The knees over toes guy (Ben Patrick)’s diet has changed considerably over the years.
But one thing that hasn’t changed is how ridiculously lean this guy is!
So what exactly does Ben currently eat to stay so lean year round, and allow him to perform athletically all day long?
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Ben Patrick’s diet consists of steak and eggs for breakfast, a quality protein source and salad for lunch, and a large plate of meat and fruit for dinner.
Ben’s approach to diet is quite unique for a number of reasons which we’re about to get into.
What Is Ben Patrick’s Current Diet?
As of mid 2022, Ben’s been maintaining this exact diet for almost a year and a half now and isn’t showing any signs of giving up, claiming he’s not had a cheat meal in almost 500 days.
Breakfast
Since Ben is currently looking to build muscle while staying lean, he says he’ll have a 10oz steak and 3 eggs virtually every single morning.
If he doesn’t decide to do steak, he’ll get a whole rotisserie chicken from the health food store – an organic one so it’s not oversized and packed with chemicals.
With his chicken he loves to use a paleo hot sauce which has honey in it (Paleo Chef brand).
With breakfast he’ll have a cup of Strong Coffee which is slightly lower in caffeine and includes 15g collagen protein – which might help explain why Ben’s tendons and joints appear to be so healthy!
After that he’ll head to the gym and work out/train clients or film videos.
Lunch
For lunch he’ll look to eat another ‘quality’ protein as well as a salad.
In his previous diet approach, where he would skip breakfast, that quality protein was a steak, but since he’s having that for breakfast, I imagine he’d probably be switching it up with some other lean meat like chicken or fish.
Dinner & Dessert
For his final meal of the day, he’ll have yet another plate of meat (or ‘quality protein’ as he puts it) but this time will double the serving size so he doesn’t crave starches.
With this plate of meat he’ll also enjoy a massive plate of fruit.
The fruit he eats is determined by whatever’s in season. It could be oranges, bananas, berries, kiwi fruit, etc.
An example of what he’d have on this plate is 3 large ripe oranges as well as 3 large kiwis.
Ben considers this giant plate of fruit his dessert and says he gets a lot of enjoyment out of eating this fruit in the evenings.
He’s also stated that he gets fewer cravings than ever with this approach!
As far as vegetables go, he’ll occasionally eat veges with dinner but only if he’s craving them.
Throughout The Day He Includes Electrolytes
Ben states that he never drinks any artificial diet drinks or soda but that he rewards himself with spring water.
…Doesn’t seem like much of a reward to me, but hey each to their own!
To this he’ll add some natural lemon-lime electrolytes claiming that our ancestors would have enjoyed foods and water with significantly more natural minerals and electrolytes.
Knees Over Toes Guy’s Diet Philosophy
Ben calls this diet the ‘survival diet’ and says it’s supposed to mimic the eating habits of our paleolithic ancestors.
The core tenant is that this is how we had evolved to eat over millions of years and when we deviate from that, as most modern people do, it creates problems.
Perfect Balance Between Being Lean & Strong
Ben aspires to maintain a very lean physique while being as strong as possible.
Carrying extra bodyweight is detrimental when it comes to explosive movements such as jumping, so by constantly being lean, he can consistently perform at his best.
He Tries To Mimic Ancestral Eating Patterns
Ben says that he will only ever eat fruit which is in season.
On top of this, he’ll try to take things one step further by following his own lineage back to identify his own particular ancestors’ eating habits.
Being quite pale, he says his ancestors would likely have lived further from the equator.
They’d therefore have been more likely to eat fruits like berries as opposed to more tropical fruits, so he’ll lean towards these fruits where possible.
He Tries To Minimize Cravings
Ben claims he used to have awful cravings but this new approach to diet has largely eradicated cravings from his life.
He’s Consistent But Not Strict
Ben claims to have not had a single cheat day in well over a year and says that’s mainly because he doesn’t really want to.
He really enjoys his diet and looks forward to eating the foods he does every day.
Ben says now that he’s raising a son, when his kid eventually wants to go for ice cream, he’ll be more than happy to break his diet pattern for these sorts of things.
He understands that life will get in the way sometimes and doesn’t think of his diet consistency as overly sacred.
What Does Ben Patrick Think About Fasting?
Ben isn’t crazy on fasting, but he’s not necessarily against it either.
He says he’s personally never gone 24 hours without eating in his life.
Since Ben used to skip breakfast aside from his morning cup of Strong Coffee, he says he was effectively doing 16:8 intermittent fasting without really thinking about it.
Because the Strong Coffee has calories in it, it wasn’t really fasting anyway and was more of a convenience thing.
What Does Ben Patrick Think About Caffeine?
Ben definitely likes coffee but says that when he drinks it, it’s espresso only and nothing else.
So for Ben it’s espresso or Strong Coffee only.
He says he’d probably be better off not consuming any caffeine but he drinks it purely because he enjoys it.
Closing Remarks
Overall, Ben’s diet seems pretty unique but at the same time quite relaxed and casual.
It’s mostly comprised of fruit and meat and not much in between.
His approach of only eating seasonal fruits is interesting as well as the fact that he eats so much fruit in his last meal of the day.
I can’t imagine his meals throughout the day look particularly appetizing, since they sound like they’re just a slab of meat on a plate.
I also can’t really get behind the idea of steak and eggs for breakfast, but that’s just my personal preference.
But the fact that he’s able to maintain his diet so consistently without having to think about it is truly enviable, and I hope to personally reach such a place with my own diet shortly!
