the michael phelps diet

skinnylove00
skinnylove00 Posts: 662 Member
edited October 2 in Food and Nutrition
dont try this at home; hes an olympic athlete who trains 5 hours a day, 6 days a week. he eats...wait for it...a whopping 12,000 CALORIES a DAY. just take a gander at his food choices. (he eats them ALL)

Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelet. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks packing 1,000 calories.

Dinner: One POUND of pasta. An entire pizza. More energy drinks.

can you say....CARBS?!?! but he still has the body of a greek god. what gives?! those who say exercise cant help a poor diet, i wonder if they have ever seen michael phelps...with the amount of workouts he does, hes more worried about eating ENOUGH calories to fuel him throughout those grueling days of training. still, 12,000 calories of mainly carbs...seems a little much.

whats your take on this?
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Replies

  • dayzeerock
    dayzeerock Posts: 918 Member
    He's also a pothead, so it's all relative ;-)
  • ohwhataday
    ohwhataday Posts: 1,398 Member
    holllllyyyy cannoli!! that makes me full just reading it.
  • DreamLittleDarling
    DreamLittleDarling Posts: 800 Member
    maybe carbs is the secret to being tall and having ridiculously long arms?!
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    He's also a pothead, so it's all relative ;-)
    It's probably the pot giving him a serious case of the munchies *wink*
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    Carbs are needed for that kind of work!! Or he would hit a wall. He is constantly carb loading.

    Carbs are not the enemy xD hehe
  • Its kinda suspicious to me. He must be on to something we don't know.
  • Friska_
    Friska_ Posts: 11 Member
    That is my meal for the entire week. ha!
  • ohwhataday
    ohwhataday Posts: 1,398 Member
    really highly doubt weed has anything to do with it. I'm sure he doesn't sit around smoking all day.
  • nas24
    nas24 Posts: 880 Member
    He's a swimmer ! They burn SERIOUS calories. When i was younger i competed in swimming (states and all of that mess). I was as skinny as a pole and all i ate all day every day was PASTA!!!! Coaches orders! Need it for energy when you swim miles all day.
  • bry_all01
    bry_all01 Posts: 3,100 Member
    Carbs are needed for that kind of work!! Or he would hit a wall. He is constantly carb loading.

    Carbs are not the enemy xD hehe


    Agreed. I eat a lot of carbs and I am nowhere near as athletic as he is. Though I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers were maybe a wee bit skewed.
  • wellnesscoachmegg
    wellnesscoachmegg Posts: 68 Member
    Honestly--I'd love to know where this info about his diet came from...because I think people speculate on what athletes eat. Especially since he burns so many calories in his training regimen. Also, he's young (ish) and I know that bodies are typically more prone to do what you want it to do when you're an athlete in your youth.

    I think for the general population, diet really is 80% of "how you look", and the small percentage of elite athletes out there, they're anamolies. Sure, it's fun to speculate or look at what he eats...but I don't think it really translates to how I'd feed my body, even if I was training like he is.

    I remember watching a documentary on a man who was an extreme marathoner. He would do 48 hour races--some of them 200 miles, on his own. And he would literally stop and eat an entire cheesecake, mid-run!:noway: Definitely not the best thing...for fuel or for food, but I know he's atypical, and it may or may not catch up with him one day. Each body is different...do what works for you!:smile:
  • MrsRipdizzle
    MrsRipdizzle Posts: 490 Member
    Yeah, he's on to something for sure. Swimming. Cool water. The body works even harder in cool water...so he's doing hours and hours of calorie burning in cool water and is burning tons of calories. There's lots of info on this on the internet. Swimming is a FANTASTIC exercise as it is low impact on the joints and very effective. Not splashing around swimming...but swimming the strokes properly.
  • slp2112
    slp2112 Posts: 107
    I remember seeing an interview with him and it was during his breakfast. He was at McDonalds of all places and had 6-7 separate menu items in front of him.

    But you have to remember - his job is working out. That's all he does, day in and day out, on holidays, on weekends. Exercise, exercise, exercise. And I'm sure he doesn't just swim. I'm sure there's tons of cross-training as well as lifting.

    Also, he's got almost no body fat. He's entirely muscle. So even when he's parked on the couch, playing video games, he's burning an outrageous amount of calories.

    Oh to be Michael Phelps ... :)
  • nas24
    nas24 Posts: 880 Member
    Also i could eat any and everything when i was a swimmer. I could eat a whole dozen donuts and nothing would stick to me. Trust me! Its because he swims all freakin day. The minute he stops swimming, watch out pounds. Thats what happen to me.
  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,585 Member
    I feel slightly queasy reading that lot.... :sick:
  • jemko
    jemko Posts: 91 Member
    For the activity level he has when he's training (which is almost always) that's pretty normal, though he is a bit high. When cyclists are training for the Tour de France, they are usually consuming about 8,000-10,000 calories. He could certainly make some swaps (whole grains instead of white bread, etc), but this dude trains 6 days a week and exercises for like 5 hours a day. His metabolism is so through the roof, I can't even fathom it. lol He has like 7 or 8% body fat. He obviously is using up all of that fuel!
    Honestly--I'd love to know where this info about his diet came from...because I think people speculate on what athletes eat. Especially since he burns so many calories in his training regimen. Also, he's young (ish) and I know that bodies are typically more prone to do what you want it to do when you're an athlete in your youth.

    It came from him! :)
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    He's a swimmer ! They burn SERIOUS calories. When i was younger i competed in swimming (states and all of that mess). I was as skinny as a pole and all i ate all day every day was PASTA!!!! Coaches orders! Need it for energy when you swim miles all day.

    Yep, when my mom would order pizza she'd order a medium for me.
  • sweetsarahj
    sweetsarahj Posts: 701 Member
    My God. Do you not know that carbs=fuel for exercise? That's why he eaats so many carbs, it's fuel for all the training. It has nothing to do with weed.
  • akaChuck
    akaChuck Posts: 233 Member
    I don't think I could make it past breakfast without passing out :O That's a LOT!

    When I was about 13 I ate sort of like that...but I was a kid running around outside at the lake for 6 hours solid...oh the good days
  • wellnesscoachmegg
    wellnesscoachmegg Posts: 68 Member
    For the activity level he has when he's training (which is almost always) that's pretty normal, though he is a bit high. When cyclists are training for the Tour de France, they are usually consuming about 8,000-10,000 calories. He could certainly make some swaps (whole grains instead of white bread, etc), but this dude trains 6 days a week and exercises for like 5 hours a day. His metabolism is so through the roof, I can't even fathom it. lol He has like 7 or 8% body fat. He obviously is using up all of that fuel!
    Honestly--I'd love to know where this info about his diet came from...because I think people speculate on what athletes eat. Especially since he burns so many calories in his training regimen. Also, he's young (ish) and I know that bodies are typically more prone to do what you want it to do when you're an athlete in your youth.

    It came from him! :)

    Oh I'm sure his metabolism is crazy-fast. But, I think the moral of the story is still he's in the very small percentage of the world that is an elite athlete. He's a man, he's tall, he's an athlete...I think those alone are indicative that his daily calorie needs are probably more than the average person, just because he is who he is :)
  • misssiri
    misssiri Posts: 335 Member
    I'd rather know what Dara Torres eats. She looks amazing!
  • dayzeerock
    dayzeerock Posts: 918 Member
    My God. Do you not know that carbs=fuel for exercise? That's why he eaats so many carbs, it's fuel for all the training. It has nothing to do with weed.

    Wow...not a good grasp on sarcasm this morning, eh?
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Honestly--I'd love to know where this info about his diet came from...because I think people speculate on what athletes eat. Especially since he burns so many calories in his training regimen. Also, he's young (ish) and I know that bodies are typically more prone to do what you want it to do when you're an athlete in your youth.

    I think for the general population, diet really is 80% of "how you look", and the small percentage of elite athletes out there, they're anamolies. Sure, it's fun to speculate or look at what he eats...but I don't think it really translates to how I'd feed my body, even if I was training like he is.

    I remember watching a documentary on a man who was an extreme marathoner. He would do 48 hour races--some of them 200 miles, on his own. And he would literally stop and eat an entire cheesecake, mid-run!:noway: Definitely not the best thing...for fuel or for food, but I know he's atypical, and it may or may not catch up with him one day. Each body is different...do what works for you!:smile:

    During the Olympics they had a huge story (in the swimming community anyway LOL . . . the hubs is a swimming coach by the way so we "stay up on these things" in my house) about what he was eating. He would have chocolate chip pancake "breakfast sandwiches" . . . the pancakes were the size of a normal person's head . . . with eggs, meat, cheese, toppings, what nots.
  • Izable2011
    Izable2011 Posts: 755 Member
    He may be fit but what about fruits and veggies?
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    My God. Do you not know that carbs=fuel for exercise? That's why he eaats so many carbs, it's fuel for all the training. It has nothing to do with weed.

    Wow...not a good grasp on sarcasm this morning, eh?

    Lol my thoughts exactly xD calm yourself :p
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    My God. Do you not know that carbs=fuel for exercise? That's why he eaats so many carbs, it's fuel for all the training. It has nothing to do with weed.
    Wow...not a good grasp on sarcasm this morning, eh?
    I thought the same thing. When I read it, I literally said out loud, "oh, we're just playing!"
  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
    the michael phelps diet? weed and water.
    but seriously i wish i could eat like him!!
  • TK421NotAtPost
    TK421NotAtPost Posts: 512 Member
    Your VO2 max plays a big factor in how many calories your burn while exercising. Michael Phelps, of course, moves oxygen at a world-class pace and so the time he spends swimming burns a voracious amount of calories.

    With that said, I heard the 12K calorie/day thing was proven a myth? In any event, doesn't matter...he still eats way more than all of us.

    He eats his exercise calories....lol

    phelps_art_200v_20080813150643.jpg
  • lclarkjr
    lclarkjr Posts: 359 Member
    Another example of high performance activity requiring high performance fuel.

    The morals of the story:
    1. You should eat your exercise calories.
    2. Carbs are good.
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
    He eats his exercise calories....lol

    phelps_art_200v_20080813150643.jpg


    Officially the most important post of the day.
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