About Cliff
Dr CLIFF HARVEY IS AN AUTHOR, Coach, CLINICIAN, RESEARCHER AND SPEAKER.
HE IS A LEADER IN THE FIELD OF CARB-APPROPRIATE Clinical & Sports NUTRITION, MIND-BODY HEALTHCARE, AND THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SUCCESS IN HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE
I've been helping people to live healthier, happier lives, and to perform better since starting in clinical practice (way back...) in the late 1990s. Over this time in practice I have been privileged to work with many Olympic, professional, Commonwealth and other high performing athletes. I've also worked with many people to overcome the effects of chronic and debilitating health conditions. Along the way I've founded or co-founded many successful businesses in the health, fitness and wellness space.
MISSION
My WHY, quite simply, is to help others to learn simple, effective methods to be healthier and happier.
Health and happiness are flip-sides of the same coin. A healthy body is a happy body, a healthy mind is a happy mind, and a healthy spirit is a happy spirit…and vice versa.
I help people achieve health and happiness through nutrition planning and education, and life & purpose success-coaching
Cred
- PhD in nutrition (AUT) – research focus was in ketogenesis, ‘keto-flu’, and individualisation of diets
- Post-graduate research focus on nutrient-sufficiency, autoimmune, COVID, and Long-COVID case and cohort studies
- Over 25 years’ experience as a strength and nutrition coach
- Registered Clinical Nutritionist (CNA)
- Registered Naturopath & Medical Herbalist (NMHNZ)
- Fellow of the Clinical Nutrition Association (one of only 3 people inducted)
- Accredited Sports Nutritionist (SNA)
- Diploma in Naturopathy (NCNZ)
- Diploma in Fitness Training (AUT)
- Certificate in Health Coaching in Patient Care (Doane X)
- Certified Kettlebell Instructor (MKA)
- IAWA Weightlifting World Champion 2004 & 2007
- IAWA Weightlifting World Record Holder (multiple)
- BJJ Brown Belt under Pedro Fernandez/Jarrod Kent (Tu Kaha BJJ)
- New Zealand Exercise Awards – Educator of the Year Finalist (2021)
Additional qualifications in various mind-body and other modalities.
I’ve been privileged through my career to consult to the following individuals and organisations (not all can be listed due to privacy restrictions):
- America’s Cup yacht teams: Team New Zealand (America’s Cup Winners), Young America, sailors from Oracle
- Champion fighters: Joseph Parker (World Heavyweight Boxing Champion), Orlando Sanchez (ADCC World Grappling Champion), Doug Viney, Wilf Betz, Jose Rodriguez, Richie Hardcore, Joey Hopkins, Paula Mataele, Cole Hawkins
- National cycling associations: BMX New Zealand, Mountain Biking New Zealand
- National rugby unions: The Canadian Rugby Union, New Zealand Rugby Union development program
- Field hockey: University of British Columbia, Field Hockey Canada
Board Memberships
Global Advisory Board
Committee Member & Fellow
SERVICES
BUSINESSES
About Dr Cliff Harvey
My journey in the health and wellness industry began while still at high school.
Initially I had wanted to design minimalistic zen-inspired gardens as a landscape architect, but I found a critical turning point when the coaches of my highschool 1st XV rugby side approached me with a simple proposition that if I put on enough size I would captain the side…but if I didn’t I wouldn’t make the team. Like almost any Kiwi male the choice was obvious – put some size on!
I bought and borrowed books, rented videos (this was pre- ubiquitous internet) and tried to find out every thing that I could about gaining strength, muscle and power for rugby.
I succeeded in putting on the size, and along the way gained a passion for the way that the body functions.
This early start led me to study fitness training at AUT and after being kicked out of nutrition class for actively questioning the low-fat, high-carb dogma of the time, I entered practice as a nutrition and strength coach.
Within my first years of practice I had worked with several of NZ’s top athletes, along with many morbidly obese patients, applying lower-carb, real-food nutrition and achieving great results.
Things shifted again in the year 2000 when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. This challenged me to look at my life & purpose more deeply than I ever had before. It also meant that I began to look at heath and performance far more holistically, culminating in study to become a naturopath and delving into more esoteric aspects of complementary medicine and mind-body therapies, including Psych-K, reiki, and hypnosis.
A sabbatical from clinical practice found me spending most of 2006 in South America, and it was whilst living in the historic barrio of San Telmo in Buenos Aires, Argentina that I wrote my first book Choosing You – a book about choosing the life of passion and purpose that works for you and setting and achieving the goals that matter.
A few years later whilst living and practicing in Vancouver, Canada I began work on my next book Time Rich Cash Optional – which is quite simply, an unconventional guide to happiness. This book went on to top it’s category (albeit briefly!) on Amazon and was nominated as an Ashton Wylie Book Award finalist.
Since 2010 I have been back living, practicing and researching in Auckland, New Zealand and have written several more books (Time Rich Practice, The Carbohydrate Appropriate Diet, and The Credo).
I re-entered study when I returned to New Zealand, initially in mind-body healthcare in the post-graduate certificate and diploma pathway, before switching back to nutrition to do a master’s and doctoral degree in which my research focussed on keto-flu, ketogenesis, and identifying predictors of ‘best fit’ (i.e. ‘Carb-Appropriate’) diet.
I’m blessed to do what I do. I get to perform research with inspiring people at AUT University, work with clients who I love dearly and help to inspire in some small way positive change through my books, talks and activism.