What Elite Athletes Eat: Michael Phelps
Elite athletes get a lot of support, including access to world-class nutritional advice, so you would expect that they do the right thing nutritionally. However, that is not always the case. Following the diets of your heroes is not always the best advice, but looking at what they eat and what they do may still be interesting and educational.
swimmers need to consume a large amount of calories Ex-Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has given some insights into his diet and pre-competition routine.
Athletes who train for hours every day need a lot of calories to provide the energy for all that activity. There is an oft-repeated story about the number of calories that Phelps consumed around the time of the 2008 Beijing Games. He was reported to consume an astonishing 12,000 calories a day, which he later said was a myth.
Phelps was asked what he eats before a big swimming meet in the morning, and how long before the meet that he eats that meal. His reply? "I usually try to eat a lot of calories. With so many events it is important to sustain a high level of energy through the entire meet. I usually eat two hours before a meet." Depending on the size of the meal and what food is eaten, you should eat from half an hour up to four hours before competing. Check out our articles on pre-exercise nutrition.
Related Pages
- What NBA Superstars Lebron James and Steph Curry Eats for Performance
- Drink Like A Champion — Elite Athlete Drink Endorsements
- More about Pre-exercise Nutrition
- Carbohydrate Loading
- What to eat before fitness testing
- Profile of swimmer Michael Phelps
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