Ridiculously High-Calorie Diets Edit
Caloric Consumption of Beijing Olympic Athletes

It’s a Herculean effort to consume enough calories to power an Olympic athlete; the 2,000-calorie diet recommended for mere mortals is vastly insufficient for these elite individuals. Today’s New York Times explores the calories six Beijing Olympians consume on a daily basis. On the low end, there’s Cheryl Haworth, a weightlifter who consumes 3,000-4,000 calories a day. Rower Brett Newlin, on the other hand, eats 6,000 calories per day.

But what of swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time? His daily recommended calorie intake is 8,000-10,000 calories. A god among men, at least in the swimming and eating departments.