I was driving back from a meeting this morning and was listening to a news segment on Michael Phelps and was fascinated. He eats between 8,000-10,000 calories a day and weighs less than 200 pounds. Granted he spends about 5 hours a day training but still-that is a LOT of calories!!! His “typical” day consists of eat, train, sleep. Not a bad lifestyle I say.

I got back to my computer and did some research of my own to see what the typical athlete consumes.

Very few it seems are actually obsessed with counting calories or the food they consume. They see food as fuel and eat it to optimize and enhance their performance. I came across this quick Q & A that was done to find out what Dara Torres (whose picture hangs on my fridge currently for inspiration everytime I open the fridge,) Mary Lou Retton, Apolo Anton Ohno & Erik Vendt.

I always tell my clients (myself included) to try to view food as fuel and to surround workouts with proper food and hydration. It not only helps you recover faster from workouts but it also helps you have a healthier approach to food. Here is some more insight into what some high school athletes eat.