12,000 calories a day!

[question everything]

That only an Olympian can eat:

But Michael Phelps' recent tabulation of his daily meals conjured up an image of reckless abandon: 2 pounds of pasta, an entire pizza, energy drinks, two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast with powdered sugar, three fried-egg sandwiches with cheese and chocolate chip pancakes. The account left many asking, what do Olympians really eat?

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/China/story?id=5575690&page=1

[ccharles000]

1. WOW

[isentropic]

2. That's getting up there close to a Sumo wrestler's diet.

;-)

[theoldman]

3. All it lacks is the beer that Sumo wrestlers drink.

[isentropic]

13. I drink a fair amount of Kirin and I'm no wrestler of any kind!

Asahi or Suntory will do in a pinch. :D

[Tangerine LaBamba]

4. HA! That's nothing

After a night of smoking some really good, oh, you know, herbal remedy, we used to eat more than that. Usually before we checked it out at the supermarket. From the packages.

[Benhurst]

5. It's called

The Candy Crowley Diet

[Missy Vixen]

28. I'm about Ms.Crowley's size

and I eat nowhere near 12,000 calories per day. Try less than 2500 calories.

:sarcasm:
It's a good thing everyone that posts here is physically perfect, isn't it?
:sarcasm:

Julie

[SmileyRose]

29. Ugh

I'm a skinny minnie but that post was really pee uuuuu.

I swear, Muslims and overweight women are about the only group left that people feel like it's open season on bigotry.

[Missy Vixen]

31. Let's face it

If we're not sexually attractive to them, we not only are ugly, we have no humanity. Therefore, they can treat us any way they'd like.

Nice to meet you, SmileyRose. You're a nice person. :hug:

Julie

[question everything]

35. Shame on you

Not everyone is athletic and not everyone has the body of a Barbi Doll. Certainly not once you are over 29.

[Texasgal]

39. Wow..

How progressive of you. :eyes:

[nc4bo]

6. Eats like a shark and swims like a fish. nt

[LiberalEsto]

7. And not one vegetable

I'm appalled

[TahitiNut]

10. Grits is a vegetable.

Corn. And the pasta comes from wheat, I believe.

[LiberalEsto]

11. It's grain in my book

He's not a very good example for American kids, who already eat way too much junk food.

[TahitiNut]

12. Well, you be sure to write and tell him he doesn't meet your lofty standards.

Good luck with that. :eyes:

(Even vegetarians eat grits.)
:shrug:

[Sanctified]

15. You do realize he has to consume 12,000 calories to replace the calories he is losing.

You cannot consume 12,000 calories in vegetables just never going to happen, you would have to sit down and just eat veggies for several hours.

[LiberalEsto]

16. Of course not

But would eating a little piece of broccoli kill him?

[Sanctified]

17. It would not kill him but it would not serve a purpose either.

As it is I would bet he is having a hard time hitting his caloric intake with what he currently eats, eating a token piece of broccoli is not going to help him with anything.

[LiberalEsto]

19. Vitamins, phytonutrients

http://healthfood-guide.com/HealthBenefitsOfBroccoli.aspx

[Sanctified]

20. All of which he is already getting from his oral vitamins.

The kid is not consuming the crap because it tastes good, he is consuming it because he needs to quickly intake the calories he is burning.

[alarimer]

27. Pasta and other carbs are what he needs to swim.

Lots and lots of them apparently. It has nothing to do with being a "good example". Fruits and vegetables just don't provide the energy he needs. This is a guy that swims 5 MILES every single day.

[question everything]

37. That's why he also drinks energy drinks with a lot of calories (nt)

[JI7]

49. there are probably veggies in his omelet, pizza, pasta,sandwiches etc

[LiberalEsto]

58. I'm aware of that nt

[JuniperLea]

21. Actually... whole grains are very healthy

America doesn't get enough. There are a lot of studies being done (NOT paid for by food companies) showing the lack of fiber in our diets is causing an increase in colon cancer, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Fruits and Veggies don't have enough to get you to the 20 - 30 grams you need a day. Only whole grains can do that. They metabolize at a slower rate, so the carb factor isn't an issue.

[Sanctified]

22. As long as it's not enriched flour, that stuff is horrible for you. n/t

[JuniperLea]

25. Right... you really have to read lables...

If a slice of "whole wheat" bread doesn't have at least three grams of fiber, it's partially enriched flour. You do have to read labels and be ultra careful.

Trying to find the link... there was a story recently about soaking steel cut oats overnight, and the nutrients released in this process. Brown rice does the same thing. My Irish granny used to do this too. Some of the old ways really are best.

[bullwinkle428]

40. Whole grains play havoc with my digestive process - I have IBS,

and really have to limit the amount of insoluble fiber I take in each day. I had been dealing with lots of irregularity for many years and multiple doctor visits. I've have 2 colonoscopies, tried several medications...nothing really was effective in the long term.

I finally started doing some research on my own, and found some information online from a woman that had been a lifelong sufferer of IBS, and she emphasized the distinction between soluble and insoluble fiber in the diet. I immediately took out the insoluble, and noticed results almost right away.

I still eat fruits and vegetables regularly, but only those relatively low in insoluble fiber. Makes a big difference for me...

[JuniperLea]

62. Yours is a specific situation not considered a norm...

Likewise, it's known that yogurt with active cultures are very good for digestion, except for people who cannot tolerate dairy.

We can't say anything is absolutely true for every human being, except that we all need water.

[Freddie Stubbs]

44. If American kids would excerise like him they could eat like him

It takes a lot of energy to train like he does. He obviously burns it off, as he has very little body fat.

[XOKCowboy]

68. The same reason my parents and grandparents could eat huge meals..

for breakfast, dinner and supper (hey I'm from the south) and never get fat. They worked from daylight to sunset doing very physical labor and needed the calories. Plus most of their food was from what they could grow or raise and therefore fresh and chemical free.

[fishwax]

23. there could be vegetables on the pizza or in the omelet

He might eat some with the pasta as well.

[BlooInBloo]

26. HAHAHAHA!!!! Random internet blowhard knows more about what a bazillion-gold medal Olympian....

should eat than the bazillion gold-medal winning Olympian does.

I feel privileged to bask in the uberknowledge of DU geniuses.

[Missy Vixen]

30. Thanks, BlooInBloo

I thought I was seeing things.

Professional athletes eat like this as well. When you lose an average of five pounds a game, it's all about getting some calories. Here's an article I read recently about one of the Seahawks and his eating regimen...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=cr-tuesdayconversation121807&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Julie

[TahitiNut]

34. It amazes me that folks can get Internet service at such lofty heights.

:evilgrin:

[LiberalEsto]

57. So SORRY if I've offended you

I'm the mother of two young women who were competitive swimmers, lifeguards, and swim instructors when they were teenagers. One was also a swim team coach for two seasons and competed on a college swim team.

My kids certainly loaded up on carbs when they were competing on swim teams. I made sure they included vegetables in their diet for the vitamins, fiber and nutrients.

There is no need for you to be so rude.

[question everything]

36. There was tomatoe sauce on the pasta

and a few leaves of lettuce on his sandwiches.. Perhaps even slices of tomatoes..

[tammywammy]

43. But he need BROCCOLI!!!!

:rofl:

[ThatsMyBarack]

8. Purely junk.

It'll catch up with him someday....;)

[Dreamer Tatum]

14. Yeah, as soon as he stops burning 9000 cal/day

Will probably happen around then.

[krabigirl]

9. well, he needs it

[Fleshdancer]

18. ugh. I would get sick of eating

I understand his need for all the calories, but with that much food, he must be eating all the time. That would drive me up the wall.

[BlooInBloo]

24. Yet more proof of the patently obvious fact that cals in = cals out.

[Missy Vixen]

32. That may be, BlooInBloo

The average fat person doesn't have eight hours a day to work out. We're also not Olympic-caliber athletes. How old is Michael Phelps -- twenties? There's a limit to what can be achieved with calorie restriction and exercise, especially in women over 40.

IMHO, YMMV,
Julie

[Saboburns]

48. No theres not

nm.

[Missy Vixen]

51. Care to enlighten us?

I'd be curious to hear your theories.

Julie

[Saboburns]

53. of course

There's NO LIMIT to what can be accomplished with diet and exercise.

For anybody of any age or gender.

[Missy Vixen]

60. There are others who have clinical proof that you're incorrect

I see by your profile you're a male. Considering the fact that males lose weight much more easily than women do, your statement about "no limit" is almost funny.

Julie

[EOTE]

61. There's also a little matter of metabolism.

It's rather foolish to leave that out of the equation. Everyone burns calories at a different rate. That accounts for quite a bit of why some struggle with weight and others don't.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[riverdeep]

38. A couple of qualifiers.

One, this wasn't an actual scientific measurement, this was an estimation. Depending on his ability to judge, he could be way off.

Second:

"On an intense training day, Phelps takes in 12,000 calories."

Which indicates that he probably isn't eating like that every day.

Carbs are what endurance athletes need more than anything, so the high carb diet, simple carbs or not, isn't unusual. But really, this is a lot of food. A lot. That pretty much would negate the don't swim until 30 minutes after digesting your food, because he'd constantly be digesting.

[bullwinkle428]

41. On his race days, he's swimming over 5 miles a day!!!

[tammywammy]

46. They just said on NBC that he burn 4000 calories during each workout

[JI7]

47. what does each workout consist of ?

[freestyle]

64. When training, he usually does two 3,000 to 4,000 meter workouts a day.

When competing, i'm sure it is much less. That does work out to between four and five miles a day. Swimming is far more calorie intensive for the same distance than running.

[flvegan]

42. Competition diet.

Differs depending upon the sport.

Pro bodybuilders wouldn't touch most of that, rather loading up on lean protein because they'll exert less energy in their workouts.

Depends on the goal. Nothing wrong with it, as any sports nutritionist would tell you. Since he's got a pro in his stable, he's probably (well, obviously...you know, considering) doing it right.

[Saboburns]

50. true dat

But the pro bodybuilders, the juiced up Mr. Olympian wannabes eat upwards of 8,000 calories every day. But clean, lean proteins, carbs and fats/

And yes, the GH and testotserone does indeed shed body fat.

And they carry BF percentages under 5%.

All that muscle ramps up metabolism.

[Eric J in MN]

63. There is a website for vegan bodybuilders...

...and other vegans who are interested in fitness:

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com

[beac]

45. And have you heard that Rush Gasbag has been touting this as a

reason for offshore drilling???

:wtf:

Then again, he's probably just pining for the days when he could eat 12,000 calories himself and then twitch it all off just by popping a few lovely, lovely pills.

[madeline_con]

52. Check what fatass Limpball had to say about it...

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/14/rush-limbaugh-phelps/

[Swamp Rat]

54. Translation: "oink!"

[madeline_con]

55. Hey, SR whazzup?

Good one!

[Swamp Rat]

56. Way'at madeline_con!

:hi: thanks! :hug:

[Phoonzang]

59. If only there were some way to let me eat all those calories

and burn them off. I'm hoping for a pill of some kind. Phelpsemix or something.

[Marr]

65. He's an athlete. If you're doing that much intense physical exercise,

it's practically impossible to overeat. I trained for a marathon not too long ago (not even close to an Olympian like this, obviously) and the people I trained with suggested I eat a pizza for dinner and a bunch of other stuff. You need calories.

[Javaman]

66. Tis no human, tis a heartless eating machine! nt

[HughBeaumont]

67. I used to be able to down about 1/2 to 3/4 of that and not gain an ounce.

(which SUCKED, BTW, because I wanted to gain weight)

Then I turned 27. Bye bye hummingbird metabolism.

I keep it at a reasonable 1000 - 1800 per day now. Except on the rib days. :)