Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Phelps and Food



A somewhat unrelated comment first.

I had not heard the name Phelps until the ATT "Phelps Phan" ad. It, and all the ads like it, get a quick mute from my remote. Not because of Michael Phelps but because the ads are bad attempts at humor.

Since the start of the 2008 Olympics, Phelps has become a well known name, and deservedly so. He has won more Olympic gold medals than anyone, ever. He may soon be the only Olympic competitor to win more than 7 gold medals in one Olympiad.

One particular "inside look" news segment last night was of interest to me, i.e., how much this guy eats everyday. If I had not heard him say it I would not have believed it.

Swimmer, Michael Phelps was asked his daily regimen, including meals, while he was in training. Answer: 4- 5 hours of swimming and work-out, sleep, resting, and eating 10,000 calories per day. Never counted calories?

Here's a sample of 10,000 calories:

Breakfast:
3 fried eggs
5 pancakes with maple syrup and butter
1 glass of milk
1 orange
8 slices of bacon
6 biscuits of shredded wheat with milk

Lunch
1 16 ounce steak
2 large baked potatoes with butter
1 milkshake
2 bunches of raw broccoli
2 cups of carrots
1 banana
1 apple

Dinner
1 large 16" cheese pizza with meat (the whole pizza)
1 whole head of lettuce
3 large chicken breasts
1 banana

Late night snack
1 apple
1 bowl of ice cream

I'm still not sure I believe it. If he swims or works out 5 hours a day, he would burn about 4-5 thousand kilo-calories, plus his Basal Metabolic Rate burning 3000 calories that puts his requirement at 8,000 calories. That's close, but is it possible to eat 10,000 calories every day?
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After Posting Comment 08/14/08:
I read today in a Yahoo news report that Mr. Phelps eat 12,000 calories per day.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You could get close to 10,000 calories on 3 Chipotle burritos... mmm Chipotle burritos...

I don't know... I mean, it makes sense that he has to eat that much just to keep up his weight. He also mentioned he has had a hard time and still hasn't busted 200 pounds.

Becca said...

And, they also mentioned that he has added weight lifting to his workout, the segment only talked about his time in the pool.

Francis Shivone said...

Jake: I think Chipotle conceals their kcals. and three burritos with everything would get over 5000 I would think. Come to think of it when I was a young guy I could probably have eaten 6 or 7 of them in a day.

Becca: Gotcha -- they are interesting numbers.