About Marco: Mediterranean Diet and Lifestyle

I eat dessert after dinner every night.
I haven't restarted a diet in decades.
I'm in my 50s and I'm in the best shape of my life.

This isn't a boast. It's an invitation.

If some part of you just thought: that's the way it's supposed to feel, then you already understand everything this site is about.

You're not here by accident.

You're the kind of person who reads about nutrition not because you have to, but because you're genuinely curious. You value quality over quantity in food, in movement, in life. You'd rather share a beautiful meal with someone you love than count calories alone.

You've probably tried approaches that worked on paper but felt wrong in practice. Too rigid. Too joyless. Too disconnected from the life you actually want to live.

And somewhere quietly, you've always suspected there was a better way.

There is. And you already knew that, which is probably why you're here.

I didn't find the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle. I grew up inside it.

Marco eating gelato

Hi, I'm Marco Asnicar, born in Australia to northern Italian parents. That means good food, strong coffee, and the belief that a meal without dessert is an unfinished sentence were all part of my upbringing.

I've been passionate about nutrition and fitness since I was a teenager. Not as a hobby. As a way of life. I never saw healthy eating as sacrifice because in my world, the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle meant fresh vegetables, whole grains, some poultry and fish, good olive oil and yes, occasionally, gelato. Especially coffee gelato.

It took me until recently to realise that what always felt completely normal to me is exactly what most people spend years desperately searching for. That realisation is why Vitality Marco exists and why I've built Marco's Mediterranean Method around the way I've always lived.

I rebuilt my vitality in my 40s. I dropped from 16% to 10% body fat in my 50s and have maintained a lean body ever since. I've never had a headache, never spent a day in hospital, and I take no pharmaceuticals. And I've had very few sick days.

Marco 58 years

I'm not telling you this to impress you. I'm telling you this because I want you to understand that these outcomes aren't the result of extreme discipline or genetic luck. They're the natural consequence of a Mediterranean diet and lifestyle that I genuinely love living, every single day.

That's the whole point. When your lifestyle feels like your best life, consistency stops being hard. It stops being a choice. It just becomes who you are.

The fitness industry has been selling you the wrong story.

It says: restrict, sacrifice, push harder, start over.

I say: eat well, move joyfully, sleep deeply, stay consistent, and let the results follow naturally.

Here's what the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle has looked like for me across five decades.

On food

No foods are off limits. The Mediterranean diet and lifestyle I follow is built on minimally processed whole foods 80 to 90% of the time: a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, some poultry, fish and dairy. I don't eat red meat. I always eat dessert after dinner. I love coffee and, of course, occasionally tiramisu, pastries and coffee gelato. This isn't moderation as a compromise. It's abundance by design.

On exercise

I believe in finding movement you genuinely love and doing it daily. For me that's strength training, calisthenics, walking, cycling and hiking. I include resistance training because a strong body is a resilient body. But I've never once dragged myself to a workout I dreaded and called it healthy.

On consistency

This is the only real secret. Not the programme. Not the macro split. Not the supplement stack. Consistency, built on a lifestyle you actually want to live, is everything. Everything else is noise.

On mindset

I've always thought young. I've always played. I think most people quietly lose the art of joy somewhere in their 30s and call it maturity. I disagree with that completely. Staying curious, staying playful, and never letting age become a ceiling has been as important to my health as anything I've eaten.

I see too many people living smaller than they need to.

Struggling with weight they can't shift. Exhausted by approaches that don't last. Quietly believing that feeling strong and vital is something that happens to other people. Younger people. Luckier people.

I started Vitality Marco because I know that's not true. I've lived the proof.

Since my dad's passing in 2012, my focus has expanded beyond fitness into longevity and healthspan. The Mediterranean diet and lifestyle sits at the heart of that work, inspired by thinkers like Dr Valter Longo, whose philosophy I find deeply resonant.

“The goal is simple. Stay young for as long as possible, then stay healthy for even longer”

That's not a fantasy. It's a plan. And it starts with the choices you make today. Not dramatic ones. Not perfect ones. Just consistent ones rooted in a lifestyle you love.

Whether you're in your 30s and want to build the foundation now, or you're in your 40s and 50s and ready to reclaim what you know is still possible, this is the place for people like us.

Because the best connections start with honesty.

I'm 75% introverted. I love my own company and the company of a few people I genuinely care about. I listen more than I talk. I think deeply before I speak. If that sounds familiar, we'll get along well.

I always trust my intuition. I eat intuitively. I train intuitively. I've never followed a rigid plan because I've never needed one. The Mediterranean diet and lifestyle is the plan.

I find most TV boring, but I can spend hours reading about nutrition, longevity and human performance. I'd rather be on a walk with a coffee than on a couch with a remote.

I've been doing a daily 12-hour fast since 2016. Not as a rule, but because it's how I naturally feel best.

I was born in Australia to Italian parents, which means I grew up with a backyard vegetable garden, a family table that took an hour to leave, and the unshakeable belief that food is one of life's great pleasures.

I'm a woodworker, a walker, became a reader, enjoy cycling and a coffee enthusiast.

Jaxx

My Jack Russell Terrier Jaxx thinks he's a cat. My son made me a better version of myself the moment he arrived.

And yes. I will always, always eat dessert after dinner. Life is too short and too delicious for anything less. 

This site exists for one reason.

To show you that the healthiest version of your life is also the most enjoyable version. And to give you everything you need to step into it.

You don't need more willpower. You don't need another fresh start. You just need a Mediterranean diet and lifestyle that finally feels right.

Start with the free guides on the homepage. They're a genuine taste of the method. Practical, enjoyable and built around real food and real life. No strings. No pressure. Just a look at what living this way actually feels like.

Welcome. I'm glad you're here. People like us tend to find each other eventually.

Marco ☕

My nutrition and fitness education

  • Personal Training Academy, Certificate 3 and 4 in Personal Training
  • First Aid (Reviva)

The thinkers and coaches I learn from

I’m selective about who I listen to. These are the people whose work I genuinely respect. Scientists, coaches and practitioners whose ideas have shaped how I eat, train and think about nutrition, health and longevity.

Nutrition and Longevity

  • Layne Norton, Ph.D. - BS in Biochemistry, PhD in Nutritional Sciences and physique coach
  • Christopher Gardner, Ph.D. - Stanford nutrition scientist
  • Valter Longo, Ph.D. - professor of gerontology and biological sciences
  • Luigi Fontana, Ph.D. - professor of medicine, nutrition and healthy longevity
  • Neal Barnard, Ph.D. - preventative medicine and plant-based nutrition
  • Stuart Phillips, Ph.D. - kinesiology professor and researcher at McMaster University
  • Donald Layman, Ph.D. - leading expert in protein, human nutrition and skeletal muscle health.
  • John Berardi, Ph.D., CSCS - Co-founder of Precision Nutrition and author

Exercise

  • Daniel Vadnal - Fitness FAQs (calisthenics)
  • Chris Heria - School of Calisthenics
  • Jeff Cavaliere - Athlean-X
  • Nick Tumminello - The trainer of trainers
  • Mark Rippetoe - Strength training
  • Charles Poliquin - Strength training
  • Kelly Starrett - The Ready State (mobility)
  • Eric Cressey - High performance training
  • Mike Matthews - Muscle For Life
  • Nardia Norman - Trainer for women

Mindset and business

  • Gary Vaynerchuk
  • Graig Ballantyne
  • Bedros Keuilian

If any of that resonated, you’re in the right place.

This is my life. And it’s a life I built around one simple idea: that the healthiest version of you should also be the most enjoyable version.

If that’s the kind of approach you’ve been looking for, one that works with your life instead of against it, then I’d love to show you how.

Health should feel like your best life, not a break from it.

Marco ☕