With 200-day walking streaks, maintaining a 150-pound weight loss for over two decades, and navigating multiple setbacks in his health journey, Al Roker has become an inspiration for many of us.
But even the Chief Motivation Officer of Start TODAY has days when he slips up. And he says when it happens, it’s all about what he tells himself after that means the difference between going off the deep end and getting back on track.
Health is a habit, and if you get out of that habit too long, it’s that much harder to start up.
Al Roker
“You’ve gotta be able to give yourself a certain amount of grace. But there are days where I have to have a realistic talk with myself, because I think health is a habit, and if you get out of that habit too long, it’s that much harder to start up," he says. "So sometimes you have to sit down and have — as my dad used to say — a ‘come to Jesus’ talk with yourself and say, ‘I have to get back on the horse. Let’s go.’”
Once falling victim to the "all-or-nothing" mentality, Al has admitted to being a recovering perfectionist when it comes to his diet. If he slipped up in the past, he would consider the whole day a wash.
"If I’m not perfect on my food intake, I think, ‘Oh well, then what the heck — I’m going to go hog wild," Roker told Women’s World magazine in an interview for the cover of the July 8, 2024 issue. “I’m one of those all-or-nothing people. But that’s not right. Something is better than nothing. So instead, I tell myself, ‘Okay, so I strayed a bit. Let’s pull back, start again and do better.’”
To prevent one indulgence from spiraling into days of unhealthy choices, he adopted the new motto: Something is better than nothing.
The mindset is one that he applies to his fitness routine as well. He has long advocated for the sentiment that every step counts.
"There are gonna be days where you just don't have it, and that's okay. But most days, you just keep pushing yourself," he says. "I literally have a conversation with myself. It's like, 'Come on, you gotta do this. You didn't do it yesterday. Let's go.' You're just trying to overcome inertia and, and once you do that, then momentum starts to kick in and momentum beats inertia."
The Start TODAY app helps make taking small steps to build that momentum easier, with 5-minute workouts, simple meditations and quick, healthy snack ideas.
Al's approach is now balance over perfection. He accepts that slip ups can and will happen. It's how you bounce back that matters.
"You know you feel better when you do certain things, but it's not possible to always do that. So I think the idea is to try to maximize the amount of times you do the things that you know are good for you and make you feel better," he says. "If you can up that average, then I think you've succeeded. "
Try to maximize the amount of times you do the things that you know are good for you ... If you can up that average, then I think you've succeeded. "
Al Roker
More Healthy Diet Tips From Al Roker
In addition to bouncing back from an indulgence, Roker has cultivated some other simple, healthy eating tips along his health journey. Cooking nutritious meals at home is an important part of Roker’s routine and it became even more important after he was hospitalized for blood clots and had his gallbladder removed in 2022.
After the health scare, he began to focus on adding more protein and good fats to his diet, he told viewers during a Facebook live. But for Roker, preparing healthy meals is all about keeping it simple: “If it’s got like 20 ingredients, I’m out,” he said. “Pan seared chicken thighs: salt and pepper, sear it in a pan. Maybe you sprinkle some smoked paprika on it. That’s about it.”
The Start TODAY app provides him tons of quick and easy recipes with less than 10 ingredients, that don't skimp on flavor. Think: Chicken Spinach Parm, One-Sheet Mediterranean Shrimp and Veggies, and Easy Breakfast Burritos.
While Roker has seen success with the keto diet and a low-carb eating style, right now he is focused on eating a more Mediterranean-inspired diet by limiting red meat and including more whole grains and veggies like brown rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.
Where he buys his food is another consideration. Roker prefers local farmers markets, where he enjoys the experience of chatting with the people who grow his food rather than rushing in and out of grocery stores, he told AARP magazine last year.
But his focus on healthy foods doesn’t mean he never indulges. For Roker, it’s all about moderation. “I don’t need to eat the whole thing,” Al added, “You can eat a lot of things — just don’t eat a lot of those things.”
And on the off chance he does overindulge, he doesn’t let it derail his entire day. Instead, he follows his own simple advice: “Let’s pull back, start again and do better.”
For more on how Al stays motivated with his diet and fitness routine, listen to his exclusive podcast in the Start TODAY app.
