Michael Phelps Eats 12,000/Day When Training!
Well, this came as a shock, seeing how record breaking Olympian Michael Phelps has one of the most ripped and fat free midsections I’ve ever seen in my life, but apparently when he is training, he takes in about 12,000 calories a day. That’s almost 10,000 more calories per day than is recommended for men of normal size. Of course, that is, men that aren’t in intensive Olympic training almost all day.
Swimming is notoriously one of the best calorie burning exercises though, so it doesn’t come as a shock that as a frequent swimmer, Mr. Phelps needs the constant energy supplied by his high carb, high fat diet, and he burns it right off as fast as he eats it.
I’m not sure what the physiological reason is that swimming has for being one of the highest calorie burning exercises, but I can remember swimming in the lake or in the pool for HOURS as a kid, and being completely famished afterwards, almost like you just couldn’t stuff enough food in your face fast enough, so frolicking in the water must be one of the most body stressing exercises that is known. It also is exactly the opposite of natural appetite suppressant, instead fueling a ridiculously huge appetite from all the expenditure that is happening.
Phelps eats huge helpings of things like fried egg sandwiches, breads, and protein, none of them in the low fat category either. I’m just wondering how, with all these high carb and high fat choices, he does keep his energy up, because we’ve always been told in the past that these are the types of foods that actually make us more tired when it’s all said and done.
He may also be on a ton of supplements or there may be considerations to his diet that we wouldn’t even think of, such as how it may affect his buoyancy, or maybe how it will affect his aerodynamics or speed when he is competing, that they have also factored into knowing he can handle the high calorie diet.
I wonder if other Olympians are on that high of a calorie, high carb diet, or if this is just for the swimmers since their’s is one of the most strenuous and calorie consuming sports of all the Olympics.
