Michael Phelps Doesn't Really Eat like a Pig, Sort of...
But the dude's diet leaves a lot to be desired. You wouldn't think 12,000 calories of mayonnaise, white bread and chocolate chip pancakes would be part of an Olympian's diet.
And apparently it isn't.
During the Beijing Olympics a report said that Michael Phelps consumes 12,000 calories a day. And not good stuff either. Cheesy omelet's, fried eggs, French toast and 1,000 calories of energy drinks.
Not exactly a great role model for good nutrition, especially since Phelps' image recently graced boxes of sugary Frosted Flakes.
But now, Michael Phelps says it isn't true. He doesn't actually eat 12,000 calories a day.
In an interview with 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper reveals Phelps only eats a "mere" 8,000 to 10,000 calories, when he's training. However, it might be a quality issue and not a quantity problem.
In Phelps' $1.5 million apartment in Baltimore, Maryland you'll find cereal, chips, Rice Krispie treats and Reese's peanut butter cups. And breakfast can be Eggs Norfolk with crab meat and quesadillas with sour cream.
He certainly eats like a 20-something. A 20-year old frat boy! Where are the fruits and vegetables?
Not saying he needs to go vegetarian. But 11-year pro and future NFL hall-of-famer, Tony Gonzalez, acknowledges the need for veggies, becoming a vegan.
Other veg-head athletes include Price Fielder, Raja Bell and Salim Stoudamire.
With a diet like that, you got to wonder how Phelps will hold up overtime.
Via CalorieLab.
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Hmmm... Only time will tell whether Phelps daily quota is si huge! Anyways, I feel that no matter how much you eat, if you can burn those calories on a regular basis, you would never put on weight.
ReplyHi Gary you said:
Not exactly a great role model for good nutrition, especially since Phelps' image recently graced boxes of sugary Frosted Flakes.
Well it sounds like his diet is the perfect face to grace packets of sugary frosted flakes because it's a foodstuff (well barely 'food') he certainly would be a poster boy for non-nutritious eating. Just a pity that, as you're implying someone with his profile and role-modelling potential doesn't seem to have a diet that would be at all helpful for anyone other than n Olympian. And so Mum's will see his face on the frosteds and think: "oh he's an Olympian - this must be a good choice." And admiring kids all over the world who want to be like Phelps will demand Frosteds and so the merry cycle continues....
ReplyWell, he's an athlete and not a nutritionist, so his diet doesn't really surprise me TOO much. Although, I think most athletes at least try to eat responsibly and try to choose nutritious options, the truth is that when you are very active, you can usually eat a lot more "fun" foods than the average person. As long as you're getting all the nutrients you need, extra calories shouldn't matter too much...as long as you burn them off! I'm sure Phelps will slow it down a bit once he stops training and starts working out like an average person. Otherwise, he'll end up just like any other college kid that goes from being very active and eating a lot to being not-so-active and STILL eating a lot...gaining weight pretty darn quickly.
ReplyThis guy is natural talent, and on top of that he trains hard. Yes his eating habits aren't that great but look at his training.
What he lacks eating wise I am sure he more than makes up for during training.
Sahil M
Replyflawlessfitnessbook.com
Interestingly enough, Mark Spitz, the original multi-gold medal winning swimmer in the '72 Olympics has stayed in pretty decent shape by advocating and following a decent diet and exercise lifestyle. We will have to see if Michael Phelps does as well!
ReplyPrince Fielder sucks! Maybe he SHOULD eat a little more meat...and less chips or whatever he stuffs his fat face with!
And, I wouldnt judge Phelps...he has more gold medals than you, so his diet plan must be working for him!
ReplyI'm a sports nutritionist and so I just have to comment on this. Of course Michael Phelps diet is newsworthy, especially when he gets to eat 8-10 thousand calories a day, but he is just supporting his crazy training schedule - 4 hours a day. Knock that out and his intake would be around 3,000 cal/day.
Many athletes have a good diet and many don't. Usually the athletes with a good diet are working with a sports dietitian. Tony Gonzalez works with Mitzi Dulan, RD for example.
The only way to know for sure is to work with them on their usual intake. When you are eating THAT many calories vitamin/mineral deficiencies are rare, but still should be considered. The biggest concern is adequate calories to support training/performance. When calorie demand is high, you want calorie dense foods like pancakes with chocolate chips and syrup and cereal with (gasp) added sugars. I mean Phelps would need to eat 5 apples to meet 1/3 of his calorie needs at breakfast. He would need to eat 10 stalks of celery to get a mere 100 calories. Don't get me wrong... if the guy gets no fruits or veg, they should be added in. But when you're talking 10,000 calories a day and 25 hours a week of vigorous exercise, where recovery and performance are paramount, you really need to bulk up on calorie dense foods without letting fat get too high. It is not easy to eat that much food. He has to eat a huge amount every few hours. So he needs to really enjoy every bite. If he shuns his food, his performance suffers.
I hope I helped shed a reality check to the situation.
ReplyI hope that the general public doesn't get the wrong idea and start copying Mr. Phelps calorie for calorie.
It is true that he could make healthier eating decisions. One can only wonder if healthier eating decisions would make him more of a phenom than he already is.
Another point of consideration is when he stops competing actively and working out as much as he does now, will his eating habits stay the same. That could have a profound impact on his health and weight later in life.
ReplyThat's a great point, TrainerBob. One on hand, I don't have issue with his diet because he is not exactly living the physical life of the average person. On the other, as a swimmer myself, I do have an increased appetite since starting swimming seven years ago, but the majority of my diet is fruits, vegetables, and water and whenever I slip on that my swimming suffers.
But I'm especially commenting on your comment about his eating habits maybe staying the same if he stops or cuts down on swimming. My own appetite adjusts when my swimming cuts down, but I'm not a competitive swimmer. The competitive swimmers I've known who only swim during the swim season have told me that it really is difficult for them to cut down on their eating at the end of the season, because they are habitually used to eating large volumes of food (and some HAVE gained weight after eliminating swimming, as a result.)
ReplyI couldn't agree with you more. Bodybuilding has absolutely destroyed the nutrition and fitness industry. People need to keep in mind that it is a sport and in order to compete in that sport one must eat and train like for it. The same does NOT hold true with the general public. Approximately 1% of the world are bodybuilders so that means the rest of us 99%ers need not eat or train as they do.
If someone began eating as a marathon runner does close to a race then society would very quickly have an even more obesity problem and even greater health issues spring up.
We need to eat and exercise functionally for our own lives- not the lives of any athlete unless of course we are one or decide to be one.
ReplyI know several world class marathon runners. Some have stopped competing, but from the changes I've noticed, they have not altered their eating habits. I hope they start paying attention because of the negative effects on their health.
ReplyIf I could eat like that and win gold medals? Yeah, I probably would.
ReplyWow. Ten k in calories is still amazing, there is somethingh cool about an athlete eating so poorly. Almost rebellious.
ReplyMy thoughts are just imagine what Phelps would be like if he at a Raw and Organic diet balanced in every way! Wow!!! That would be a man to rekon with for sure.... as if he isn't already, but the results would be staggering if he actually ate as healthy as can be.
I just can't wrap my mind around how an athlete of his caliber wouldn't have nutritionists and/or coaches making absolute sure his diet was perfect. That just blows me away.
ReplyRegular people eating a raw food diet can barely keep weight on. He would simply not be able to put the time into his training if he was getting so few calories. He wouldn't be the athlete he is if not for his current diet.
ReplyI think there's nothing wrong if he eats a lot or not.As long as he can burn those calories and maintain his good shape and healthy body I can see no problem with that.
Reply