Holy crap Michael Phelps!

[Specter]

Did anyone else see that?! Well it wasn't exactly him. it was the US Team.
Phelps beat world record now with 8 gold medals.
YAY USA!

[CROC]

Yep, I saw it. I swear, Phelps is a freak of nature. Apparently, he consumes 17000 calories daily, and although he is only 6'4", he has an armspan of 6'7".

For those concerned, he eats the equivalent of about 25 Big Macs daily.

[cantab]

12,000 is what I heard.

It's a lot, but he basically spends most of his training day in the pool. Water drains heat from your body much more effectively then air, thus requiring eating extra calories, even before he actually starts swimming.

[CROC]

So it is 12,000. Still, thats lots of food, even I couldn't eat that much in a week I don't think.

EDIT: Here is his diet: (The whole quote is a link to the original page)

An average Phelps' meal consists of 4,000 calories.

He told NBC he begins the day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.

Phelps' washes it down with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches with lashings of mayo on white bread - and chasing the sammies with 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

Then dinner is served, Phelps five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week regimen is rewarded with a pound of pasta and an entire pizza.

Followed by 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks, again.

[Silence]

Wow, that really puts into perspective. Wow. Cool water, lots of muscle, and a high metabolism all probably play a part in his calorie consumption.

Phelps got lucky with a couple of his wins, but in the end it's fun to watch. I'm sure some of the swimmers who got shortchanged are a little frustrated, but oh well.

[Specter]

Damn thats a lot of food. haha.
anyways Congrats to him