Michael Phelps and the 12,000 Calorie-a-day Diet

What does it take to be an Olympic champion? In fact, what does it take to be the most winning Olympic athlete in history? For Michael Phelps, it takes long, grueling workouts and an obscene amount of calories.

The big-footed kid from Baltimore captivated America and the world as he quickly swam to the top of the marquee in Beijing 2008. His record amount of eight gold medals in a single Games gave him the title of most Olympic gold medals – fourteen in all – as well as most medals won during one Olympics.

An unlikely hero, Phelps grew up as a fidgety youngster who had trouble concentrating, problems at school, and was constantly picked on by his peers. Diagnosed with ADHD, he was medicated for a while, but ultimately, it was his intense swimming routine that helped him cope with his learning disability. By middle school, Phelps was off drugs and turned to his swimming schedule to keep him grounded.

At 23 years old, he’s still got that level-headed, hard-working sense, but it takes a lot more to keep his engine going. After-school practices and nighttime swims have evolved into intense training sessions that take up five hours per day, six days per week. To maintain his fuel level, Phelps eats an unheard of 12,000 calories per day. To anyone whose seen his six pack, this seems impossible – but you also must consider how many calories he burns per hour in the pool. Swimming is naturally a huge calorie burner, but for a peak athlete like Phelps, the payoff is exponential. Experts estimate that Phelps burns 1000-1200 calories per hour when he’s in the water.

To keep up his energy, Phelps eats vast quantities of food. His breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals are comprised of 4,000 calories each. Instead of eating just pancakes or egg sandwiches or grits and an omelet, Michael will choose all of the above. Copious amounts of carbohydrate-laden pizza, pasta, and energy drinks are on hand to keep Phelps going as well. These eating practices are not sustainable for anyone other than an elite, world-class athlete – but for Michael Phelps, it seems to be doing a body good!