Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Come on people, the reason 'empty calories' and 'junk food' are normally a bad thing is that, when you eat them, you're not usefully contributing to the key elements of a balanced diet, so you will end up needing to consume more food in order to get the recommended daily allowances to keep your body running in good condition.

If you live in a third world country such as India, much of your diet consists of the empty calories in white rice, and you'll probably end up with the diseases and early deaths that malnutrition brings. At the other extreme, the likely result in a Westerner is that you'll be eating more calories than you're burning, so you'll put on weight.

Once in shape, swimmers generally don't have a huge mass of muscle to build or maintain, so their requirements for proteins, vitamins, and so on are only 1-2 times those of 'normal' people [ref]. But they have a massively larger need for calories (i.e. 4-5 times), and of course the easiest way to get that massive dose of additional calories is through 'empty calories' - lots of fats and sugars.

If he were to keep the same diet once he stops swimming competitively he'd be breaking scales not records!

Oh yeah and Phelps at 6'4", wearing size 14 shoes (also used in the single kayak races later on) seems to use his calories efficiently, don't we think? as Right N points out, look at the results. And look at the man's body. Do you see an unhealthy man? He's not skinny, but he is stream-lined. He's able to swim 8 races in, what, 6 days? Breaking records (some of which he set) in every single race (one was only an olympic record, the other 7 were world records) some won thanks to 3 teammates. It does seem like lots of sugar and carbohydrates, but it clearly fuels his engine.

None of us can compare what we do and how we eat to the regimen of an elite athlete, no matter how active we are, can we? It's just flat out different for them.

Someone left a comment regarding the "empty calories" in the things Mr. Phelps was eating. Although the things he eats are not viewed as health food by the health gestapo they are far from empty calories. Just look at the results Mike is getting, he is a champion. Do a little more research next time.

I used to work as bike courier too...I survived on pastry and really messed up my health, but I didn't get fat. It can be hard to get enough calories when you're doing lots of exercise, especially if you want to eat healthy food (lean meat, vegies, whole grains) which takes a lot more time to eat for a given caloric amount.

@BrooklynBrownie: I couldn't agree more - life would be sweet (no pun intended) if I could eat like he does. Unfortunately the 5 kilos of bacon grease sitting around my mid-section dictates a life of moderation...

I saw a video talking about one of the female swimmer's diets - she eats a lot, but her coach insists on whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and "pure foods." So I think Phelps needs a lot of calories, but they don't really need to come from junk.

It's too bad that there is no Hash House A-Go-Go near him...he could easily meet his daily caloric intake at that restaurant. Try Sage Fried Chicken w/ maple reduction, 2 eggs, bacon mashed potatoes & a biscuit (which is the size of both of my fists balled together.

No offense, but playing tennis, stopping and starting for 2 hours a day is not equal to 6 hours of extremely intense continuous exercise. Swimmers train super-hard and long, and as a runner, I have to say, often swimmers train even longer than most runners (except for ultramarathoners) because it's a non-impact, non-weight bearing exercise. Running for 6 hrs a day would lead to injuries because of the pounding (with a few superhuman exceptions) but swimmers are in the pool from dawn to dusk. Even most of us who have competed at athletics can't compare to Michael because the harder you work out the more calories you burn and he's working at an intensity most people can't manage.

I play tennis for 2 hours every day, and I just cannot comprehend how Phelps manages to train on a tummyfull of all that stuff. Personally, I have a very small breakfast consisting of either a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich or granola and coffee. As I play tennis from 8 to 10pm in the summer, I abstain from eating anything after 1pm. My lunch consists of either fruit or salad. If I eat anything heavier or later than that time, then I feel quite ill on the court and cannot play. So how does Phelps do it?

Why would you assume low fat? Still stuck in the 1980's way of thinking?

Last I looked, Mayo is made from veg oil.

It's more on par with 80% of Houston's (or any other leading fat US city) food eaters who I think might not be as svelte as Phelps, but they are much more "comfortable with themselves".

This isn't too surprising, the announcers were saying that the women's gymnastics team (who are 5-foot nothing, and a lot lighter frame than Phelps) eat around 8,000 calories a day, and even then they're at an almost unhealthy low level of body fat.

I do have to say, that much breakfast is just plain beautiful.