UrbanUpdate

Bear Grylls eats a little bit different at home than in the field. The famed adventurer, known for drinking blood and eating snakes—and whatever else he needs to survive—will likely do more of the same on the new season of Running Wild: the Challenge, on which debuts this week on National Geographic (and drops August 10 on Disney+), where he guides big names like Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, and Florence Pugh through outdoor challenges.    

At home, the food’s a little richer. A longtime proponent of veganism, Grylls has since switched over to an animal-based diet—lots of red meat, lots of dairy, fruit and some honey—close to snakes and blood, but not quite. GQ chatted with Grylls to talk intermittent fasting, seed oils, and why he hates nuts and vegetables.

For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and other high performers about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.

GQ: What’s breakfast like for you?

Bear Grylls: Breakfast is out. I’ll start eating at 11 or 12. I’ve done 16-8 intermittent fasting for a few years [fasting 16 hours, and eating for eight]. Initially it was hard—my brain was going, “you need fuel for your workouts.” But that’s a dopamine hit, and I retrained my brain and now I really like it. It gives your system time to clear out. I’m not one of those people that fasts for ages, just the daily 16-hour fast.

How’d you get over the hump? Did you pop a few almonds in the morning?

Super against nuts. And against grains, wheat, and vegetables. They affected my health negatively. I was a massive advocate of the vegan lifestyle for years, and wrote a book on it, but my health tanked on it. When I got COVID a couple years ago, I doubled down on what I thought was healthy—raw juice, vegetables—and got mega-sore kidneys, almost kidney stones. The more research I’ve done, I’ve noticed raw vegetables are really not good for you. So I’ve started incorporating quality grass-fed steak and liver. My lunch is meat, eggs and dairy, a lot of butter, and fruit. I have liver probably every other day. I started to get strong again.

Are you doing raw dairy?

I’m not super strict. I changed my mind-set away from vegetables are great to realizing we’ve had millions of years of evolution where we’re designed to eat meat and milk and eggs. And fruit—sweet, bright colors—and a lot of honey. It’s made eating a lot more fun. I have combinations of eggs fried in butter, greek yogurt with honey and berries. Before I’d think, “Oh, I have to have a salad.” It’s a revolution to me.

How different is it outdoors vs. at home?

It’s simple, and feels natural. If I’m on an adventure, I used to eat nuts and oat bars, but I don’t do that anymore. I just throw good quality jerky in there. Running Wilds are 36 hours, then I go back to normal circumstances.

Do you fast when you’re adventuring?

Not so much. I feel I need the energy from food I find. I’ll have a big breakfast before I go: Scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon, and fruit. Then I’ve got enough energy for two days if I don’t find anything to eat.

You have a cast-iron stomach, and have eaten a lot of out there food. Has that leaked over to when you’re not adventuring?

It can—I’ve done so much over the years: Drinking blood from a buffalo artery, munching on raw liver and heart. It’s not difficult, but it’s not very pleasant. If I’m at home, I’m not going to be tucking into raw steak and liver. Food is a great pleasure, and it can be cooked so beautifully. I tend to have it rare, but I like it cooked, unless I’m in survivor mode.

Do you have a specific workout program?

I do. I work out in the community with my military veterans fitness company, where vets run the training sessions—half of my training is that. The other half is weights. I don’t run much now. I play touch tennis, for cardio, and three good weight sessions a week, 30 or 40 minutes. I’ll do a yoga session once a week, and stretch 15 minutes to start the day. I swim 500 meters on non weight days. And I started a thing a year ago where before weights I do 25 pull-ups, 50 press-ups, 75 squats and 100 sit-ups. It’s 10 minutes, and I’ve gotten really good at it. When I was in the military, I could do max 15, now I do 25 pull-ups with a weighted vest routinely. And I’m 48.

Does the diet help these workouts? Does it help keep you less tired when you’re adventuring?

I’m always tired at the end of Running Wild. There’s a lot of concentration involved in guiding people. You’re in a difficult place, carrying weight on your back. But I find my training isn’t crazy. It keeps my bones and muscles strong, and the swimming and stretching keeps me flexible. I don’t need the endurance. That’s not the job. It’s more about strength, flexibility for the long term.

But you built up your base. Are the weights heavy? You squatting double body weight?

I go pretty heavy. I keep it low reps, around 10. And I’ll do it with a clock, Tabata style, and with functional kettlebell work, too.

Are you counting calories and macros or is it kept in line by the fasting and diet limits?

If I’m eating a lot of meat, I get much fuller, so I can eat as much as I need. I’m pretty greedy by nature, so I don’t totally eat that way. But I’m much more satisfied on this diet. It’s also more pleasant and delicious.

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Are you avoiding anything in your diet besides raw vegetables?

Seed oils is a big one. But I’m not militant about it. Sometimes I’ll have a pizza or a fried whatever, once or twice a week. Though I’m learning they’re the real killer. This stuff is not in our evolutionary diet. It’s designed for lubricating engines. I get the sense this isn’t new to you. This is heartening to me, since in the early days, people thought I was nuts for eating like this.

Yeah, you’ve been basically describing my diet. We eat kind of identically. Which is nice to hear.

You don’t think I’m nuts?

No. Liver is magic food. I’d add in some fermented vegetables. I could talk about this all day. You’re close to the Ray Peat diet.

I get this stuff from Paul Saladino. He’s a good buddy of mine in Costa Rica, and he’s helped me so much over the past three years.

What’s the first thing you eat when you get back home from an adventure?

I’ll make a burger from grass-fed mince, with cheese and an egg on top, cooked in tallow, fry some white rice in it. A scoop of bone marrow, and a massive tub of Greek yogurt, and honey and berries. If I was to have a treat, I’d have some cocktails and a sourdough pizza. Maybe a good British roast, sticky toffee pudding. And freshly squeezed orange juice. I found eating like this, I have fewer cravings.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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Sami Reiss is a contributing writer at GQ. Since joining in 2018 he has covered vintage clothing, design, and health and wellness across the magazine and the website. His newsletters, Super Health, and Snake, covering design, are both Substack bestsellers, with the latter’s archives anthologized in a book, Sheer Drift,... Read moreInstagramRelated Stories for GQReal Life DietFoodTVWorking Out