Carlos Gaytán lives the fabled American dream. He grew up in rural Mexico, cooking with his mother and excelling at volleyball. At age 20, he came to Chicago and got a job washing dishes at a hotel. After parlaying that into kitchen work, he kept climbing, eventually becoming the first chef from Mexico to earn a Michelin star. Now 52, Gaytán runs Tzuco, his Near North Side restaurant, which celebrates its fourth anniversary in September, as well as Ha in Mexico’s Riviera Maya. Even amid the hecticness of operating establishments in two countries, he finds time for wellness. His balanced approach to exercise and diet includes daily runs — in Chicago winters and Mexican summers alike. He went for an afternoon jog in Oaxaca this summer as the mercury hit 102. “Everyone tells you it’s so dangerous, but it’s my favorite weather,” he says with a big grin. “I love jogging when it’s really hot.”

How do you start your day?

“I spend five to 10 minutes with social media and prayer, then I get my running gear and hit the road. From my apartment on Chicago Avenue to Michigan Avenue, it’s 5.4 miles back and forth. I travel like crazy, and every time I go out, the chef sends every dish on the menu out to me. I’ve got to make sure I stay in shape.”

What’s for breakfast?

“I skip breakfast most of the time, so when I get to Tzuco, I make a green juice — that’s pineapple, ginger, cucumber, green apples, mint, cactus, lime juice. My first meal is around 1 or 2 o’clock, usually fish and salad. Today I’m working on a new recipe: stingray, Maya-style, with a cold lentil salad and a dressing with Melipona honey and red wine vinaigrette.”

You’re an avid diver in the Gulf of Mexico. Do you swim in Lake Michigan, too?

“When I go to the Riviera Maya, every morning I jog on the beach and finish with a nice swim or snorkel. I always travel with my jogging and snorkel gear. I love scuba diving, too. I’ve never tried it in Lake Michigan. Here, you need a seven-millimeter wetsuit, so you look like a robot. You can barely move.”

What’s your favorite music for running?

“Sometimes Christian music, sometimes Spanish rock. Sometimes nothing, because I can think about ingredients and what flavors go together.”