Ted’s New Year’s resolution in 2013 was to do 100 body weight squats in under two minutes every day for a year, and has now become something bigger both online and off.

We caught up with Ted and asked him some questions about his lifestyle and current triathon training.

Tell us about yourself: your age, where you live, your job, your family, and the like.

My name is Ted Carr. I am 24, born and raised in Vancouver BC, Canada. I now live in Chiang Mai Thailand and train as a triathlete pretty much full time. In my spare time, I work on an internet start up, write eBooks, and provide health, lifestyle and fitness coaching for those who want it! My mom and sister eat mostly raw vegan and my dad still eats anything and everything.

How long have you been eating the 80/10/10 way?

6 years on 80/10/10

Why did you choose this path?

The reason I started eating this way was because I wanted to try yet another “thing” to clear up my acne. My skin was so terrible that I was too embarrassed to take my shirt off – it looked like I had a 100 bug bites all over me. That worked quickly, so now I stick with it because it’s the only diet that makes me feel good all time without ever letting me down. There are no negative consequences when eating fruit, and when I became aware of that, I couldn’t ever go back to cooked food without experiencing at least a few negative consequences.

80/10/10 was the only thing, I repeat: the only thing, that worked – I tried everything! The best part was that it not only cleared up my skin, but it cleared up my whole life as well.

You hear people talk a lot about mental clarity on this diet, and I think what’s important is what you do with that mental clarity.

For the first time in my life, I was clear enough to focus on what made me feel good. I began reading self development books, devouring educational audiobooks, and researching business and entrepreneurship success tips.

I started FruitLiving.com, started my own fruit and veg wholesale business out of my garage which I recently sold, and started health coaching people which I still do. 811 was the doorway that led to an entirely new life for me, I’m 100% completely different since changing my diet and I think all of my high school friends can attest to that.

Describe your journey from the diet you were raised with to raw vegan.

I was raised with a diet that contained a lot of dairy and gluten like most people. However I never liked red meat cause it always made my jaw sore when chewing it.

I stopped eating all animals products after seeing the movie Faces of Death. Stopped dairy and gluten few months later when I tried to clean up my acne. Eventually went raw vegan when I discovered Brendan Brazier’s Vega products and read his book where he said 80% raw or more is good, so I said, “well if 80% is good, then 100% must be optimal.” Then I found YouTube videos on it and one thing lead to another.

You call yourself a fruitarian. Does that mean you only eat fruit, and don’t eat vegetables or other things? What does fruitarian mean for your diet?

Over the past 6 months, 100% of my calories have come from fruits and coconuts.
For the 5 and a half years before that, 99% of my calories came from fruits, coconuts, vegetables, greens, and the odd nut or seed. Fruitarianism for me means getting the majority of your calories from fruit at the exclusion of any cooked foods, animal products, or chemicals.

You are known as the “100 Squats a Day Guy” in some circles. What is that about?

I’m known as the 100 Squats a Day guy because a couple years ago I started 100SquatsaDay.com which is an ultra minimalist fitness program. It consists of doing 100 body-weight squats as fast as you can. The hard part? Maintain perfect form and get deep enough on every rep so your hip crease drops beneath your knee.

When did you start doing squats like this?

I started 100SAD (100 Squats a Day) in 2013 because I went traveling to Panama without a bike and thought I could maintain or even improve my cycling if I did a lot of squats… turned out the squats were a lot better for my running than my cycling, but they helped nonetheless!

Do you still do squats daily? Where does that fit in your training routine?

I did them every single day, under 2 minutes, for about 50 days, during which time I set a PB (personal best) for my 5k (17:55), then I fell sick with a nasty virus (in Panama.) After that I decided to only include them with my training when appropriate. They continue to be an exercise I do a few times a week, though not always 100 and not always under 2 minutes… it’s still really hard to do them under 2 minutes! You try! (Go deep.)

Interview continues below.

Squat walking and hopping races
at the FoodnSport Washington retreats

HAVE FUN WITH SQUATS

Squats are no stranger to FoodnSport retreat attendees and staff. They are an essential part of an overall fitness routine and can be quite fun to do in groups. Dr. Graham is an expert at coming up with new and inventive ways to make it interesting, challenging, and playful. It is not unsual in a group following the 80/10/10 lifestyle to hear someone randomly call out, “squat!” Then you’ll witness everyone around stop what they’re doing and hold a squat together while laughing. It has become an “inside joke” that now, you have become privy to as well.

Juggling while squatting
at the FoodnSport Washington retreats

Why not try adding squats into your daily life? There are many opportunities.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Holding a squat
at the FoodnSport retreats

• do as many squats in good form as you can: either timed or untimed
• do 100 (or any number you pick): over the course of a day, all at once, or as quickly as you can (and time it if you want, or race others)
• hold a squat with your hip crease at or below your knees, but not resting at the bottom, as long as you can (and time it if you wnat, or see who lasts longest)
• squat on unsteady surfaces (carefully)
• multi-task doing something else while holding a squat or while doing squats
• plyometric squats: add a jump to your squats so you are jumping up from the bottom so your feet leave the ground at the top of your squat past standing
• vary the width of your stance
• hold a squat and walk your feet like a duck walk: forward, backward, and sideways
• while holding a squat attempt miniature jumps with no vertical movement in upper body (uber hard), also try this on a trampoline

Stopping a run to squat on command
at the FoodnSport Washington retreats

What are some of your personal records for squats?

My best record with 100 Squats is 100 in 1:39, which was video taped and is on YouTube for proof, and my best for 500 is 10:50, which is also on YouTube… it was deadly!! Was sore for a week.

What athletic goals do you have moving forward?

Going forward with my fitness, I’d love to stay involved with triathlon and eventually win an Ironman. But since you can’t control who shows up to the races, what rank I get is hard to say. I think a better goal to have would be to finish under 8 and a half hours in an Ironman. This would equate to a 55 minute 2.4 mile swim (doable) a 4.5 hour 112mile bike ride (doable) and a 3 hour marathon (doable). This time is usually enough to win an Ironman. But since I’m only 24 now, I want to give myself at least another 10 years to accomplish this goal. So far I’m on track, improving each year in every discipline and falling deeper in love with it as I do so.

Have others in your sports community reacted to your dietary choices?

As a triathlete, I race and train with a lot of athletes who agree that nutrition is important, but are hesitant to make any dramatic change to their diets. I think a lot of them are worried about ‘not getting enough’ despite me setting the example.

Have you had success finding ripe fruits when traveling?

I always seem to find quality ripe fruit when traveling because I make it a priority. To me, quality fruit is just as important as a safe place to sleep for the night. Everyone ALWAYS finds a place to sleep for the night because it’s a priority! So I make fruit my priority and the result is that I always get it. Of course it also helps that I only travel to places where great fruit grows.

Give us a sample of your daily diet and lifestyle routine…

My average day:

• Meditate 15 minutes
• Get back to some emails
• Light fruit breakfast, 1 banana
• 1-2 hour workout of either swim, bike or run or combination of all 3.
• Big breakfast maybe 800 calories. Oranges or watermelon.
• Bike to the market and pick up my fruit for the day.
• “Work” doing online social media, making videos, writing ebooks, updating website, etc
• Lunch of another 600 calories (papaya) before a nap.
• Nap at 2:00pm
• Small meal of 300 calories while I watch educational videos like Ted talks. Usually bananas.
• 1 hour swim at 4:00pm followed by 15 min of strength work
• Bike or run at 5:30pm
• Dinner at 6:30pm of about 1,200 calories. Papayas and 4 coconuts with the meat.
• Meditate 15 minutes
• Sleep soundly for 9-10 hours.

How have you found it socially eating this way?

When I’m out socially I feel like what I’m doing is important so I set the example for others and I think this gives them something to strive for. I always ask for a single type of fruit when I’m eating out. Example: please can I have a pineapple. And I never feel deprived because who wouldn’t want a pineapple?!

What advice would you give to a newbie to 80/10/10?

Source the best and highest quality fruit and don’t eat for any other reason than to feel good and to enjoy your food. Treat your diet like a relationship – make sure it loves you back with no abuse. Learn to eat by feel, AND by experience. Eating by feel will tell you to eat 3 pineapples ’cause they’re so good. Eating by experience will tell you maybe just 1 is enough for now so I don’t burn my mouth!

Think long term and don’t expect any overnight miracles. Give your body time to adapt and be certain that it is adapting. Also educate yourself heaps with the content people like Dr Graham put out and always keep in mind that there are no “raw vegan only” issues. There are no deficiencies, illnesses or problems that only raw vegans get. All of the issues that affect a fruit eater can also affect a native Inuit in Alaska who doesn’t eat any fruit. That being said, there are definitely a lot less issues that a fruit eater is prone to having.