Columns

Print this story | Email this story |

Comment (No comments posted.) |

Rate |

Text Size

Talk of the Town: Diet like an Olympian...if you dare!

By Regina Ford

Published: Saturday, August 16, 2008 10:54 PM MDT

Swimmer Michael Phelps could probably be the next Nathan’s Hot Dog eating champ if he really wanted another title besides being the most gold-medal winning Olympian in the history of the games.

Besides grabbing six gold medals at the Beijing Olympics so far (it may be more by the time this is published), he’s got to be setting new records in the world of eating.

A New York Post report of Phelps’s astonishing 12,000-calorie-a-day diet boggles the goggles.

Here’s Phelps’ typical diet.

Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelet. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks packing 1,000 calories.

Dinner: One pound of pasta. An entire pizza. More energy drinks.

Think about what you ate this morning.

I had a bagel and two cups of coffee. Should I feel a little malnourished?

Altogether, Phelps consumes 12,000 calories a day while in training. Compared to the 2,500-3,000 calories a day the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends for men depending on age and activity level, Phelps’ diet seems outrageous.

But it is, in fact, a completely normal diet for an Olympic athlete like Phelps, said Tanya Zuckerbrot, a nutritionist and author of “The F-Factor.”

“Look at his picture, he’s completely ripped,” Zuckerbrot said. “He is clearly burning that many calories — if he wasn’t, he would look chubby.”

Zuckerbrot said Phelps probably doesn’t eat that many calories during his off-training season as his high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet would be dangerous to his health.

These meals are important, Zuckerbrot said, because the breads and pasta are made up of refined carbohydrates, which digest quickly and give him instant energy.

Zuckerbrot said she would not recommend Phelps’ diet to the average person who hopes to have a high intensity work out at the gym for an hour, but then sit at their desk all day.

The Computer Club of Green Valley should be very proud indeed. The club had a whopping nine photo entries in the Southwest Computer Conference held in San Diego, Calif., earlier this summer with 243 members in attendance, two from Green Valley—Kathy Frey and Lee Laughner. The conference featured numerous workshops where attendees could learn new ideas and technology.

One of the exciting events at the conference was the digital photo contest. To participate in the contest, the computer clubs had to have at least one member in attendance. There were four categories up for prizes in the photo competition: people, nature, still life and animals. Out of the 12 prizes awarded, the Computer Club of Green Valley brought home four.

First-place honors were awarded to Jerry Marrion for his entry in the nature category and to Jim Lokon for an entry in the people category.

Second-place prizes were awarded to Jerry Marrion in the still life category and to Sherman Frey for his entry in the people category.

Well done to the Green Valley Fire District and its very successful fundraiser to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association held at American Family Restaurant last Thursday. Thanks to American Family’s Don Herk and Kathy Wagner for all their generosity and a $1,000 donation to the cause.

GVFD personnel were waiting on tables and taking orders when I arrived about 5 p.m., just in time for dinner. I managed to see several firefighters looking pretty busy, including Chief Simon Davis, Capt. Joey Kosiorowski, Fire Marshal Mark Stonestreet, and firefighter Brandon Christensen to name a few.

I had the chance to chat with Capt. Melissa Smith, the GVFD spokesperson who informed me that the Fire District collected a whopping $3,652 in donations from tips and money collected in the “fill the boot” drive.

I also met with Noah Spencer, 10, a friend of GVFD who enjoys taking ride-a-longs on the fire truck.

Melissa’s daughter Jazmyn Smith, 10, a student at Sahuarita Intermediate School, was also on hand helping out.

My pal and Green Valley News chief photographer Mario Aguilar and his wife Darla were there, too.

Look for more fundraisng projects throughout the year sponsored by the GVFD—our local heros.

I’m off to carb up for my workout. It will take me 60 minutes on the treadmill to work off the calories in that bagel.

rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740


		Genealogy Today: Cousin, cousin, who is your cousin?

Article Rating

Reader Comments

The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of gvnews.com.

Submit a Comment

We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.

Return to: Columns « | Home « | Top of Page ^

Today's Weather

Green Valley, AZ