Mark Sisson's Primal Journey: From Marathons to Primal Kitchen
Mark Sisson tells us how overtraining, IBS and a grain-free experiment led to Mark's Daily Apple, Primal Kitchen and a new way of eating.
By The Meat Mafia (Harry Gray and Brett Ender)
Before Brett and Harry ever went carnivore, they were reading Mark Sisson's blog. He was their dream guest from day one.
In his twenties Sisson was a top marathoner and triathlete. He worked as a contractor to pay for years of training toward the 1980 Olympics.
Then his competing fell apart. He later blamed it on things that became the core of his work: an inflammatory diet and overtraining.
"I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up until I was 47." (01:47)
He also had IBS, and he says it ran his life. When he gave up grains, he calls it his big epiphany.
He says his thought was simple: if he'd defended his right to eat grains despite everything he knew, how many other people were doing the same?
In 2006 he started Mark's Daily Apple. He planned to write every day for a year, cover everything, and be done. Instead, readers kept coming.
Then he couldn't find a mayo or dressing without the oils and sweeteners he avoided, so he started making his own. That became Primal Kitchen.
"It's not me that I'm sharing, it's the gift that I've discovered, and I wanna share it with the world." (09:13)
He says the thread through all of it isn't passion. It's compulsion: he felt compelled to share what he'd learned. Below are the lessons he shared with us. This is his story, not medical advice, so talk to your own clinician before you make big changes.
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TL;DR: Mark Sisson trained for the Olympic marathon trials until overtraining and a poor diet wore him down. Cutting grains eased his IBS, and that experience pushed him to start Mark's Daily Apple in 2006 and later Primal Kitchen. His story, not medical advice.
Who is Mark Sisson? A former elite endurance athlete, the founder of Mark's Daily Apple and Primal Kitchen, and a pioneer of the ancestral health movement.
Key takeaways
- He says overtraining and an inflammatory diet ended his competitive career (02:56).
- Cutting grains was his big epiphany for IBS, he says (05:38).
- He coined the term chronic cardio in an early post for Art De Vany's site (16:10).
- Primal Kitchen began with him making mayo in his own kitchen (07:39).
- He calls writing the single greatest skill you can have (18:06).
The case against chronic cardio
Drawing on his own years as an endurance athlete, Sisson wrote that you can do too much cardio and that it can work against your health, not for it (16:10).
From blog to food company
He couldn't find condiments made without the ingredients he avoided, so he made his own and then built a company around them. He says he's proud that many other brands now do the same (07:39, 08:16).
Failures that led somewhere
He says he lost money on a TV show and a restaurant concept, and that the failure of the show led directly to Mark's Daily Apple (09:44 to 11:31).
FAQ
Who is Mark Sisson? The founder of Mark's Daily Apple and Primal Kitchen and a former elite endurance athlete.
What is chronic cardio? His term for doing so much endurance exercise that it works against your health (16:10).
Why did Mark Sisson give up grains? He says it was his big epiphany for the IBS he'd been dealing with (05:38).
Related on The Meat Mafia
- Shawn Baker's carnivore story
- Jason Karp on building better food brands
- More on Carnivore & Animal-Based
- Browse all episodes
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Not medical advice. This post summarizes a podcast conversation for education. The views are the guest's own. Talk to a qualified clinician before you change your diet, supplements or any medication.
