A super-fit grandmother has revealed how she maintains her age-defying physique at 70 – by eating 5.6kg of meat a week.
Eva Birath lifts weights up to four times a week, takes her grandchildren to the gym and says people are “surprised” when they discover her age.
The former nurse and interior architect has a controversial carnivore diet that excludes fruit, vegetables, grains and other plant-based foods.
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“I don’t eat anything from plants, only food from animals,” Eva told Need To Know.
Eva, from Gothenburg Sweden, confirmed that she usually eats around 800g of meat a day – equivalent to 5.6kg a week.
“I think 80 per cent of good health is what we eat.”
Eva shares her wild lifestyle – which includes fasting, saunas and cold plunges alongside weight training and the carnivore diet – with thousands of her Instagram followers.
The grandmother first became active when she started playing volleyball at the age of 12.
She now weight-trains three or four times each week for roughly an hour and supplements the sessions with walks.
Eva said: “I’m just trying to be as fit as I can. I have always prioritised fitness.
“I haven’t changed my approach because I’m older. I’ve just realised it’s actually more important as we age.”
Asked how her current fitness compares with that of other people her age, Eva said: “If I compare myself with other 70-year-olds, it’s fantastic.
“But I don’t compare. I think most people are unhealthy and weak.”
When asked how she measures up against people in their forties and fifties, she joked: “You tell me.”
Despite her enviable physique, Eva has still had her share of serious health complications.
She has previously spoken publicly about being diagnosed with cancer at 61 and undergoing surgery to remove the tumour and part of her colon.
She was then in her sixth year of following the carnivore diet, Göteborgs-Posten previously reported.
Eva admits she has not entirely escaped the effects of ageing.
She said: “I’m weaker and my stamina is not as good.”
However, she refuses to use that as a reason to stop and is now passing her love of exercise to another generation.
“I take my grandkids to the gym,” she said.
Eva entered her first bodybuilding competition when she was 47 – and reportedly won the contest despite having little previous knowledge of competitive posing or preparation.
She subsequently competed nationally, including at the Swedish National Bodybuilding Championships, making her transformation all the more remarkable because it began in her forties rather than her youth.
Eva is a grandmother of three and formerly worked as a nurse in Saudi Arabia.
She is also an artist whose work has appeared in exhibitions across Sweden and in Norway.
She credits her lifestyle for how she feels but says there is no overnight trick behind her physique.
Her “secret”, she said, is simply: “Consistency and only good nutrition.”
“I’m healthy and medicine-free,” she added.
Health authorities do not recommend an all-meat diet.
The World Health Organisation says adequacy, balance, moderation and diversity should underpin a healthy diet, while European cancer-prevention guidance recommends making whole grains, vegetables, legumes and fruit a major part of daily food intake and limiting red meat.
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