Eight to Ten THOUSAND calories a day!? How does he do it? How can Michael Phelps eat that many calories and remain so lean? That's the question on everyone's mind as they look at themselves and wonder how two thousand calories can do so much damage to their waist line.
As an Olympian every day is planned from the first waking moment to the last with meals and training schedules. And it usually looks something like this, Eat, Train, Sleep. That's it. For most of us non-Olympians our days consist of Eat, Work, Sleep, somewhere along the line we forget the training. Training is the variable that allows Michael Phelps to eat that many calories and get away with it. In actuality Michael Phelps may only retain two to three thousand of the calories he ingests daily.
Let's do some math. If you were to weigh 200 pounds and could swim 50yds in one minute you would expend approximately 14 calories per lap. Now, if you could keep that pace for 60 laps in one hour you would burn approximately 840 calories. Knowing that Michael is a pretty fast swimmer we can safely say he can swim at such an intensity as to burn more calories per hour than your average recreational swimmer. In fact, he covers that same distance in less than half that time when he is on record pace. Swimmers will spend anywhere from 4 to 5 hours in the water per day. Multiply the 840 calories per hour by 5 and you get 4,200 calories used during practice sessions. This is likely lower than Phelps's due to the volume of laps he is able to achieve compared to the average swimmer. Now the amount of calories an Olympian takes in starts to make sense. More energy exerted through training equals more energy intake needed. Food is energy.
Say he eats 8,000 calories a day but leaves 4,200 of it in the water for training. That leaves him with a 3,800 calorie balance. For an Olympic athlete that weighs approximately 200 pounds this amount would allow them to maintain their bodyweight. But remember, we calculated that Michael likely burns more calories than the average 4,200 leaving him with less calories to live on. Michael's concern isn't calorie intake, it is the cumulative affect it has on his training, allowing him to have the energy to train to win.
The volume and intensity of training is a huge factor in calorie expenditure and allowable food intake. The higher the intensity and frequency of training the better. Especially when it concerns burning calories as most of us non-Olympians want to do. The amount of high intensity exercise is directly related to the amount of calories you can eat without gaining weight or working towards losing those unwanted pounds. Training like an Olympian isn't just for Olympians anymore.
If you would like to have a fitness related question answered in this column please email it to
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Gary Peloquin LMT PFT is the Owner/Director of BodyLogix Fitness Inc. He can be contacted at
BodyLogix Fitness & Performance Center. 1830 NE Dixie Hwy, Jensen Beach, Florida 34957 772-225-5555
Bodylogix@bellsouth.net
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