Jed Richard | CEO · Army Veteran
Jed Richard — West Point grad, Army Ranger, three-tour Afghanistan veteran, and CEO of a national construction company — on why performance nutrition became non-negotiable.
West Point. Three Tours. 22 States.
How CEO Jed Richard Uses Performance Nutrition to Lead at Full Capacity.
By Tj Anderson · Elevated Eats Performance Nutrition · Executive Performance · 5 min read
Jed Richard graduated from West Point, became an airborne Ranger-qualified paratrooper, completed three tours in Afghanistan, and left the Army in 2009 to build a national construction company now operating across 22 states. He holds his body, his mind, and his executives to the same standards the Army held him. He needed nutrition that could keep up.
For years, Jed's nutritional baseline was MREs — meals ready to eat. Highly preserved, sometimes a decade old, and almost entirely stripped of the microbiome and gut health support that a high-performance body requires. The effects were measurable: brain fog, digestive issues, and a gut that was, in Jed's words, "somewhat a mess." When he transitioned out of the Army and into corporate leadership, those legacy deficits followed him.
Running a 22-state construction company doesn't come with a nutritionist on staff or time to cook great food. But the physical standard Jed held during his military career didn't disappear — it just became harder to support. He read an ESPN piece about what Elevated Eats had built for the Colorado Avalanche. He reached out with a simple ask: if you could take on a CEO who still trains like a soldier, would you?
We made that connection. Here's what changed:
- A plan built around his body, his output demands, and his travel schedule — not a generic template
- Brain fog measurably reduced — the gut health legacy of years of MREs finally addressed
- Body composition improvements for both Jed and his wife, Meredith
- Meals packaged to travel on planes across 22 states — performance nutrition that moves with him
- Time freed from cooking and planning — returned directly to productive work and meaningful family conversations
- Flexibility built in — 1-2 cheat meals a week, no guilt, always getting right back on track
The demands on a CEO and the demands on an elite athlete are not as different as most people assume. Cognitive output, physical endurance, stress tolerance, sustained energy across long days — these are nutrition problems. And Jed knew it.
The Problem: You Can't Lead at Full Capacity on Empty Fuel
The challenge Jed brought to Elevated Eats was specific:
- Brain fog — a direct legacy of years eating MREs; high in preservatives, near-zero microbiome support
- No time to cook — running a national company across 22 states leaves no bandwidth for meal planning or preparation
- Physical standards maintained from the military — Jed still trains the way he did as an Army officer; his nutrition needed to match that output
- Travel logistics — meals need to be portable, packagable, and available regardless of which state he's operating in
- A household, not just an individual — both Jed and Meredith needed to benefit from the system
"I really believe that what you put into your body is what comes out of your mouth and how you present yourself to the world."
— Jed Richard, CEO
The Solution: A System That Runs Like He Does
- Gut health restoration — microbiome-supporting ingredients to undo the damage of years of preserved, nutrient-stripped military rations
- Brain optimization — anti-inflammatory foods, omega-3s, and functional mushrooms that support cognitive clarity and reduce fog — critical for a CEO making high-stakes decisions daily
- Body composition precision — macronutrient targets built around Jed's training load and physique goals, not a generic formula
- Travel-ready packaging — meals that go on planes and into boardrooms without friction
- 700+ recipe rotation — ensuring the system stays sustainable long-term because the food is genuinely something to look forward to
- Built-in flexibility — the program accommodates real family life; pizza night with kids doesn't derail the system
The Results: What Changed for Jed and Meredith
- 🧠 Brain fog measurably reduced — the clearest cognitive upgrade from years of gut-damaging MRE nutrition finally addressed
- 💪 Body composition improvements for both Jed and Meredith — the system works for the whole household
- ✈️ Meals traveling in 22 states — performance nutrition that matches a CEO's operating footprint
- ⏱️ Time returned from the kitchen — productive hours and family conversations reclaimed from meal prep
- ⚡ Sustained daily energy — no stimulant dependence, no afternoon crashes, consistent output from morning to close
- 🍽️ Stopped cooking at home — the program became comprehensive enough that the household effectively stepped out of the kitchen
"A lot of what the sports team asks of an athlete is a lot of what I ask of my executives in my own company. The whole partnership with your team has been awesome for Meredith and I."
— Jed Richard, CEO
Limited Intake — 2026 Applications Open
We accept a limited number of new athletes each quarter.
If this is the year you professionalize your nutrition — this is where you start.
Jed's All-Time Elevated Eats Favorites
- 🥩 Paleo Bison Lasagna — high-protein, anti-inflammatory. The meal he keeps coming back to.
- 🍦 Keto Cookie Dough Recovery Protein Ice Cream — overnight recovery fuel that feels like a reward, not a supplement.
- 🍩 Recovery Donuts — collagen-packed and genuinely craveable. The fan favorite for a reason.
- 🍛 Slow Cooked Chicken Curry with Bone Broth Rice — deeply nourishing and collagen-rich. The post-training meal.
What Makes Executive Performance Nutrition Different
The same nutritional levers that drive athletic performance — anti-inflammatory load, gut health, cognitive support, energy regulation — are the exact levers that drive executive performance. The mechanism is identical. The application is specific to the individual.
- Omega-3 fatty acids — systemic anti-inflammatory effect; reduces cumulative training and cognitive stress damage
- Collagen peptides — joint and connective tissue support for someone who still trains at military intensity
- Magnesium glycinate — sleep architecture and overnight recovery; the foundation everything else builds on
- Functional mushrooms — cognitive support, stress adaptation, and immune resilience under a high-demand schedule
- Gut microbiome support — probiotics, prebiotics, and fermented foods that rebuild what years of MREs depleted
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Elevated Eats?
Elevated Eats is a performance meal prep company delivering chef-prepared, individually designed nutrition to professional athletes, executives, and high performers. Every plan is built from the ground up around the individual — their body, their goals, and their schedule.
Is Elevated Eats only for professional athletes?
No. While Elevated Eats works with professional athletes across the NHL, NFL, MLB, and NBA, many of our clients are high-performing executives, entrepreneurs, and veterans who hold themselves to the same physical and cognitive standards. If you train seriously and demand peak daily output, we built this for you.
What's the intake and onboarding process?
We start with a consultation to understand your specific goals, training demands, and schedule. We design your initial plan, begin delivery, and refine it as we learn how your body responds. It's a system, not a subscription.
Do the meals travel well for executives who are constantly on the move?
Yes. Elevated Eats packages travel easily — Jed takes meals on planes across 22 states. The packaging is designed for a schedule that doesn't stop moving.
What separates Elevated Eats from other high-end meal services?
Most services deliver quality food. Elevated Eats delivers a nutrition system — designed around your specific physiology, performance goals, and lifestyle, and one that evolves with you. That specificity is what produces results other services can't.
Performance Nutrition by Invitation
The same standard Jed holds himself to.
You can hold yourself to it too.
We accept a limited number of new athletes each quarter.
Every application is reviewed individually. We only take clients we can genuinely serve.
NHL · MLB · NFL · NBA · AND BEYOND
