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‘I DO WHAT I LOVE’: INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL PHELPS – PAGE 7
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Short Description: Michael Phelps taking a lunch with children as he visits a US fast food chain restaurant in the Olympic Green in Beijing. The average adult man, ...
Content Inside: Page 1 Aug 24.qxd 8/23/2008 11:03 PM Page 1 2 Animals C M 3 Special Report Y K 4-5 TV & Radio 6-7 At Your Service 7-8 Entertainment GULF TIMES FEATURES Sunday, August 24, 2008 Yummy... and yuck! Michael Phelps, the greatest swimmer of all time, eats 12,000 calories a day. Eggs, mayonnaise and assorted fats make up a jaw-dropping proportion of his diet. How can he force it all down? And what is it doing to his body? With nothing to lose but his waistline, Jon Henley tries dining like an Olympic champion By Jon Henley bile rising, and manage a couple of H forks of pasta before, finally, ERE we go then: The blissfully, calling it a day. Michael Phelps Diet for Afterwards, six colleagues pile in Health, Happiness and More and eat their fill for lunch, and it Olympic Gold Medals Than still doesn't look like a dent has Anyone Else Ever. We'll ignore, been made in the insane, obscene, momentarily, the fact that the best illness-inducing mountain of food swimmer the world has seen stands that America's 11-time gold medal 1.93m tall, has a wingspan winner ploughs through every fingertip to fingertip of 2.00m, single day of his life. and weighs in at 87kg. Apparently, he worries about We'll ignore also the fact that he keeping his weight up. I'd worry spends most of his life in a pool, about not sinking. swimming at least 80km a week "I'm not surprised, dear," says very fast indeed, and the rest of it in Professor Janice Thompson, head of a gym. We'll ignore, finally, the fact Bristol University's department of that I am not quite as big as him, exercise, nutrition and health and do not, most days, get quite as sciences in south-west England, much exercise. when, belching quietly, I return to I am going to see what it is like to my desk. eat what Michael Phelps eats in a "There's no way you should be day. able to eat what Michael Phelps "It just smells so horrible," says a eats. This is not even a normal friend, helpfully, as we survey the athlete. I would not recommend this table before us. On it are a large kind of diet for even a fit and bowl of porridge; three doorstep- serious competitor in, say, a 10km sized sandwiches of white bread, road race. This man is in a very, butter, fried egg, fried onion, very different place to the rest of us. lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise; a He's 1.87m and 87kg of pure joy. five-egg omelette tastefully From a female perspective, garnished with parsley; three slices obviously. Though I probably of French toast liberally sprinkled shouldn't say that." with sugar; three pancakes topped I have here an example of a with chocolate chips; and two large Phelps training programme from cups of coffee. That's breakfast. 2002. I don't pretend to understand Yummy. it fully, but it looks pretty awesome Next to it is lunch, which consists ("pull", by the way, means arms of 1lb (that's a very large bowl) of only. No legs.) pasta with tomato sauce; two large "After a 4,500 short-course yards ham-and-cheese sandwiches with moderate morning practice," it more lettuce, tomato and don't reads, "warm-up: 800 mixer on forget the mayo; plus four bottles of 10:30, 4x150 kick on 2:30 (50 a proprietary high-energy sports stroke-50 free-50 stroke), 400 pull drink that always makes me burp. with buoy on 5:00 (breathe 3-5-7-9 For dinner, it's another pound of by 100), 200 stroke on 3:00, 10x50 pasta, a large cheese-and-tomato on: 45 (2-25kick/25drill 2- Michael Phelps taking a lunch with children as he visits a US fast food chain restaurant in the Olympic Green in Beijing. The average adult man, depending on age, pizza, and another four bottles of 25free/25stroke 1-stroke). height and weight, requires between 2,200 and 2,800 calories a day. According to most media estimates, Phelps's daily intake amounts to around 12,000 calories. the same proprietary high-energy Main set: 4x50 on 1:30, 1x50 sports drink that always makes me 1:20, 1x50 1:10, 1x50 1:00, 1x50: "I would certainly have expected classes. Footballers, meanwhile, burp. "You poor thing," says the 0:50, 1x50 0:40, 1x50 0:30. Long him to be eating a bit less fat - and are a lot more diet-conscious now friend, generously. "I so don't envy Swim Down: 100-200-300 pull it's all saturated fat, the wrong kind. than they were when Gary Lineker you." (lungbusters by quarters), 400 I suppose the point with an athlete played for Barcelona and So we kick off with the porridge, choice kick, 300-200-100 IM like Phelps, though, is that he needs discovered the benefits of pasta which is the nearest we could get to Drills." a very high calorie intake but a very versus steak and chips. One of the large helping of grits the 23- What that means, as far as I can low volume, whereas with the rest Arsene Wenger's first moves as year-old reportedly consumes. It work it out, is that Phelps swam 12- of us it's the precise reverse: we manager of Arsenal was reportedly wasn't bad, actually, a reasonably 13km at assorted, gradually need a low calorie intake and high to put the team on a strict diet, and breakfasty kind of thing, and really increasing speeds using a variety of volume." Thierry Henry is said to have rather comforting given the massive strokes (or half-strokes). He then Thompson concurs. "Phelps's employed his own dietician. scale of the task ahead. (and this is the real killer) got out of primary fuel source is going to be England manager Fabio Capello I manage, I'd imagine, a normal- the pool and, according to the carbohydrates," she says, "and he's this month told striker Dean Ashton sized kind of a portion: 10 good programme, did "500 abdominals, going to be burning them at a truly he will have to shed a couple of spoonfuls. The fried egg, fried and some stretching". Undeniably, phenomenal rate. There's protein in kilos if he wants to be considered onion, lettuce, tomato and the man expends a lot of energy. But there too, obviously, which he needs for the national team. mayonnaise sandwiches are more of can a diet like this one, made up to maintain and repair muscle mass Many sportsmen and women also a challenge. It's the mayo, I think; essentially of eggs and cheese and and tissue. But for someone like balloon spectacularly once they somehow, you don't quite expect to bread and pasta, with a little bit of him, in a sport like his, it's really a retire: think Greg LeMond, be scarfing down mayo first thing in greenery thrown in for luck, really question of how many Matthew Pinsent and most the morning. It's greasy, and it help him? I mean that's not what carbohydrates he can get in, as spectacularly of all, Maradona. Can smells. most of us would call a healthy diet, quickly as possible. a diet like Phelps's possibly be I start to feel slightly queasy. But is it? "So this diet might look very high healthy long-term? I struggle through half an egg The average adult man, in fat, but if he had to eat this same "It's very hard for athletes when sandwich one-sixth of what depending on age, height and number of calories in a diet that they stop," says Thompson. "Most Phelps manages and push on to weight, requires between 2,200 and contained, for example, more fruit have been training since they were the five-egg omelette. Not bad 2,800 calories a day. According to and vegetables, he'd simply never children, remember, and it's a very either: under normal circumstances most media estimates, Phelps's manage it. His body just couldn't difficult transition to make. They I might quite have enjoyed this. It daily intake the three meals hold it. His intestines would give have to be very, very careful was nice and fluffy on the outside described above amounts to up. because they're going to be cutting and satisfyingly runny in the around 12,000 calories. "He's lucky as it is that he doesn't their level of activity to maybe a middle. Most importantly, it did not Anita Bean, sports nutritionist have a sensitive digestive system. fifth, and their diet has to change contain mayonnaise. and author of Food for Fitness, That's one of the myriad factors that accordingly." Half the omelette consumed, and finds it slightly hard to believe even contribute to make him the "I'd worry he might be clogging it was time for the French toast. I Phelps can be expending quite as exceptional performer he is." up his system," says Bean. "I might can't remember the last time I ate many calories as that. "Say he's Phelps is indeed lucky: many top- design him a similar diet but with a French toast and I seem to have doing about 6-7km a session, and a level athletes have tremendous bit more fibre, maybe wholegrain forgotten it was made with eggs. couple of sessions a day," she says, problems with their diets. Jennifer pastas and bread. It's plainly not There are, I begin to think, rather a "plus his land training I'd say he's Sey's were the reverse of Phelps's; affecting his performance, but many lot of eggs in this meal. I feel burning maybe 5,000 calories in the former US gymnast revealed in people would be constipated on a slightly more queasy. training, and maybe 2,500 simply to a shocking book published in the diet like that. That said, we all have Plus, I'm now chewing a lot. You sustain himself. Something like run-up to the Beijing Olympics that different needs. know that feeling, when you have to 8,000 a day in all? Mind you, he is young girl gymnasts routinely binge "The important thing for right chew an awful lot or you know a very big bloke. I haven't looked at and purge their food and suffer from now is that what he's eating works. you'll never get it down? One his schedules, but 12,000 seems a what most doctors would call eating He's like a turbo-powered engine mouthful at a time. Slowly. Don't lot." disorders. revved up to maximum speed, and think eggs. Or mayonnaise. Which, Thompson appears less surprised. Sey recounts how one coach that's the only reason he's burning it obviously, contains eggs. "I've worked with extreme athletes, picked up a loudhailer and berated all up. Different athletes handle Phelps celebrating his eighth Gold Medal of the Beijing Games. The 23-year-old Phelps has now And there are still the choc-chip triathletes for example who work one of her team-mates in public for carbohydrates differently. He's overtaken compatriot Mark Spitz, whose seven swimming golds at Munich in 1972 were the most pancakes to come. I force down phenomenally hard, who expend putting on 1kg. Sey's coach told her obviously converting them very, at a single Games. one-and-a-half of those, very between 6,000 and 10,000 calories a off for eating a whole bagel for very effectively, but it's not a slowly, with the help of both mugs day," she says. dinner. sustainable diet long-term." in storage mode. And it really everything vaguely sinful. It's not choco-chip pancakes and several of coffee. I feel dreadful. Gross, "I can believe someone like Only last week, a 27kg Chinese What both Thompson and Bean wouldn't do to be storing what the case." forkfuls of pasta (not to mention bloated, uncomfortable, sick. Phelps is getting through 12,000. gymnast revealed she had long ago are clear about, however, is that you've just eaten on a regular The problem for anyone normal the lashings of mayonnaise, which I The friend, bless, makes little And the point is, it's plainly stopped eating anything after lunch. Phelps's gargantuan daily food basis." who eats like Phelps, of course, is had, until now, forgotten)? Hard to motherly clucking noises as I cram working for him, isn't it? Nobody Boxers, too, have their issues: intake is absolutely not suitable for Thompson manages to find a that it would be physically say, really. Especially since at a serviette urgently to my mouth, could say he's not performing well. British boxer Frankie Gavin, the a normal person to consider silver lining. "The good lesson for impossible for most of them to present I'd feel I was doing pretty breathing deeply. "You don't look He's quite clearly expending what world lightweight champion, failed emulating. the rest of us in all this," she says expend anything like 12,000 well if I managed to walk slowly very well," she observes. "Some he's consuming, and - just like all of to make his weight for the Beijing "Look, he needs these vast cheerily, "is that if we do increase calories a day. In a good hour of down the stairs. Let alone bend water? A break?" us - that's what counts." games and had to return home last amounts of carbohydrates simply to our level of physical activity, we dedicated jogging, Thompson over and tie the laces of my We pause. I make a few calls and Calories aside, Bean is concerned week, while American get through the training sessions, let can afford to relax a little with the points out, "the average person is trainers. write a bit, not very well (it shows). by the makeup of the swimmer's bantamweight Gary Russell Jr has alone compete," says Bean. "He diet. If we go to the gym or exercise going to burn about 400 calories". On no account, in fact, thinking And hey, guess what: it's diet. "It does look quite salty, quite also had to leave the Olympic eats, swims and sleeps, and that's regularly, we can allow ourselves So what do I need to do to burn about it, will I do that. The lunchtime! I find I cannot so much fatty, not very high in good fibre or village after collapsing unconscious about it. When it comes to carbs, the odd little treat. A lot of people off my bowl of porridge, half a consequences are too unseemly to as look at the mayo-plastered ham- in fruit and veg - he's certainly not while trying to make his weight. he's in burn mode; most of us make that mistake they think fried-egg sandwich, half a five-egg contemplate. Guardian News & and-cheese sandwiches without the getting his five a day," she warns. Both were too heavy for their particularly the couch potatoes are they've got to deny themselves omelette, slice of French toast, two Media `I DO WHAT I LOVE': INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL PHELPS PAGE 7
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