolism but doesn't really explain it all the way through), and then goes on giving recommendations for how to do the program. It would have been helpful if he gave some more quantitative data as well.

For instance, he doesn't really explain how much higher carb intake to fat deposit turnover is compared to fat intake to fat deposit rates. It's important to describe these things quantitatively (and I understand it can't be too too complex given the audience) because a 100% rate stands out a lot more than say a 5% or even a 1% rate compared to the other.

So he will describe some basic biochemistry (which again is appropriate) but neglects to fill in some other pieces that make the entire picture clear.

The second minor complaint was that the book never really made references to its sources for evidence WITHIN the text and it should have used footnotes and not endnotes at the very least. The way the book is setup is that it makes verifying his claims more difficult to do because he doesn't cite sources when he needs to. This is important because it lends more credibility to what he is saying, and helps those who are doubtful to reassure themselves at the appropriate points when necessary.

Third, I don't like the subtle recommendations for his own supplements --- I mean, it's his book yeah, but I think it is unprofessional to be recommending your own products especially when you're trying to teach people the right thing. It makes the author look biased for the wrong reasons, looking for a quick buck especially when there are a lot of competing nutrition guides out there with similar claims. My advice is: Don't waste your money on any supplements as they're overpriced here, and you can find better deals at other stores. The only supplements that I use, btw, are a Centrum Multivitamin, Omega 3 fish oil pills (take 2 1000 gs a day), and 1000 IU of Vitamin D3 (I live in a high latitude/long winters). And how significant these benefits are by taking these specific supplements is still up for debate --- in Sisson's own words, you may be literally pissing gold. Mark, if you read this, you should realize that your message will be more easily accepted by people, who are already skeptical of supposed health claims, if you don't advertise in your book for your own personal profit.

Fourth, there should have been more recipes and a recipe guide/schedule in visual format that would help people get started on the Paleo-style way of eating.

The book is about 270-280 pages long, and it's in relatively big size font, and at the price it's selling at, I'm sure that the next edition (if there will be one),can afford and should include a good template for a beginner 30 day recipe guide for commonly/easily available foods/spices/condiments/etc. in American grocery stores.

Besides these points, the book is a good read, and is not overly complex or overly simple and it has a good balance of information and advice to follow.

Nevertheless, I would also urge all of you to read the book (and any other nutritional book) with a critical mind and don't just passively accept the arguments the author makes without verifying it for yourself.

Finally, I would also be cautious/wary of all the 5-star reviews that this book and any other book gets on Amazon.com and any other website --- especially seeing as you really can't tell if the writers work for the publisher/author, or if they may be influenced by a hive mind mentality (following the crowd), a placebo effect, or are just plain dumb.

124 of 146 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes sense, April 30, 2011

By 

my3kids (new jersey) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series) (Hardcover)

After reading numerous posts and amazing pictures of 'primal' meals by my facebook friend, curiosity got the best of me and I ordered this book. I expected it to be just like Atkins but it wasn't. Yes, it does promote low carb eating but it's not NO carb. I tried Atkins a few times and although I loved how I looked and felt when I didn't eat carbs, I could not sustain that for life.

Eating primal is something that I have been implementing in my diet w/o actually realizing it. The author does a great job explaining and drawing parallel examples of Grok and Korg....and I noticed that when I don't eat grains, I feel amazing. So I decided to get rid of all grains in my life as well as sugar (which is really hard for me as I am a chocoholic). I feel amazing, I don't feel bloated like I did before, I have so much energy and I am excited about eating....I can have a WHOLE egg with the yolk...something I haven't done in years.

The fact that I am encouraged to eat lots of veggies and some fruit and even dark chocolate is very appealing to me as this was the minus I saw with the Atkins diet.

I am not looking at this as a diet, I am looking at it as a lifestyle change. Since I've already cut out a lot of starches and sugar out of my life in the past year, this recent transition is not very drastic for me.

Since I am at my goal weight, I am not looking to LOSE weight but rather maintain it which is always a challenge for me. I am hoping that this way of eating will help me stay at this weight without putting too much effort into it.

And if you are just starting out cutting out grains and sugar (not carbs!) out of your diet and you find yourself not knowing what to eat...it really is easy. Roast some veggies and throw some steak/chicken/fish on the grill. Add cut up avocado, tomatoes or any other veggies on your plate with eggs. Have a huge salad with chicken or beef cut up and put some interesting nuts or seeds...flax, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc. Make a homemade coleslaw that you can add to any meal....bag of coleslaw, thinly sliced red/orange pepper (I buy those mini bell peppers), grated green apple (or not), lots of fresh cut up herbs (cilantro, dill and scallions are my fav) and make dressing out of 2tbsp oil (I love sunflower seed oil) to 2-3tsp red wine vinegar...add some garlic, salt, pepper and voila...a wonderful side dish with any meal! Fills you and healthy too!

Think outside of eating just eggs and bacon (nothing wrong with those though) and add veggies! marksdailyapple forums are a wonderful place to get advice from other primal followers.