The personal trainer is a sort of guardian. They don’t just guide and direct you, they hold you accountable (usually because you pay them to!) and keep you from harming yourself as you farmer’s walk your way down the road of personal fitness.

But who watches the watchmen?

Everyone, it turns out. No one trusts a portly trainer, and when your livelihood and reputation depend on keeping others fit, you had better look the part. Especially if, like Dolvett Quince, you spend a good chunk of your time on TV.

Quince is heading into his sixth season as a trainer on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, the show that you watch to be reminded that anyone can turn their life around, and to feel slightly better about your own physique and TV-watching habits.

There’s a lot of pressure on Quince to stay in shape, as there has been ever since he opened his own Atlanta-based training studio in 2004. His popularity boomed quickly, and he began working with celebrity clients like Angela Bassett and Daniel Wilcox of the Baltimore Ravens, and he was twice invited to audition to be on Biggest Loser. Each time he paired up with a prospective loser, the two had to enact a mini-episode, going through mini-workouts and experiencing mini-emotional breakthroughs.

For the last six seasons Quince has helped whip people into shape on TV, and has kept his own diet quite regimented. (Very little dairy. Greens at every meal, including breakfast.) He’s meticulous about the ingredients he uses, including his vitamins and dietary supplements, like vitamins C, D, and ergothioneine. This month, in fact, Quince is in the midst of promoting a new fitness campaign that focuses on antioxidants and heart health. “What am I getting in a multivitamin?” he asks rhetorically. “Am I getting good quantities of the things I’m looking for?”

Stress seems to roll off of him, which could be a benefit of his twice-daily workouts or the result of a nonstop sunny, TV-ready personality. Either way, talking to him is tremendously pleasant. When I asked him what one dessert he yearns for in his otherwise protein and vegetable-heavy diet...

“You really want to know? Carrot cake.”

Really?

“Yes, what do you mean, ‘really?’ Don’t act like you don’t crave a good carrot cake.”

What’s more surprising is that Quince doesn’t go for the usual scheduled cheat meals: he lets himself indulge when he feels like he’s earned it, which definitely takes more self-discipline than the rest of us mortals have.

Breakfast, post- cardioFive egg whites scrambled with spinach, English muffin, vitamin D, ergothioneine supplement

SnackProtein shake with ice, strawberries, banana, nutmeg, cinnamon, almond milk, coconut water, kale

LunchChicken club sandwich on multigrain bread with avocado

SnackNuts, cranberries

DinnerSea bass and spinach

Luke Darby is a contributor to GQ, covering news, entertainment, and the environment. A Louisiana native, he now resides in Cleveland, and his writing has also appeared in Outside, the Dallas Observer, and Marie Claire.Related Stories for GQReal Life Diet