At 54, Jimmy Carr Swears by These 4 Simple Habits to Stay Well on Tour

At 54, Jimmy Carr’s approach to staying well is fairly straightforward. The comedian believes in prioritising the basics: for him, that looks like a combination of yoga, Pilates and walking, alongside a carefully controlled approach to his diet.

In recent interviews and during live shows, Carr has revealed some key details about how he takes care of his health and fitness. Here’s everything we know.

Speaking to a Pilates instructor during a recent audience interaction, Carr shared that he’s no stranger to the reformer himself. ‘I’ve got a reformer. I like it. I rate it,’ he said. ‘I mean, I’m more of a yoga guy. I do quite a lot of yoga.’

Yoga isn’t the only form of movement Carr appears to prioritise. When asked by another audience member how he looks after his mental health while on tour, he pointed to exercise, outdoor walks in nature, sleep and nutrition as the habits he prioritises.

‘I think, how many of our mental problems are actually physical problems, right?’ Carr said. ‘If you’re getting eight hours sleep a night and you’re exercising and walking in nature every day and eating real food with real nutrition in it, if you do that for a week, let me know where you are after that. It’s a hardware problem.’

Of course, it’s important to note that while regular exercise, sleep and a balanced diet can support mental wellbeing, they’re not substitutes for professional support or treatment for mental health conditions.

Carr has also spoken about his diet and efforts to stay lean. During an appearance on Katherine Ryan’s What’s My Age Again? podcast earlier this year, the comedian explained that he tends to eat just once a day.

‘I sort of naturally do that, I tend to eat once a day,’ Carr said after Ryan asked whether he practises intermittent fasting. On the day of the interview, he said he’d had only black coffee and water and would have his first meal at dinner.

However, during the interview, Carr acknowledged that his relationship with his weight isn’t necessarily one he’d recommend others emulate.

‘I’m pretty body conscious as it is,’ he said. ‘I mean, I would say not like I think I’ve got an eating disorder, but I think I’m very conscious of weight, very conscious of staying sort of trim. In a way that’s probably on balance, maybe not the healthiest, really.’

In a previous interview on The Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth podcast, Carr added that his relationship with food and weight was affected by the death of his mum, Nora, at 57.

‘My mother didn’t look after herself, was maybe a little bit overweight,’ he said. ‘She was unhealthy and then she got sick and then she died. And that’s not lost on me in terms of, I’m very particular about trying to keep myself trim.’

He continued: ‘I certainly have a strange relationship with food.’

Seeking a high degree of control over food, weight or eating patterns can be a sign of disordered eating. If you’re experimenting with intermittent fasting or delaying your first meal until later in the day, consider how it affects you psychologically as well as physically and whether the routine feels right for you, or causes an increasingly rigid relationship with food.

When it comes to weight loss, intermittent fasting can help some people: a review published in the Annual Review of Nutrition examined 16 intermittent fasting trials, 11 of which reported statistically significant weight loss. The review concluded that most intermittent fasting approaches can lead to some degree of weight loss.

Another review, published in Nutrients, compared intermittent fasting with non-fasting methods of calorie restriction. Researchers found both approaches offered benefits for weight reduction and cardiometabolic health, while intermittent fasting appeared to have better long-term adherence. So, it’s important to tailor your nutrition to your own dietary needs and preferences, and consider seeking guidance from a nutritionist or dietitian.

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Kate is a fitness writer for Men’s Health UK where she contributes regular workouts, training tips and nutrition guides. She has a post graduate diploma in Sports Performance Nutrition and before joining Men’s Health she was a nutritionist, fitness writer and personal trainer with over 5k hours coaching on the gym floor. Kate has a keen interest in volunteering for animal shelters and when she isn’t lifting weights in her garden, she can be found walking her rescue dog.