The Summer Olympics has once again brought to the public attention the most physically conditioned athletes from around the world. But although they have enviable physiques, athletes who train for and compete in high endurance sports have the peculiar problem of having to work hard to maintain their weight. Sports like cycling, swimming, and long distance running can burn up to 20 calories a minute, and at peak training season, when athletes have workout sessions four or five hours long, they can burn as much as 4,000-6,000 calories. These calories need to be replenished in order for athletes’ bodies to recover and maintain their optimal weight. But doing so with traditional healthy food is simply impossible. It would take a garden full of vegetables to amount to 6,000 calories, and one can only have so much tofu and oatmeal. A single serving of tofu has about 170 calories while a bowl of oatmeal has just 150. The solution? Gorging on junk food.
Some dishes common to athletes competing at the London Olympics include a pound of pasta with olive oil (850 calories), an entire pizza (about 2000 calories), and a pint of ice cream (about 1,000) calories. They are also known to indulge in beer and high-calorie sports drinks like Red Bull and Monster.
At the most extreme end of Olympians who gorge is swimmer Michael Phelps, who consumes 12,000 calories a day when he is training. For breakfast alone, the 22-time gold medalist has three fried egg sandwiches, a five egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three pancakes, three pieces of French toast, and two cups of coffee.
Health professionals say that Phelps and other endurance athletes in his class can more or less consume whatever they like without much risk to their health. This is because, by virtue of their sports, their metabolisms are so fast, they burn just as much as they take in.