Bill Maeda is 58 years old fitness coach, but rather than being focused on building and maintaining big muscles or carving a six pack, he is working on improving longevity and functionality.
By fusing practical experience with unorthodox advice, the Honolulu-based fitness trainer, and colon cancer survivor has turned his social media presence into a masterclass in sustainable health.
His honest approach to diet, supplements, recuperation, and sleep has undoubtedly become the true blueprint for aging well, even though he is most recognized for using his teeth to deadlift barbells or hanging upside down to work out his hip flexors.
Bill Maeda’s story
58-year-old personal trainer Bill Maeda has always been quite energetic. He began exercising when he was just 7 or 8 years old, motivated by Bruce Lee’s agility and muscularity.
He says, “I had never seen muscles. That completely amazed me. He simply has a lethal appearance!”
In 2012, he was working out at the gym when he sensed something was very wrong. He went to the hospital and was told he had Stage 3 colon cancer.
He claimes that his diet at the time was terrible.
“I think I was consuming two pints of ice cream. Additionally, [the cancer] was most likely caused by my diet. But I simply believed that my already poor diet was starting to become intolerable to my system. Because I was eating cartons of macadamia chocolate at the time. Really, that wasn’t good.”
Although he acknowledges that he was a “troubled soul” in high school who smoked cigarettes and “experimented pretty heavily” with methamphetamines, he also reasoned that he wasn’t particularly at risk for the disease because it didn’t run in his family.
However, he still feels that consistently neglecting sleep was his “biggest mistake.”
He discovered that resilience is more important for health than performance after overcoming the stage 3 colon cancer in 2012. His daily routine now, more than ten years later, reflects that change.
In a recent interview with GQ, Maeda said: “I’m more concerned with my brain health than using creatine for muscle enhancement. That is less significant at my age. I’m no longer attempting to be huge.”
This attitude permeates his approach to supplementation, movement, and diet. Making a routine that works for your life is more important than trying to fit into someone else’s.
Bill Maeda’s diet – no special rules, just eating real foods
For someone who has been a trainer for a long time, Maeda’s diet is surprisingly casual. He has tried intermittent fasting, low-carb, and keto. None of those lasted, though. Maeda claims his body just cannot take restrictions because of his extraordinarily high metabolism, even at 58.
According to Maeda, he only eats until he is satiated, not really full: “I eat until I’m not hungry, not till I’m full. Not till my stomach is filled. Just until the hunger subsides.”
His daily routine starts with three scrambled eggs, butter, and white rice. Meals come in a variety of forms from there, ranging from Taco Bell to hamburger steak, pho, or even handmade corned beef hash over rice.
In contrast, Maeda doesn’t eat any vegetables. He says he has gastrointestinal distress from most fibrous foods after losing his colon during cancer treatment.
“Vegetables haven’t really appealed to me since then, but that’s okay. That doesn’t seem to be having any detrimental effects.”
To fill out the gap created by the absence of vegetables he says he takes supplements.
Bill says he was a real sugar addict back in the day: “I used to have a big problem with ice cream” – he says. Today, he doesn’t consume any dairy, however he still has sugar cravings.
Related: Learn How to Stop Food Cravings. Here are 8 Ways to Control Them
Bill works on reducing his intake of sugar and caffeine, particularly now that he understands how they impact mood, blood sugar, and sleep.
He learned the value of morning carbohydrates via an unsuccessful attempt at intermittent fasting, in which he would go without food for the first six hours of the day before indulging in sweets later.
“If I just have eggs and simple carbs with some butter in the morning, that sets my blood sugar right for a long time” – says Maeda.
Bill maeda’s recovery advice
After years of sharing daily videos of rigorous workouts on social media, Maeda reached a breaking point in 2023. His body just refused to do more work.
“I was sleeping for about four hours at a time. I’m shocked that I didn’t kill myself”
He thus took the unimaginable action for a fitness youtuber: he quit.
He just trains two days a week these days, with the third day being devoted to mobility. However, what is his secret weapon? Maeda says it’s getting enough sleep !
Related: 6 Dangerous Side Effects of Sleep Deprivation You NEED to Know About!
“Since I was a teenager,” Maeda says, “I’ve trained myself to get by on four to five hours. Retraining my circadian rhythm and nervous system to accept more sleep is now my main focus.”
And the results of more sleep are visible, he says. Enhanced gut health, greater joint health, less swelling, and increased energy all day long without the need for excessive caffeine.
The supplements he uses
Bill uses a few supplements regularly, but says that no supplement can replace real foods. Here is his everyday stack:
– Multivitamin
– Vitamin C
– Magnesium
– Creatine
– Vitamin D3
– Caffeine (no more than 500mg per day)
– Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide
– Peptides for hut health
Maeda attributes a notable increase in gut health—an area that many people ignore – to NAD and peptides.
He also provides something unique for those who are feeling overburdened by strict diets, rigorous programs, or age-related declines: the freedom to pay attention to your body, adjust, and age with grace.
