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The Michael Phelps Diet brings in the gold medals
Well, what did you have for breakfast this morning? I know, you felt pretty good having had that plate of muesli, yoghurt and an apple, didn’t you? Well, while you were munching your healthy breakfast Michael Phelps was eating his breakfast and it wasn’t muesli oh no … he has three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, fried onions and mayonnaise (yes, mayonnaise for breakfast , yuck - Beeble). Then he doesn’t rush off for training, no, he hasn’t finished breakfast yet. He has three chocolate chip pancakes, a five-egg omelette, three sugar coated slices of French toast and a bowl of grits (a maize-based porridge) plus two cups of coffee.
… and then after breakfast there’s lunch and then dinner
And lunch is not a quick sandwich – or a quick anything, but a pound (half a kilogram) of pasta, two large ham and cheese sandwiches with (yes, you guessed it) mayonnaise on white bread washed down with energy drinks. Dinner is another pound of pasta, with perhaps a carbonara sauce followed by a large pizza and yet more energy drinks … how does he get to sleep?
In total that’s at least 10,000 calories a day!
When I read what his daily diet consisted of I felt my arteries closing up… where’s the protein, where’s the fibre, the vitamins and minerals – the Five a Day? Nutritionists are wringing their hands in despair, but Michael still keeps winning those medals, so it can’t be doing him much harm can it?
He burns off those calories
He is 6′ 7” tall and weighs 192 lb so that takes quite a lot of feeding. He spends five hours a day training: swimming at least 50 miles a week at a very fast rate and the rest of the time he’s in the gym exercising. “Eat, swim and sleep, that’s all I can do” says the 23 year old after winning his 11th Olympic gold medal.
Barbara Lewin a nutritionist who has advise international athletes on their diets for nearly two decades told the BBC “Health-wise if he was eating like this long-term he’d probably be having to see a cardiologist regularly.” She recommended cutting out the egg yolks, replacing the white bread with whole-wheat, throwing some fruit and vegetables into the mix, and spreading the food out over the day with regular snacking.
The Swimmer’s metabolism
According to the BBC report, because of his muscle-intensive physique, the swimmer’s metabolism - the process of converting food into energy - far exceeds that of a more average man, said Jeff Kotterman, director of the US National Association of Sports Nutrition.
"It’s a combination of peak performance coupled with the fact that he has an enormous metabolism - he burns more calories sitting at a desk than a lot of people burn walking," Mr Kotterman told the BBC.
He suggested Phelps, with an estimated 8% body fat, probably burns 1,000 calories per hour during his swimming training, compared to the equivalent exercise for an average person - vigorous walking - that would burn between 170 and 240 calories.
My advice…..
This diet is not the reason Michael Phelps has done so well at the Olympics this year so don’t take it up thinking that you will turn into swimming’s answer to Michael Schumacher. This diet is not dissimilar to the diet I see digested by some of the most obese people alive today. Whilst one nutritionists idea is to cut out the egg yolks and change from white bread I would recommend a complete change in diet changing the mass of bad calories from fatty foods and high sugar energy drinks to an equal measure of fruit, vegetables and non processed or fried food.
There is no doubt that Michael Phelps is a hard working athlete with a huge physique and bags of natural talent and he deserves all the praise he is bound to get, however it is important that people realise that this diet is not advisable for the average Joe or other sports professionals. I will be intrigued to know how this diet will effect him in the long term. I hope that Michael Phelps’ body manages to cope with the food and he breaks as many records at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Congratulations Michael Phelps!
If you are interested in more diet advice then please visit our diet section that should be able to give you a good grasp of what you should do to improve your daily intake.
To read the whole BBC report:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7562840.stm
and also see Jon Henley’s article in The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/aug/15/foodanddrink.michaelphelps
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August 21st, 2008 at 1:20 am
Phelps is simple a genetic “freak”.
Cool blog - keep up the nice work!
-Corey
August 28th, 2008 at 1:44 am
Yeah that guy is incredible. I wish I could eat 12,000 calories a day…but then I guess I’d have to swim a couple of miles a day as well.
September 4th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Back when I was playing soccer in high school and running almost 50 miles a week during tryouts I had to eat more carbs and more sugars to full my body. Now I have to eat based on my activity level, which is different on a daily basis.