(Newswire.net — August 14, 2016) — Swimmer Michael Phelps has won 21 gold medals at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He broke a 96 year old record, and became the oldest athlete to win a gold medal in the individual competition.
Before him, the record was held by Duke Kahanamoku, a Hawaiian native, who competed for the US. He was 30 years old when he won the gold medal in the 100 meters at the Olympic Games in Antwerp. Phelps achieved the same success aged 31.
That’s why many are wondering what the secret of his success is, how he works out, and what does the most successful Olympian of all time eat?
According to the Independent, nowadays Phelps eats a large bowl of porridge, a large omelette with ham and cheese, fresh fruit and coffee for breakfast. But in the past, in 2008, before the Olympic Games in Beijing, things were a whole lot different.
The famous swimmer would eat around 12,000 calories a day, or 4,000 calories per meal.
For breakfast Phelps would eat three fried eggs, sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. He would also have two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelette, a bowl of grains, three slices of French toast, and three chocolate chip pancakes.
After that, Phelps would have pasta, two large ham and cheese sandwiches and 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks for lunch. Dinner would be more pasta, pizza and energy drinks.
By 2012 though, his meal plan had calmed down a bit, as he told Men’s Health at the time. But he’d still consume a ton of calories.
These days, Phelps prefers to have a footlong sandwich for lunch, and then grains, meat and veg for dinner, reports the Independent.
In an interview in the past, he explained that he is a fan of Mexican and grilled food. He loves hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, and grilled chicken.
According to the Business Insider, after winning the gold medal in the men’s 4×100 freestyle, Phelps said that he forced himself to eat a pound of spaghetti, regardless of the fact that he is not a fan of that kind of food.