Michael Phelps Diet

The news is out-Michael Phelps eats 12000 calories per day. The question is:  how much of what the media is telling us is actually true?   According to WebMd, he reportedly eats 8000-10000 calories per day.  According to the Wall Street Journal, it's up to 12000 calories per day.  Yes, he is a competitive swimmer and he is Michael Phelps, however, 12000 really does seem like a lot. 

If he's swimming 6 days per week for 5 hours per day, and he weighs 190 pounds and is 6'4" I think that 12000 calories may be a little high, however, it's still possible.  My guess is that he may eat a little closer to 8000-10000 calories.   I would estimate  his resting metabolic rate including a factor for daily activites to be approximately  3600 calories, and he's probably burning about 4000-5000 calories swimming.  This equals about 8600 calories per day. He may need a little more for training outside of the pool, however, training enough to bring he needs up to 12000 calories would be quite a bit. 

I also hope that the media has made a mistake saying that he is drinking 'energy drinks' instead of 'sports drinks' that have electrolytes and are properly formulated for athletes.  11 cans of Red Bull per day — for an olympic athlete — I hope none of our high school and college athletes are using this as a model for good nutrition for athletes.

All I can say is that 12000 calories is a LOT of food for anyone.  It's definitely hard work to get in those calories.