Michael Phelps' 12K Calorie Diet [General]
2008 Aug 13
Monty - WOW! I agree it sounds like enough to feed a family of 6 or 8 if it is indeed true. And I'm guessing the number 12,000 came from someone in the media who actually sat down and did the calculation.
Then again... if one takes the basic exercise calculation of swimming laps one is supposed to burn off 10 calories a minute, or 600 per hour. Ok that is someone like me who swims leisurely along... I'm thinking Michael is probably closer to twice that or better so for arguments sake lets say, 1500 calories per hour, times 5 hours = 7,500 calories. Then I can assure you he has to be doing some land work each day too... so there is another couple thousand, and seeing as muscle continues to burn off calories everyday, so by my estimate he's indeed got to be burning off close to 10,000 a day.... which leaves him in the 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day ballpark which is pretty much the norm for a male his age.
I tell you though if I was him, I'd be looking for better ways to get in my 12,000 calories than grits, white bread and pizza! I think he could UP his foodie knowledge. LOL
Then again... if one takes the basic exercise calculation of swimming laps one is supposed to burn off 10 calories a minute, or 600 per hour. Ok that is someone like me who swims leisurely along... I'm thinking Michael is probably closer to twice that or better so for arguments sake lets say, 1500 calories per hour, times 5 hours = 7,500 calories. Then I can assure you he has to be doing some land work each day too... so there is another couple thousand, and seeing as muscle continues to burn off calories everyday, so by my estimate he's indeed got to be burning off close to 10,000 a day.... which leaves him in the 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day ballpark which is pretty much the norm for a male his age.
I tell you though if I was him, I'd be looking for better ways to get in my 12,000 calories than grits, white bread and pizza! I think he could UP his foodie knowledge. LOL
2008 Aug 13
Ok, now that I'm back on the couch...
Do they even have 14 Litre Flushies in China? Do they use toilets that are similar to those in North America? (I know that a lot of countries around the world have their own interpretation of the loo).
If a North American man has to go in "shifts" well this then gives a whole other meaning to the 4 by 100 Relay!
LOL
Do they even have 14 Litre Flushies in China? Do they use toilets that are similar to those in North America? (I know that a lot of countries around the world have their own interpretation of the loo).
If a North American man has to go in "shifts" well this then gives a whole other meaning to the 4 by 100 Relay!
LOL
2008 Aug 13
Hey Itchy - If you find all that wine, beer (and admit it junk food) ends up giving you a tummy ache, you can always take some Alka-Seltzer....
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You know the one that goes...
"Plop Plop Fizz Fizz
Oh what a relief it is!"
LOL
I can't beieve I get to use this joke, a favourite with every 6 year old boy!
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You know the one that goes...
"Plop Plop Fizz Fizz
Oh what a relief it is!"
LOL
I can't beieve I get to use this joke, a favourite with every 6 year old boy!
2008 Aug 14
Blah! Forget the calories - that breakfast is loaded with fat, cholesterol and sugar! I can't believe his coach approves such an unhealthy diet - no veggies save for a few slices of tomato and lettuce, plus few whole grains? I understand the need to bulk up on carbs and calories, but do you really have to clog your arteries with goo to make it happen???
-three fried-egg (fried...in butter? + eggs=cholesterol!) sandwiches (white bread?) loaded with cheese (fat!), lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions (fried!) and mayonnaise (fat!).
-Two cups of coffee (caffiene!), a five-egg omelet (cholesterol! fried!), a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast (fried! cholesterol! white bread!) topped with powdered sugar (sugar!)and three chocolate-chip pancakes (fried! sugar! white flour!).
- A pound of enriched pasta (with butter?) and two large ham (salt!)and cheese (fat!) sandwiches slathered with mayo (fat!)on white bread (!) - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks (empty sugar and cafienne!).
- a pound of pasta (white? Not specified as "enriched" as with lunch. With butter?) the and an entire pizza (loaded with cheese/fat! sauce if processed loaded with salt! and sugar!, most likely white flour crust!).
On the other hand, who am I to talk lol - his body looks great and mine looks... well...let's just say "not quite as toned".
-three fried-egg (fried...in butter? + eggs=cholesterol!) sandwiches (white bread?) loaded with cheese (fat!), lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions (fried!) and mayonnaise (fat!).
-Two cups of coffee (caffiene!), a five-egg omelet (cholesterol! fried!), a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast (fried! cholesterol! white bread!) topped with powdered sugar (sugar!)and three chocolate-chip pancakes (fried! sugar! white flour!).
- A pound of enriched pasta (with butter?) and two large ham (salt!)and cheese (fat!) sandwiches slathered with mayo (fat!)on white bread (!) - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks (empty sugar and cafienne!).
- a pound of pasta (white? Not specified as "enriched" as with lunch. With butter?) the and an entire pizza (loaded with cheese/fat! sauce if processed loaded with salt! and sugar!, most likely white flour crust!).
On the other hand, who am I to talk lol - his body looks great and mine looks... well...let's just say "not quite as toned".
2008 Aug 14
I have no idea who told Michael Phelps to eat this cr** (...keeping on the bathroom tangent here...) but I can just feel my arteries clogging while reading this article! I am not a competitive athlete by any stretch of the imagination (unless wine drinking is considered a sport hehehe) but I have cycled long distances in the past and have been advised to stay away from caffeine (it dehydrates you) and carbs (you get a "sugar rush" during exercise but it makes a great recovery meal) and a good quality protein helps. I always thought he would have something like a burger before training and spaghetti after. Oh well he must be doing something right if he won five gold medals already. Must be those energy drinks.
2008 Aug 14
the dehydrative qualities of caffeine are still being assessed last i heard: i know that water is obviously the healthier choice...but as far as i know, energy drinks (like red bull) are no more dehydrating than pop, juice, etc.
i came down with mono two years ago and strep last year and asked about drinking caffinated stuff and the doctor said that they haven't proved it's dehydrating....
i came down with mono two years ago and strep last year and asked about drinking caffinated stuff and the doctor said that they haven't proved it's dehydrating....
2008 Aug 14
You can be pretty sure that this was taken out of context. Mike does burn a lot of calories, and undoubtedly he needs 6000-8000 calories a day. But certainly he does not get the majority of these from empty carbs and saturated fats. Especially as he would be looking to pull in 400g of protein a day.
He probably eats everything in the list, not all at one sitting, but with poor diet choices spread through the week. Most the time I will bet he eats a lot of b/s-less chicken breasts, egg whites, whole wheat pastas, and dark greens. His "supplements" are most likely greens and protein shakes.
Caloric balance is not the only consideration in overall health and optimum performance. To set world records Mike needs more than lean muscles. He needs good lungs, kidneys, liver, etc. He needs optimum blood transfer (for oxygen). All of this takes precise balances of micro and macro nutrients.
I am sure Mike has whole team of nutritionists whom deserve partial credit for all of the gold he will bring home this year.
He probably eats everything in the list, not all at one sitting, but with poor diet choices spread through the week. Most the time I will bet he eats a lot of b/s-less chicken breasts, egg whites, whole wheat pastas, and dark greens. His "supplements" are most likely greens and protein shakes.
Caloric balance is not the only consideration in overall health and optimum performance. To set world records Mike needs more than lean muscles. He needs good lungs, kidneys, liver, etc. He needs optimum blood transfer (for oxygen). All of this takes precise balances of micro and macro nutrients.
I am sure Mike has whole team of nutritionists whom deserve partial credit for all of the gold he will bring home this year.
2008 Aug 15
You seem pretty sure HHH... Why do people always throw their own biases into reported information, like somehow, not knowing the author, or knowing the athlete (personally), they know that what seems incredible to them is surely not true. Now, maybe I'll end up apologizing to you, if your profession is sports nutritionist or something, but I'm guessing I won't be. I don't know as much as some on this list about athletics, but I remember when I was 23. I remember that I could easily eat more, and of much more questionable nutritional value, with no ill effects than I can now. I find now, a mere 15 years later my body is quite sensitive to my diet, and the fat and caloric intake. My, quite uneducated guess, is that the diet that was reported (the original source is an article in the British paper The Guardian ) is accurate, and not distorted. I've read many articles about NFL football player diets (and no, not just the big linebackers) that were in essence very similar.
As for his performance, it is said that he has almost the perfect swimmers body. His arms extend (sideways) to a reach of over 6 feet (long arms), his torso is similarly long. He is tall, 6 foot 5, but has short legs (less drag apparently) and has double jointed ankles, so can bend his ankle more than a ballet dancer. Topping that off, he as swim fins, er I mean size 14 feet. All I can say is.. WOW. ( en.wikipedia.org )
As for his performance, it is said that he has almost the perfect swimmers body. His arms extend (sideways) to a reach of over 6 feet (long arms), his torso is similarly long. He is tall, 6 foot 5, but has short legs (less drag apparently) and has double jointed ankles, so can bend his ankle more than a ballet dancer. Topping that off, he as swim fins, er I mean size 14 feet. All I can say is.. WOW. ( en.wikipedia.org )
2008 Aug 15
I guess HHH is pretty close with "Mike"..hehehe
I find it interesting though that teh Guardian's report says he eats "6 times more than the average man"...making that 2,000....really it should be 6 times more than is recommended for the average man. Because, really, my partner & I are dieting, and he's made 2,000 calories his daily goal--which tells you how many calories he was eating before (I'm trying to be between 1500 and 1800).
So really, he eats about 4 times the amount of the "average", but 6 times the "recommended" (I like semantics, what can I say!)
I find it interesting though that teh Guardian's report says he eats "6 times more than the average man"...making that 2,000....really it should be 6 times more than is recommended for the average man. Because, really, my partner & I are dieting, and he's made 2,000 calories his daily goal--which tells you how many calories he was eating before (I'm trying to be between 1500 and 1800).
So really, he eats about 4 times the amount of the "average", but 6 times the "recommended" (I like semantics, what can I say!)
2008 Aug 17
Pete (may I call you Pete).
I accept your criticism and it is probably warranted. I am not really sure, just pretty sure, and have no evidence one way or another. After a decade of abusing my body, the birth of my daughter flipped some sort of internal switch. I've spent the last 18 months studying nutrition and base physiology (OCD anyone?). I've probably read over 25 books, countless websites, and have done interviews with nutrionists, sports therapists, fitness advisors, and trainers for the Senators, Windsor Lancers, and Detroit Lions. I'm an engineer by trade (surprised?) and it is the specific science behind how the body processes food that intrigues me, specifically the caloric deficit concept. I won't expound on the complexities of the "calories in" and "calories out" terms that are simplified by many thousands of "diet" websites today. Someday I hope to write a book.... although I'll probably be beaten to it by one of several more experienced people I've spoken with recently.
P.S. an offensive NFL guard during preseason training programs is expected to maintain a 4500 - 5000 k/cal per day diet with 1.2g protein for every pound of body weight. Average weight for guards is about 350lbs. 420g of protein is 1680kcal or 37% of the caloric intake, saturated fats are limited to 20% or 100g (not a lot - relatively speaking). And these guys are "large". That doesn't leave much room for saturated fats. Of course, the Lions are perennially terrible, maybe their S&C coach doesn't know what he is talking about.
My concern about the article, even if all of the information was correct, is that it was irresponsible journalism - not specifically pointing out that Mike is a freak of nature. Google "Mike Phelps Diet" and read some of the forums which pop up. There are an amazing number of impressionable people making comments about their own diet and an equal number mistakenly believing that simply "working off" their poor diet choices negates the negative impact on their overall health.
I accept your criticism and it is probably warranted. I am not really sure, just pretty sure, and have no evidence one way or another. After a decade of abusing my body, the birth of my daughter flipped some sort of internal switch. I've spent the last 18 months studying nutrition and base physiology (OCD anyone?). I've probably read over 25 books, countless websites, and have done interviews with nutrionists, sports therapists, fitness advisors, and trainers for the Senators, Windsor Lancers, and Detroit Lions. I'm an engineer by trade (surprised?) and it is the specific science behind how the body processes food that intrigues me, specifically the caloric deficit concept. I won't expound on the complexities of the "calories in" and "calories out" terms that are simplified by many thousands of "diet" websites today. Someday I hope to write a book.... although I'll probably be beaten to it by one of several more experienced people I've spoken with recently.
P.S. an offensive NFL guard during preseason training programs is expected to maintain a 4500 - 5000 k/cal per day diet with 1.2g protein for every pound of body weight. Average weight for guards is about 350lbs. 420g of protein is 1680kcal or 37% of the caloric intake, saturated fats are limited to 20% or 100g (not a lot - relatively speaking). And these guys are "large". That doesn't leave much room for saturated fats. Of course, the Lions are perennially terrible, maybe their S&C coach doesn't know what he is talking about.
My concern about the article, even if all of the information was correct, is that it was irresponsible journalism - not specifically pointing out that Mike is a freak of nature. Google "Mike Phelps Diet" and read some of the forums which pop up. There are an amazing number of impressionable people making comments about their own diet and an equal number mistakenly believing that simply "working off" their poor diet choices negates the negative impact on their overall health.
2008 Aug 17
The Michael Phelps diet reminds me of a show I once watched that detailed the food intake of a "World's Strongest Man" competitor. He was eating loads of fatty calories -- including a full pound of bacon as part of his breakfast each morning. Shocking, for sure, but he competed and did rather well. The fact is, that in the short term, all an athlete needs is available energy. If Michael Phelps eats this way only during the Olympics, then his french toast breakfasts won't have much impact on his health 10 years from now.
Nutrition is a long-term process. From one day to the next, the saturated fat in bacon gives you the same energy as healthy olive oil. The difference between the two shows up only much later. The same goes for vegetables in your diet. Michael Phelps doesn't need to eat veggies to win medals at age 23. But he'll need them to increase his odds of staying healthy through his 30's, 40's, and beyond.
BTW, I tried to find more on strong man competition diets and found this tidbit about Polish strong man Mariusz Pudzianowski (www.bellaonline.com):
"To maintain his best he trains twice a day 5 days a week and amazingly eats more chocolate in a day than I would probably get through in a month. It is said that he starts the day with ten eggs and 3lbs of bacon, (can you even imagine !) followed by a meal of Polish pork chops and all the trimmings at lunch, and ending in protein shakes and chocolate for dinner (that is not even including the snacks in between). It does not stop there, as he wakes during the night to fuel up on more chocolate!!"
Nutrition is a long-term process. From one day to the next, the saturated fat in bacon gives you the same energy as healthy olive oil. The difference between the two shows up only much later. The same goes for vegetables in your diet. Michael Phelps doesn't need to eat veggies to win medals at age 23. But he'll need them to increase his odds of staying healthy through his 30's, 40's, and beyond.
BTW, I tried to find more on strong man competition diets and found this tidbit about Polish strong man Mariusz Pudzianowski (www.bellaonline.com):
"To maintain his best he trains twice a day 5 days a week and amazingly eats more chocolate in a day than I would probably get through in a month. It is said that he starts the day with ten eggs and 3lbs of bacon, (can you even imagine !) followed by a meal of Polish pork chops and all the trimmings at lunch, and ending in protein shakes and chocolate for dinner (that is not even including the snacks in between). It does not stop there, as he wakes during the night to fuel up on more chocolate!!"
2008 Aug 18
Reminds me of a former room mate who was very overweight and used to eat bacon-and-egg breakfasts all the time. He came from a farming background and one time when I was giving him "the look" abut his breakfast, he said "there's nothing wrong with a good farmer's breakfast" and without a split second pause I replied with "yeah, as long as you are working the fields all day" :-)
2008 Aug 18
One of the fittest(-looking) people I know is a fantastic cyclist/marathoner/always full of energy...and lives on take-out pizza, large quantities of ju-jubes, and Dr. Pepper.
One of the least fit(-looking) people I know does little/no exercise, looks like a mushroom...and eats organically, is a vegetarian, and takes oodles of supplement$.
Bonus quiz! Who really IS healthier?
I was a bit skeptical of that report on Phelps' diet but, seeing what athletes I know eat, find it a bit mind-boggling though know it's totally possible.
One of the least fit(-looking) people I know does little/no exercise, looks like a mushroom...and eats organically, is a vegetarian, and takes oodles of supplement$.
Bonus quiz! Who really IS healthier?
I was a bit skeptical of that report on Phelps' diet but, seeing what athletes I know eat, find it a bit mind-boggling though know it's totally possible.
2008 Aug 18
Vegetarian and organic eating doesn't do much if you're overeating and not exercising.
I'm in the process of trying to lose 30 pounds in a healthy way, alongside my better half: He, however, tends to start his mornings with chocolate bars and his evenings with Slush Puppies. I, on the other hand, with black coffee/tea, and toast.
He's a painting contractor though, so he gets away with it the way that Michael Phelps does...for now. I on the other hand, have a nice, coushy office job. I'm eating "healthier", but what it comes down to is how many calories are you eating, and how many are you burning?
I'm in the process of trying to lose 30 pounds in a healthy way, alongside my better half: He, however, tends to start his mornings with chocolate bars and his evenings with Slush Puppies. I, on the other hand, with black coffee/tea, and toast.
He's a painting contractor though, so he gets away with it the way that Michael Phelps does...for now. I on the other hand, have a nice, coushy office job. I'm eating "healthier", but what it comes down to is how many calories are you eating, and how many are you burning?
2008 Aug 18
Yes, HHH, you may call me Pete. I think FF hit the nail on the head with the difference between what can work now, and longer term consequences, which is also what I was trying (albeit with less adroit prose) say. If one follows the links on the original Guardian article, there is an accompanying article where the reporter 'tries out the Michael Phelps' diet, along with some commentary from both a nutritionist, and a food scientist. ( www.guardian.co.uk ) I've found people most often don't venture outside their expertise when evaluating something, or perhaps more to the point, they frame the question within their own experience and training. As a plumber what is wrong with your house, and she will undoubtedly tell you something is wrong with your plumbing (as opposed to electrical, or structural). In the above article, the nutritionist is skeptical about the dietary claims, but the food scientist just shrugs her shoulders and says she knows other athletes with similarly bizarre diets.
Before I totally forget my point, if there was one at all, the article in question basically shows that NOBODY but Mr. Phelps should be expecting that diet to work for them... so it seems there is some balanced reporting, at least on the other side of the pond.
Before I totally forget my point, if there was one at all, the article in question basically shows that NOBODY but Mr. Phelps should be expecting that diet to work for them... so it seems there is some balanced reporting, at least on the other side of the pond.
monty
I know if you're exercising almost 24/7 you'll need plenty of carbs, but I can't believe it's physically possible to workout after eating a meal like this!
[Phelps lends a new spin to the phrase "Breakfast of Champions" by starting off his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.
He follows that up with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.
At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.
For dinner, Phelps really loads up on the carbs - what he needs to give him plenty of energy for his five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week regimen - with a pound of pasta and an entire pizza.
He washes all that down with another 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.]
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