Phelps' Diet

Nutrition
21

[quote]ecto214 wrote:
I am sorry, guys, for not mentioning that I was simply doing a copy-and-paste job of that article. It was from the NY Post, via a link from the Drudge Report. I know, I know - that does not necessarily make it fact.

But let’s assume that he really does wolf-down 12,000 calories per day. I’m not at all saying it’s not possible, but I have a difficult time grasping the math behind how 12,000 calories are burned in a day. Even the 5 hours of his daily on-and-off swimming routine is maybe 5,000 calories burned (1,000 / hour average). Don’t we now have ~7,000 calories left to burn, daily, outside of exercise? I don’t profess to understand basal metabolic rates, but, all-in, the math behind “how he burns that extra 7,000 calories per day” is something that I just do not understand. And hopefully won’t be crucified for admitting to not understanding.[/quote]

5000 is just what he burns…He probably needs a fair amount for the day when he is not exercising(especially with his metab)…he’s not a small individual. If he ate 5k calories, and burned it in practice and didn’t eat more, he probably wouldn’t continue to function.

22

not to highjack the thread but xivb4m’s avatar is f*cking retarded.

160lb A&F punkass bitch. (the person in the avatar; not necessarily the person posting)

…continuing on with the thread:

he uses the calories he takes in. who cares? i sit at a desk 45+hrs a week and train 4x a week.

anyone wanna know how much i eat? didn’t think so. haha

23

ahhhh I remember when I was first trying to gain weight… I was running 5 miles 3x a week, playing hockey twice a week, and played on an intramural football team every Sundaya. Itseemed like I could never get enough food to even maintain my weight (I wonder why?! -lol). HOnestly, I’m not shocked by Phelps’ food intake at all.

S

24

I can see how he needs it, but damn. Its gotta hurt to eat an entire pound of pasta and then a whole pizza followed by a gallon of gatorade.

25

First, I think he said he averages, 8-10K a day, but has hit as high as 12. I believe it. I swam and played soccer through high school. Every year I had 2-3 weeks where the 2 overlapped, and I could never eat enough to maintain my measly 145 pounds with 4 hours of swimming and running a day. I now eat 5-6k a day and am lucky to gain a couple of pounds a month without much cardio.

The energy used in swimming is truly astounding.

26

First off, he’s burning more than 1000k an hour swimming. A 190lb man should burn 863 calories per hour according to the interwebz, but that’s an average man, not the most dominant swimmer in history. I’d say he’s easily burning twice that, so saying 1500 calories per hour thats 7500 calories in training alone, NOT to mention all the extra calories that are needed to recover from all that training.

I wouldn’t doubt him.

27

I do wonder how the hell these athletes could eat this much and still train. Shouldn’t they be taking bathroom breaks every fifteen minutes? I’ve cut my workouts in half in part because I got sick of dealing with 4,500 calories of shitting. Are the Olympic swimmers taking an immodium tablet with every meal?

28

Not surprising. The guy is a Living Olympic Legend - Just look at his training. We aren’t just talking swimming, we are talking fastest most powerful most efficient swimmer status. I can destroy 3000 calories in one sitting and eat again in 3 hours ~ and I don’t train like Michael Phelps.

29

Something else to keep in mind - I’m sure he wakes up before the crack of dawn so he has plenty of time to eat and train. 2kcal per meal x 6 wouldn’t be too hard.

30
31

I can believe in the fact that he eats high calories, thats a no-brainer, as to how high, who knows.

That post was retarded. Nobody in their right mind would consume 2-3 thousand calories a day in gatorade, red bull, or whatever.

That is just flat out stupid on so many levels, insulin spikes, electrolyte balances, amounts of stimulants, etc.

Yea the guy is an awesome swimmer, probably the best their ever was, but he is still a human being and just because he can swim better than a friggin dolphin doesn’t mean that he has some freak body that could cause him to have a diet like that of the post.

imo…

Gerdy

32

[quote]Dirty Gerdy wrote:
I can believe in the fact that he eats high calories, thats a no-brainer, as to how high, who knows.

That post was retarded. Nobody in their right mind would consume 2-3 thousand calories a day in gatorade, red bull, or whatever.

That is just flat out stupid on so many levels, insulin spikes, electrolyte balances, amounts of stimulants, etc.

Yea the guy is an awesome swimmer, probably the best their ever was, but he is still a human being and just because he can swim better than a friggin dolphin doesn’t mean that he has some freak body that could cause him to have a diet like that of the post.

imo…

Gerdy[/quote]

He’s swimming 30 hours a week. Not wading in a pool playing marco polo - training at a level that helps him set 5 world records in 5 races, so far. That doesn’t count his weight training, which is 3X/week.

The guy is a freaking metabolic blast furnace.

I wouldn’t get caught up in the energy drink crap. I’m thinking it is some sort of weight gainer/protein drink - something that will provide some sustainable energy for an elite trainee of his level.

I heard him in an interview say he tries to get from 6K - 10K calories in per day. I think NYP was wrong on the 12K/day.

He doesn’t cook - so other than the shakes - he’s going to restaurants/fast food dives for the bulk of his energy intake.

33

[quote]Dirty Gerdy wrote:
I can believe in the fact that he eats high calories, thats a no-brainer, as to how high, who knows.

That post was retarded. Nobody in their right mind would consume 2-3 thousand calories a day in gatorade, red bull, or whatever.

That is just flat out stupid on so many levels, insulin spikes, electrolyte balances, amounts of stimulants, etc.

Yea the guy is an awesome swimmer, probably the best their ever was, but he is still a human being and just because he can swim better than a friggin dolphin doesn’t mean that he has some freak body that could cause him to have a diet like that of the post.

imo…

Gerdy[/quote]

I don’t see what’s controversial about Phelp’s diet. A lot of football players I’ve talked to eat about 10k. Given all the exercise he’s doing, his diet seems reasonable.

Edit: the other thing is, a good chunk of those calories are burned just to keep him warm in the water. Swimming burns a lot of calories.

34

[quote]rainjack wrote:
Dirty Gerdy wrote:
I can believe in the fact that he eats high calories, thats a no-brainer, as to how high, who knows.

That post was retarded. Nobody in their right mind would consume 2-3 thousand calories a day in gatorade, red bull, or whatever.

That is just flat out stupid on so many levels, insulin spikes, electrolyte balances, amounts of stimulants, etc.

Yea the guy is an awesome swimmer, probably the best their ever was, but he is still a human being and just because he can swim better than a friggin dolphin doesn’t mean that he has some freak body that could cause him to have a diet like that of the post.

imo…

Gerdy

He’s swimming 30 hours a week. Not wading in a pool playing marco polo - training at a level that helps him set 5 world records in 5 races, so far. That doesn’t count his weight training, which is 3X/week.

The guy is a freaking metabolic blast furnace.

I wouldn’t get caught up in the energy drink crap. I’m thinking it is some sort of weight gainer/protein drink - something that will provide some sustainable energy for an elite trainee of his level.

I heard him in an interview say he tries to get from 6K - 10K calories in per day. I think NYP was wrong on the 12K/day.

He doesn’t cook - so other than the shakes - he’s going to restaurants/fast food dives for the bulk of his energy intake.

[/quote]

Oh I don’t doubt that he is gobbling down calories and his metabolism is raging, hell he might even be in the 10-12k range. I just don’t believe that b.s. in 1000 cals at a time in “energy drinks” and some of the other nutritional facts.

He’s also, not only an olympic swimmer, but probably the greatest olympic swimmer, not only that, but he is a US olympic swimmer with major endorsement contracts.

I can’t say for certain but the guy probably has 10 trainers, 10 nutritionists, 10 dieticians, 10 cooks following him wherever he goes to ensure he’s getting the most out of his training, diet, nutrition, etc. lol

Who knows tho, maybe the guy eats big macs and breaks world records. lol I just find it easier to believe that he has a whole team of people, and the funds to back him, to make sure he’s the best that he could ever possibly be come game time.

DG

35

[quote]Dirty Gerdy wrote:
rainjack wrote:
Dirty Gerdy wrote:
I can believe in the fact that he eats high calories, thats a no-brainer, as to how high, who knows.

That post was retarded. Nobody in their right mind would consume 2-3 thousand calories a day in gatorade, red bull, or whatever.

That is just flat out stupid on so many levels, insulin spikes, electrolyte balances, amounts of stimulants, etc.

Yea the guy is an awesome swimmer, probably the best their ever was, but he is still a human being and just because he can swim better than a friggin dolphin doesn’t mean that he has some freak body that could cause him to have a diet like that of the post.

imo…

Gerdy

He’s swimming 30 hours a week. Not wading in a pool playing marco polo - training at a level that helps him set 5 world records in 5 races, so far. That doesn’t count his weight training, which is 3X/week.

The guy is a freaking metabolic blast furnace.

I wouldn’t get caught up in the energy drink crap. I’m thinking it is some sort of weight gainer/protein drink - something that will provide some sustainable energy for an elite trainee of his level.

I heard him in an interview say he tries to get from 6K - 10K calories in per day. I think NYP was wrong on the 12K/day.

He doesn’t cook - so other than the shakes - he’s going to restaurants/fast food dives for the bulk of his energy intake.

Oh I don’t doubt that he is gobbling down calories and his metabolism is raging, hell he might even be in the 10-12k range. I just don’t believe that b.s. in 1000 cals at a time in “energy drinks” and some of the other nutritional facts.

He’s also, not only an olympic swimmer, but probably the greatest olympic swimmer, not only that, but he is a US olympic swimmer with major endorsement contracts.

I can’t say for certain but the guy probably has 10 trainers, 10 nutritionists, 10 dieticians, 10 cooks following him wherever he goes to ensure he’s getting the most out of his training, diet, nutrition, etc. lol

Who knows tho, maybe the guy eats big macs and breaks world records. lol I just find it easier to believe that he has a whole team of people, and the funds to back him, to make sure he’s the best that he could ever possibly be come game time.

DG[/quote]

OMG!!! Perhaps eating clean isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?

Oh Noes! Duck and cover!

36

If he’s actually at 10k per day (even ocasionally) then I’ve gotta say his digestive abilities are almost as impressive as his athletic abilities. How the hell can he eat near that many and still spend 5 hours in the water at high intensity? I know it’s not that uncommon among the most elite endurance guys like the TDF riders, but still…

37

[quote]Dirty Gerdy wrote:

Oh I don’t doubt that he is gobbling down calories and his metabolism is raging, hell he might even be in the 10-12k range. I just don’t believe that b.s. in 1000 cals at a time in “energy drinks” and some of the other nutritional facts.

He’s also, not only an olympic swimmer, but probably the greatest olympic swimmer, not only that, but he is a US olympic swimmer with major endorsement contracts.

I can’t say for certain but the guy probably has 10 trainers, 10 nutritionists, 10 dieticians, 10 cooks following him wherever he goes to ensure he’s getting the most out of his training, diet, nutrition, etc. lol

Who knows tho, maybe the guy eats big macs and breaks world records. lol I just find it easier to believe that he has a whole team of people, and the funds to back him, to make sure he’s the best that he could ever possibly be come game time.

DG[/quote]

A “bad” calorie is better than no calorie in his case and with the amount of training he’s doing I doubt insulin sensitivity is much of an issue anyway.

38

[quote]etaco wrote:
If he’s actually at 10k per day (even ocasionally) then I’ve gotta say his digestive abilities are almost as impressive as his athletic abilities. How the hell can he eat near that many and still spend 5 hours in the water at high intensity? I know it’s not that uncommon among the most elite endurance guys like the TDF riders, but still…[/quote]

He might cramp.

39

[quote]msd0060 wrote:
I find the logistics of it the hard part to believe. Preparing and EATING that takes so much time. Ask anyone here that’s bulking on 5k a day. That’s a pain in the ass.

Now say you train for the entire day, how you gonna spread 12k out like its nothing? That’s a sit down meal, that’s not a fucking granola bar here and there. That’s 4 or 5 very rich 3 course meals.[/quote]

Who said anything about prep? This guys is a millionaire. He doesn’t prepare anything. They showed a snippet on NBC at all of the local joints he eats at and how much he eats.

And this is in response to all the other posters not believing 10 to 12k cals/day. To me, it’s not too hard to believe. It’s not too hard to down 1,000 + cals in drinks alone. Doing that a couple of times per day already adds 2,000 cals right there. Eating a lot of high fat meals will also increase the cals quite a bit.

And for what he burns, let’s say he does burn up to 6,000 cals for 5+ hours training per day. His RMR is probably another 3,000. So that’s 9,000 calories of daily intake required to keep up with his training. Not too hard to believe at all.

40

[quote]Vicomte wrote:
Dirty Gerdy wrote:
rainjack wrote:
Dirty Gerdy wrote:
I can believe in the fact that he eats high calories, thats a no-brainer, as to how high, who knows.

That post was retarded. Nobody in their right mind would consume 2-3 thousand calories a day in gatorade, red bull, or whatever.

That is just flat out stupid on so many levels, insulin spikes, electrolyte balances, amounts of stimulants, etc.

Yea the guy is an awesome swimmer, probably the best their ever was, but he is still a human being and just because he can swim better than a friggin dolphin doesn’t mean that he has some freak body that could cause him to have a diet like that of the post.

imo…

Gerdy

He’s swimming 30 hours a week. Not wading in a pool playing marco polo - training at a level that helps him set 5 world records in 5 races, so far. That doesn’t count his weight training, which is 3X/week.

The guy is a freaking metabolic blast furnace.

I wouldn’t get caught up in the energy drink crap. I’m thinking it is some sort of weight gainer/protein drink - something that will provide some sustainable energy for an elite trainee of his level.

I heard him in an interview say he tries to get from 6K - 10K calories in per day. I think NYP was wrong on the 12K/day.

He doesn’t cook - so other than the shakes - he’s going to restaurants/fast food dives for the bulk of his energy intake.

Oh I don’t doubt that he is gobbling down calories and his metabolism is raging, hell he might even be in the 10-12k range. I just don’t believe that b.s. in 1000 cals at a time in “energy drinks” and some of the other nutritional facts.

He’s also, not only an olympic swimmer, but probably the greatest olympic swimmer, not only that, but he is a US olympic swimmer with major endorsement contracts.

I can’t say for certain but the guy probably has 10 trainers, 10 nutritionists, 10 dieticians, 10 cooks following him wherever he goes to ensure he’s getting the most out of his training, diet, nutrition, etc. lol

Who knows tho, maybe the guy eats big macs and breaks world records. lol I just find it easier to believe that he has a whole team of people, and the funds to back him, to make sure he’s the best that he could ever possibly be come game time.

DG

OMG!!! Perhaps eating clean isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?

Oh Noes! Duck and cover![/quote]

Who the hell said anything abot eating clean?!?!

your 5’10 150 you need to just eat…something.

DG