Most of us burn around 2000 calories a day, which is why we (try to) eat moderate amounts of healthy foods to keep up with what our bodies need. Olympians, however, might burn through 20 calories in a minute, and have to eat around 4000 to 6000 calories every day. How do they meet that quota? Well, how would you do it? The obvious way. A fairly common meal for Olympic athletes is, according to The Week, “a pound of pasta cooked with olive oil (800 calories), a dozen eggs (840 calories), an entire cheese pizza (2,000 calories) and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s cheesecake-brownie ice cream (1,000 calories).” Michael Phelps, the American hero, made headlines at the last Olympics by announcing his regular diet of 3 fried-egg sandwiches, a 5-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, 3 slices of French toast, and three pancakes with chocolate chips. Basically, it’s time for all of us to start training for the Olympics …
