What kind of diet do you follow?

IN THE SPOTLIGHT WITH RYAN CARTER
Feature: FittyLDN.

You’re about to meet a very unique man. Ten years ago, he was fixated with the scale – exercising too much and not eating the right foods. He’s done a massive U-turn, put on some serious lean body mass, and is currently studying to be a nutritional therapist (AND a personal trainer). He shares his geeky knowledge bombs on his social platform @livevitae (which has racked up over 200k followers), and he’s on a mission to help others achieve optimal health.

Scatter that with some spirituality and good energy, and ladies and gents, you’ve got yourself a Ryan Carter.

Q: WHAT KIND OF DIET DO YOU FOLLOW?

A: I don’t follow a ‘diet’, I follow foods that agree with me and benefit me. But I eat natural whole foods, which can fall into the paleo and primal way of eating. Chris Kresser said a term the other day, something like a ‘plant-focused omnivore’.

Q: AH, WAS THAT JOE ROGAN’S PODCAST WITH CHRIS KRESSER AND JOEL KAHN?

A: Yeah it’s intense – and his podcast after with Dom D’Agostino and Layne Norton is great too so check that out.

Q: WHAT LIFESTYLE CHANGE HAS MOST IMPACTED YOUR LIFE?

A: If I had to pick one, it would be exercising – just from the endorphins. Whether that’s from yoga, pilates, weight training, sprinting or swimming, movement is built in us and it’s the number one anti-depressant there is.

Q: WHAT NUTRITION OR LIFESTYLE CHANGE HAS MOST IMPACTED YOUR LIFE?

A: Eating more plants, definitely. And it’s all about quality of ingredients for me, from start to finish – you know, how it’s moved, was it exposed to sun, what’s it been eating and drinking?

Q: ON THAT NOTE, WHERE DO YOU BUY YOUR FOOD?

A: I buy plants from the farmers’ market. If not there, from farm shops like Chegworth Valley. Failing that, it will be Planet Organic or Whole Foods. Meat-wise I’ll go to my local butchers, I like the one-to-one interaction of talking to them, and there’s several in my area. For seafood I go to my local fish shop, and then for staples it will be Whole Foods.