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The Health Diaries
Life Tips From Adventure Traveler and La Colombe CEO Todd Carmichael
‘My work is like being on a raft in a fast-flowing river. I’m just on it for the ride.’
There are many ways to live a healthy life. The Health Diaries is a weekly series about the habits that keep notable people living well.
Todd Carmichael is the CEO and co-founder of La Colombe Coffee Roasters, a coffee brand based in Philadelphia. He’s also a well-known adventure traveler and was the first American to complete a solo trek from Antarctica to the South Pole on foot and with no assistance. (The feat took him more than a month, and he set several speed records in the process.)
Carmichael has been described by the media as both “foul-mouthed” and “big-hearted,” and he is often credited for taking strong positions on social and environmental issues. He’s a dad and husband—Carmichael is married to singer-songwriter Lauren Hart, and they have four adopted children—and he refers to himself as an inventor and adventurer. He was the host of the Travel Channel shows Dangerous Grounds and Uncommon Grounds and is the inventor of the “draft latte,” which the La Colombe team says is one of the fastest-growing ready-to-drink beverages.
This week, Carmichael talks to Elemental about his morning routine, his obsession with cottage cheese, and why he travels.
I wake up at 6 a.m. on weekdays. On the weekends, I wake up at 4:00 a.m. I’m a hockey dad—I play ice hockey with my son!—so my weekend time is precious, and I want to get in as much time as possible with my family.
Right after I wake up, I go to look at my sleeping children. Then I wake my little son Bek, and we make coffee together. We always drink espresso. Well, actually, I drink multiple espressos. Bek drinks a decaf cappuccino. He loves it. We sit in the kitchen while it’s dark and we talk.
I eat two meals a day. I don’t eat a lot of meat. If I do eat meat, I like meat that hasn’t been tortured. At work, I have an assistant who keeps an eye on my diet. At home, I have my wife. So, together, they ensure that I eat very healthy. I have one oddity in my diet: I eat a quart of cottage cheese every night…
