Lamar Odom Runs on Candy

I make it a point to put stories like these out of my head as quickly as possible.

My former boss's wife was a trainer, and I learned quickly that just because she eats a full sized bag of chips with lunch, does not mean that I can too. I have the same reaction to this as I did to Michael Phelps's daily diet... glad it works for them, but it's definitely not for me.

Hmmm, placebo effect, much?

The usual psuedo-scientific clap trap about sugar.

There is NOTHING wrong with eating sugar. Indeed, an active person like a basketball player is going to utilize sugar much differently than a person who sits on their ass all day.

The athlete is going to replenish glycogen and fuel recovery from intense physical activity.

The fat sedentary blob is going to replenish nothing. In all probability glycogen is probably topped off and the person in question is hypercaloric and the sugar is just going to be stored as fat.

Where sugar could be seen as bad is when it takes the place of nutritious foods. If you're getting your five a day of fruits and veggies and you also eat spoon fulls of table sugar, you're fine.

Keep active and keep calories under control. Eat a balanced diet and enjoy sugar.

Most of all, say no to the health Nazis who for some reason feel it their mission to try and suck the pleasure out of eating.

He better watch it! That silly superstition will have him looking like the retired Charles Barkely in no time!

Athletes are different animals - that's for sure. Look at Phelps (of course we now know what may have been fueling some of that hunger). Also, Usain Bolt ate chicken mcnuggets before shattering a world record.

It's hard to trump such powerful genetics and rigorous training. Like yumyucky says, he may end up looking like Barkley post-retirement (or Magic for that matter).

When you're really active, extra calories from sugar aren't always a bad thing. It's not really all that different than drinking Gatorade or eating Gu during a long run. It's not like ALL he eats is candy; it's just something he eats to give him energy. Sugar isn't inherently a bad thing, you just have to count it into your daily intake of calories.

As tall & active as these guys are, they obviously can eat things us regular folk can't. Hey, if it gets him a game win & he is worth the money paid to him.. whatever floats his boat. Me, I look at that stuff & it is on my 5'1" bod already.

BUT, how are his teeth doing????

Damn... I want to be paid millions to eat free candy! NBA is where it's at!

Hrm, he eats sugar. No one says much about the athletes eating powergels and stuff for quick replenishment of energy/glycogen. Same thing. Point is athlete during intense activity, not sedentary person, or during a movie.

Last year during the NCAA mens basketball tourney, I read a similar article about a University of Memphis player who, according to his teammates, ate nothing but sugar filled foods.

Turned out he was complaining of stomach cramps the day before a critical game when Memphis was deep in the tournament. Some people commented that they were outraged that an athlete could eat so irresponsibly before a big game an possibly cost his team a game if he couldn't play.