Review of The Carb Nite Solution

I will be the first to admit that I was skeptical about this program when I was told about it.  I'm an active member of a message forum that has a thread dedicated to fitness and nutrition, and I usually follow the advice of one of the gurus on this forum.  His name is Cormac, and you've heard me mention him before.  He is practically a genius when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, and he practices what he preaches.  

So when Cormac started talking up The Carb Nite Solution by John Kiefer, after only talking about the greatness that is Mark Sisson, I was hesitant to listen.  I had it locked in my mind that carbohydrates were pretty bad, and it was best to keep them under 100 grams a day, but the overall nutrition in my diet was the thing I needed to focus on.  

Kiefer's solution, however, is to focus almost solely on the carbohydrates and to keep them under 30 grams a day.  This is mostly acceptable to somebody so deep in the paleo-dieting world, until you find out that he also wants you to pig out (literally) one night a week.  For one night, every single week, you load as many carbs into your system as possible.  Cormac said that there was a lot of science behind it as to why it worked, but I had trouble believing him.  That was until he started talking about his overweight friend that was on it, and how much weight he had been losing with it.  He actually said, "It's funny to see the weight almost melting right off of him."

I decided to check it out for myself.  I went to the website, and started reading every little piece of information I could about it to see what Kiefer had to say for himself.  Naturally, the information on the website doesn't give away too much as to how it works or why it works, because Kiefer is selling his book that details the diet.  I took the plunge and bought it anyway, going in with an open mind ready to see what the guy had to say for himself.

What I liked about the book:

• John Kiefer is a physicist.  More importantly, he is a scientist.  This means that every single part of the book is explained with science as to why it works.
• There are so many references and citations to back up what he's saying that it is hard to refute it.
• The idea behind the plan in the book is simple, and following the diet he lays out is not a hard one.
• He explains and forewarns of EVERY thing that will happen to your body when you go on this diet.  The good, along with the bad, are laid out on the table.
• He explains that this plan is not a lifestyle-diet, like The Primal Blueprint, Weight Watchers, Atkins, or any of the others, but it is a power-diet.  This diet is meant for fat-loss, not weight-loss, and is only intended for up to 6 months of use at a time.
• The last part of the book has a layout of meal plans, recommended foods, and other things that will help you succeed on this diet.  It is all very detailed.

What I didn't like about the book:

• John Kiefer is a physicist.  More importantly, he is a scientist (yes, I did list that twice).  This means that there are a LOT of details and science facts in this book to explain why it works.  I'm taking college level biology classes right now and some of it was still over my head.  I considered it to be a necessary evil.
• I don't agree with some of the recommendations on the plan.  One major disagreement that I had was pertaining to exercise.  He doesn't actually recommend it, but says that it can be helpful.  He states that under any circumstance, no cardio should be performed while on this diet.  
• It almost sounds too good to be true.

Overall, I was impressed with the book and the diet detailed out in it.  I think the website looks a little shady, and that it might scare off some potential customers/clients.  I ended up paying $19.99 USD for an electronic version of the book that was instantly available to me, and I think it was worth it.

At the time of this writing, I am on day seven of the diet.  The first couple of days were harder than these last few, but the book has prepared me for all of that.  I can't say for sure whether or not this will actually work as I have spent so little time on it so far.  However, I am fairly confident that this will be effective for me.

After only seven days in to the diet, I am already noticing changes in my body.  That's crazy to me.

You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Quick Update from Andy

I'm using this as a final excuse to delay going to the gym, so while you are enjoying reading this, also put some shame on me for not being where I need to be.

I just finished reading a new book called the Carb Nite Solution by John Kiefer.  After a couple of months of talking it up by a friend and how awesome it was, I decided to look into it and see what the idea and concepts of it are.  I'll write a review about it later, but I just want to throw out there that I think the author is really on to something here and I'm going to give it a shot.

The past few months, like most of you know, have been a struggle for me with diet and exercise.  I fluctuate from taking excellent care of myself to not taking care of myself at all.  I like myself better when I take care of me, but it's really easy to just not.

I've got two things keeping me motivated to get things done.  The first is that I'll be running in the Tough Mudder again this year, providing I don't have to drive more than 6 hours to get to it.  The second thing is that I'm finally putting myself back out there with women.  It's been just Madix and I for the last year and a half, and frankly, I need someone to talk to and someone to care about me in an affectionate kind of way.  Yeah, I know how it sounds, but since I'm delaying the inevitable, I might as well be brutally honest.

That's all I have for today.  Thanks for sticking with me.

-Andy

Review of the Primal Blueprint 90-Day Journal

I bought this journal at the end of October as a means of tracking my daily progress in health and exercise.  This book/journal didn't have a strong release from Mark Sisson like the original Primal Blueprint did, but is meant to be used as a companion to it.

This is the fourth product of Sisson's that I have bought, and I have to admit that while I love the application of the journal, I think it has it's flaws.  I'll weigh the pros and cons of owning this journal and what I've gotten out of it so far.

What I liked:

• This is a great companion to the Primal Blueprint.  The journal stays right in line with the teachings of the Primal Blueprint fundamentals and doesn't try to change anything up.  People who buy this journal are getting exactly what they need to help them keep track of their daily lifestyles.
• The journal pages are very detailed.  There is space provided to log dieting habits, daily measurements, exercise, personal details, and how the writer aligned himself to the primal lifestyle.
• There is space for periodic evaluations.  The journal provides pages to write down measurements, values, goals, and accomplishments at the beginning, end, and every 30 days of the journal so the writer can see how they've changed.  This is crucial for getting healthy because the results may not always show up on the scale.
• There is a wealth of reference material in the back.  Sisson doesn't bother reciting all of the values and ideas of the Primal Blueprint in the book like he has to for the original book or the 21-Day Transformation.  The back of the book has a quick reference section if someone needs to look at the primal eating pyramid or the primal essential movements.  This book is clearly meant for someone already familiar with the ideas and functions of the Primal Blueprint.

What I didn't like:

• It's not very portable.  For me personally, I like to be able to bring journals along with me.  I find it best to write down what I've eaten very soon after I've eaten it.  The same goes for logging exercise.  There are a few "travel" pages provided at the end, but those pages are limited and one would still have to come back to the book to log that information at some point.  This book weighs a few pounds and is pretty sizable   I have found that it's pretty easy to get left behind, and if it gets out of sight, it gets out of mind.
• Personal experiments were a bust.  Before the journal was released, Mark touched briefly on the idea of doing personal experiments on his website.  This may have lasted two months, but hasn't been mentioned since.  The idea was nice, but not executed very well, so it has a hard time being translated into this journal.
• May not have the detail you're looking for.  I found that I was unsatisfied with the section related to the diet.  That section basically just gives you an open paragraph to write down what you ate and mentions snacks.  It gives room for comments below, but it's not put together in a fashion where I believe it can be examined scientifically.  Getting healthy mostly includes changes to one's diet, so I would think this needs more attention.

The only other change I might make to this book would be adding an online/electronic version.  I see great potential in this book to become it's own website or app that user's could log daily values into and be able to review at a moments notice.  Everything is making a transition into some form of digital content, and this shouldn't be an exception.

Overall, I think this is a decent book to have.  Personally, I think Sisson should have waited to pull the trigger on the 21-Day Transformation and compiled it with this journal.  Giving people suggestions on what to do on a daily basis and giving them ample room to log it would might have been helpful.  However, if you're a person who likes a lot of structure in your diet with some wiggle room for interpretation, the Primal Blueprint 90-Day Journal may be the book for you.

Book Review - The Primal Blueprint

The Primal Blueprint

by Mark Sisson

If you're new to the blog or just haven't caught on to this yet, I've been turned on to a new "diet" and "exercise" plan that should really be called a lifestyle plan titled The Primal Blueprint.  The creator of this almost-grassroots phenomenon is Mark Sisson.  

Mark is a highly respected fitness and health author and blogger.  He is also a former distance runner, triathlete and Ironman competitor. Sission finished 4th in the February 1982 Ironman World Championship.  Since mostly retiring from competitive sports, Mark has went on to change lives through his books and his website Marksdailyapple.com.  

Sisson's most popular book, The Primal Blueprint, has changed many people's thinking (including my own) about their approach to fitness.  He proposes that we model our lives, in terms of diet and exercise, after our primal ancestors.  He often references one he affectionately calls "Grok".  

Grok doesn't eat bread.  He doesn't drink soda.  He doesn't replace meals with Slimfast.  He doesn't use caffeine as a crutch.  Grok also doesn't take spinning classes.  He doesn't lift weights five days a week.  

Grok survives.

In the book, The Primal Blueprint, you will learn Sisson's 10 Primal Laws that we can all live by:  

1. Eat lots of plants and animals
2. Avoid poisonous things
3. Move frequently at a slow pace
4. Lift heavy things
5. Sprint once in a while
6. Get adequate sleep
7. Play
8. Get adequate sunlight
9. Avoid stupid mistakes
10. Use your brain

In each chapter, Mark discusses each one of these laws and how we can apply them to our daily lives.  He goes into detail about the benefits of eating mostly plants and animals and avoiding what he calls "Chronic Cardio."  Sisson also gives examples of how to enact these laws into daily life and gives pretty easy examples of each one.

I have to say that if there was ever a book I wanted to recommend to somebody wanting to get their health in check, this would be it.  The knowledge passed down by Sisson in this book is as valuable as gold to me as I have already started to apply it to my life.  I already feel better, and have more natural energy than I ever thought that I could possess.  

If you would like to purchase The Primal Blueprint, you can buy it online at PrimalBlueprint.com ($26.99 USD), Amazon.com ($15.94 USD), or BarnesandNoble.com ($15.94 USD).  You can also buy it in eBook format for the Kindle ($8.79 USD) and Nook ($9.99 USD).

Meal Time! Baja Fish Tacos

Baja Fish Tacos with steamed baby carrots

This is one of the recipes from Mark Sisson and Jennifer Meier's Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals.  Like most of the recipes in the book, this one is surprisingly easy to make.  My wife and I worked together to make this and it only took us about 30 minutes to prepare.

I'm not going to give away all of the recipe, because I really want people to try out this cookbook as well as other primal meals.  However, all this recipe takes in some limes, lettuce, onions, mayonnaise, a fish of your choice, and some lemon pepper seasoning. 

For ours, we chose to cook with cod, which we pan fried in some light olive oil and lemon pepper seasoning. We also used store-bought mayo, but they have an awesome recipe for homemade mayo in the book.

For more recipes like this, be sure to check out Mark Sisson and Jennifer Meier's Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals.

Book Review - Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals

Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals

by Mark Sisson and Jennifer Meier

For those of you that don't know, I've been turned on to a new "diet" and "exercise" plan that should really be called a lifestyle plan titled The Primal Blueprint.  The Primal Blueprint is written and maintained by a man named Mark Sisson.  Mark is also the creator Marksdailyapple.com.  The idea behind Mark's book and website, along with his cookbooks, is that today's modern man (and woman) should model their diet and exercise routine after our primal ancestors.  

For Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals, this means cutting out grains, sugars, salts, and most dairy.  If you already follow a Primal or Paleo eating style, this will not be too much of a change at all for you.  If you're not on this type of diet yet and you have conditions like gluten or lactose intolerance, let me persuade you to "come to the dark side".

This is the second cook book from Mr. Sisson; the first one was The Primal Blueprint Cookbook.  I admit, I haven't read this one yet, and I haven't finished Mark's original book, The Primal Blueprint.  But I am convinced enough with what I have read so far.

In this book, you're going to find some delicious recipes.  Sisson and Meier mash out some great things like:

• Primal Hot Cereal
• Pizza Frittata
• Broccoli Quiche
• Breakfast Burrito
• Bacon Soufflé Frittata
• Orange Olive Chicken
• Creamy Basil Pesto Coleslaw
• Grilled Taco Salad
• Pork Fried Cauliflower Rice
• Creamy Sauerkraut and Sausage Soup
• Halibut in Butter Sauce
• Bacon and Mushroom Dip
• Spiced Nuts
• and many more!

One thing to keep in mind about this cookbook, and about Primal Blueprint eating in general, is that a lot of these recipes are going to call for things that normally don't make it into your shopping cart.  Not to fret though, because for every odd item that Mark and Jennifer call for, they also call for hearty bacon, steak, chicken, broccoli, onions, peppers, and occasionally cheese!

If you're looking to get in touch with your wild side and eat just a little more healthy than you're used to, then I would definitely recommend going out and getting Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals today!

P.S. I understand if some of you clicked the link to the Primal Blueprint site and saw the price listed ($29.99 USD) and turned green for a moment.  Don't fret, you can get the hard copy cheaper at Amazon ($18.99 USD) or buy the ebook edition for Amazon Kindle or Barnes and Noble Nook for a little cheaper ($9.99 USD).  If you get it for the Nook Color (like me) then you get all the full-color photos along with the recipes!