The Long Game - What I Learned About Food After 100 Conversations With Top Athletes

What do world-class athletes actually eat — not in theory, not on Instagram, but in real life, day after day?

After more than 100 conversations with elite climbers, ultrarunners, surfers, and endurance athletes, I started noticing a pattern I didn’t expect.

It wasn’t about optimization.
 It wasn’t about trends.
 And it definitely wasn’t about eating something new every day.

It started with breakfast.

On nearly every episode of Ageless Athlete, I ask a simple question:

“Where are you right now — and what did you have for breakfast?”

Over time, a clear through-line emerged across sports, ages, and disciplines:
 the athletes who last tend to build simple, repeatable defaults, especially around food.

This isn’t a nutrition lecture.
 I’m not a scientist.
 And this isn’t about macros or perfection.

It’s a human, experience-based conversation about how consistency, environment, and intention durably shape performance — especially as we age.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why many elite athletes eat the same breakfast most days
• What breakfast reveals about routine, discipline, and decision fatigue
• Why consistency often matters more than novelty
• How environment matters more than willpower when it comes to eating well
• What I had to relearn about protein, micronutrients, and recovery
• How my own diet evolved from gym culture to outdoor sports to a mostly plant-forward approach

Referenced conversations

• Lionel Conacher — big-wave surfer, first surfed Mavericks at 59
• Jerry Moffatt — one of the most influential climbers in history
• Lynn Hill — first to free climb The Nose on El Capitan
• Steve McClure — elite climber still performing into his 50s
• Harvey Lewis — one of the most accomplished ultrarunners alive
• Gary Linden — big-wave surf pioneer with six decades in the ocean, now surfing in his 70s
• Kitty Calhoun — legendary alpinist climbing strongly into her 60s

Also referenced: my conversation with EC Synkowski on practical, evidence-based nutrition for active people.

Key takeaway:
The nutrition that lasts isn’t exciting.
It’s repeatable.

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