This Is How Many Calories Some Olympic Athletes Eat a Day
With the 2018 Winter Olympics around the corner, everyone's eyes are turning to Pyeongchang and all the Olympic athletes set to compete. One big question on everyone's mind — aside from who will take home the gold, of course? What are the athletes eating? Almost as thrilling as the games themselves is considering how many calories an athlete pushing him or herself to max each day has to consume.
U.S. Ski and Snowboard dietician and chef Megan Chacosky tells ABC that she works with the athletes to create individualized diets based on their sport and personal needs. Three-time Olympian Resi Stiegler, an alpine skiier has celiac, for example, so she needs to follow a strict gluten-free diet. All told, Chacosky will be making roughly 3,000 meals for the team.
"That's why I think about it one day at a time," Chacosky says.
Though everyone has different requirements, most athletes are eating around 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day, the chef says.
It's a far cry from the 12,000 calories a day that Michael Phelps supposedly eats. And the meals sound healthier than egg and cheese sandwiches covered in mayo, topped off by chocolate chip pancakes. Chacosky will prepare dishes like miso-ginger salmon, burrito bowls and roast chicken. A trained pastry chef, she'll also make desserts like banana bread and chocolate chip cookies.
Local vendors will be providing the Olympic village will produce and packaged food, and you can expect to see local specialties like buckwheat noodles, rainbow trout and dried pollack alongside international cuisine. Let the games begin.
