I’m Matt Frazier “No Meat Athlete” and This Is How I Live

By July 11, 2015 October 4th, 2015 How I Live, Inspiration & Purpose

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Meet Matt Frazier, the high energy parent behind NoMeatAthlete.com. Founded back in 2009, at about the same time that Matt went vegetarian. Six months later, Matt qualified for the Boston Marathon with a time of 3:09:59 at the Wineglass Marathon, over 100 minutes faster than his first marathon time seven years prior. In 2010, Matt ran his first 50-mile ultramarathon, and has run several more ultras and marathons each year since.

 

Matt is the author of the book No Meat Athlete: Run on Plants and Discover Your Fittest, Fastest, Happiest Self. When he’s not running, cooking, or blogging, Matt enjoys reading, gambling, music, and brewing beer. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife, son and two rescued dogs.
Location: Asheville, NC
Current Craft/Gig/Work: Founder of No Meat Athlete, a blog, book and podcast about plant-based running and fitness.
Number of Children and Ages: 2 kids — an (almost) 5-year old boy and 2-year old girl
One word that best describes how you live: At the intersection of simplicity and all the craziness that comes with being a parent and running a business from home 
Current Mobile Device: LG slide-keyboard phone that doesn’t do anything except be a phone 
Current Computer: I’ve got two: a Macbook Air and a Gateway All-in-One deskton on its last legs

Walk us through your first hour of the day…

First I hang out with my kids for a few minutes, then make a single cup of pour-over coffee, which takes 10-15 minutes or so because I boil water on the stove and hand-grind the beans. Then I either read for half an hour or do an exercise like Morning Pages from the Artists’s Way (three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing, basically a form of meditation on the page)matt-frazier-with-smiling-kid-and-smoothie

What’s your ‘place of work’ set up look like?

The three main pieces are a Varidesk standing desk, a long wooden table for recording podcasts and brainstorming, and a chalkboard-painted wall with quotes I like and a list of books on my list to read. I also have a framed essay from Seth Godin called “Pick Yourself” on the wall next to my desk. I try to keep it as uncluttered as possible otherwise.

What’s your favorite way to stay organized?

I still haven’t mastered this, but right now, I’ve settled on good old pen and paper lists. I have one sheet with any working projects on it, and each week I work off another sheet with the next to-do items for each of those projects, plus any other urgent things that week. Basically it’s the system from Getting Things Done, and I try to follow the rest of the principles from that program in one form or another.

If you were low energy before, what was the biggest change you made to have more energy?

Really, changing my diet — first to vegetarian and then later to vegan — made energy almost a non-issue for me. I’m never tired until the very end of the day, and that’s very different from how I used to be, even when I thought I ate pretty healthily.

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Matt with his wife, Erin, and Robert Cheeke

What’s your best energy-saving shortcut or life hack?

It’s not really a hack, but I do so little “consumption” (of TV, news, social media, blogs) that I don’t spend any energy at all on worrying or thinking about current events. Which I realize also means that I’m out of touch with current events, but I kind of like it that way.

What is your favorite go-to meal?

It’s a smoothie. Mostly fruit, but also some raw nuts and seeds and greens. It works for breakfast or as a pre- or post-workout meal or an afternoon snack. Along with a big salad, it’s one food I try to eat every single day.

How do you stay fit?

Just running, and at a pretty low intensity, usually. I try to always have a marathon or ultra in mind that I’m training for, and as needed I will do some harder workouts for that. But I tend not to keep my weight on very well with all this running and my diet, so once or twice a year I hit the gym for a few weeks and add some muscle.
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What is your night time/sleep routine?

My kids wake us up around 7am every morning, so I try to get in bed around 11pm. Nothing really special here; I usually read for 30 minutes or listen to an audiobook before I go to sleep.

What are you currently reading? Or watching?

Right now I’m reading a book called Mindset, by Carol Dweck, and rereading Tony Robbins’ Awaken the Giant Within.

What apps or software can you not live without?

I don’t really use any apps, since I don’t have a smartphone. Not really into any particular software, either. WordPress?

What is something that you happen to excel at, when it comes to parenting?

Being present — I had a smartphone for a few months but got rid of when I realized I was always checking stuff when I was, say, at the playground with my kids. Or maybe that means I was really bad at being self-disciplined and present, but at least I had the awareness to do something about it!

What is the best life advice you have ever received about being a parent?

Praise growth and hard work, not innate ability. So don’t say, “Nice job, you’re so smart!” Instead say, “Nice job, you did a great job of learning (or practicing) that!”

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Fill In The Blank: I’d love to see __________ answer these same questions.

Rich Roll.

The How I Live series asks athletes, heroes, experts, and flat-out high energy parents to share their diets, shortcuts, workspaces, routines, and more. Every week we’ll feature a new parent and the recipes, habits, tips, and insights that keep them thriving.  Know someone that you want to see featured, or questions you think I should ask? Let me know.

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