The Real-Life Diet of Michael Phelps, Who Is No Longer Eating 10,000 Calories a Day

The first association you have with Michael Phelps is almost certainly that he's one of the greatest athletes of all time, period. He's the most-decorated Olympian ever (28 medals!), and the swimmer (and his abs) spent a better part of the last 20 years dominating and chopping it up with Bob Costas. The second association is very likely that he's one of the all-time great eaters: You might remember tall tales in the run up to the Beijing Olympics, of 10,000 calorie days, “cramming” whatever he could into his body to get ready to spend five hours in the water.

But now that he’s officially retired, the father of three is world’s away from the diet of his athletic prime—and figuring out what works for him now took some work. GQ recently caught up with Phelps, who is busy promoting his new partnership with Silk Ultra, to unpack his new and improved diet (which includes a lot of vegetables), how things have shifted for him during the pandemic, and his biggest goal now that he’s hung up his swimsuit.

For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and everyone in between about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.

GQ: When does your day start?

Michael Phelps: I’m up between 5:30 and 6:30, usually because of a screaming child. After a couple of the kids jump into bed with us, then I’m getting my day started. Every one’s different, but I know how important food is, so I always start to eat very early. I would like to say I’m the chef in the house. I make most breakfasts and every dinner, and I’m always trying to incorporate as many nutrients as possible because I’ve always treated my body like it’s a high-performance race car.

Usually I’ll make a smoothie that has spinach, almond milk, cacao nibs, figs, and Silk Ultra (I love the creamy chocolate), and I’ll also have a cup of coffee. Or, I’ll make some eggs. Really depends on what the boys are feeling, too. After breakfast, then we drop the boys at school and then my wife and I go to the gym.

What does your workout routine look like these days?

Well firstly, working out has been an intricate part of my life for a greater part of 20 years. It’s so important for me to stay on that fitness plan, which has been extremely difficult since early 2020. I’m used to going to the gym and the pool, and like many others I’ve had to make due at times with whatever we can find around the house to piece together a workout. I’m big on HIIT training (like this 10-minute HIIT workout that I put together). Working out helps me be the best me.

At the gym, my wife and I lift three days a week for about an hour to an hour and a half. Then, the other days we typically do some type of cardio. We might do it together, we might not. She’ll do Pilates and yoga, whereas I’ll swim or hop on the elliptical or something.

After that grabbing lunch and a snack, I'll hop on some calls, do some work with my agent—on the different projects that we have going on. Then I'll pick the kids up from school and let them go crazy in the backyard to get all that energy out.

How has the way you eat shifted now that you’re retired?

Post-retirement it’s challenging to eat sometimes. Think about this: For 25 years, eating was a part of my job, it was a part of my profession. Because of that, I have a deep understanding of what my body needs. I’m not trying to plow food into my system now. It’s different. After I retired I put on 30 to 35 pounds to end up at just under 230. It was a significant body change for me, and I knew that I had to get back into some kind of routine.

I really want to make sure I’m giving my body the best chance to be healthy and be the best me. Right now, my goal is to build and repair muscle. Back in my heyday, I had a trainer and a team who had every stat on me possible to help me perform and be the best. So maybe thinking of foods this way is easier for me because I’ve been an athlete and I understand how everything works.

When you realized you wanted to make a change, what was the hardest part?

Cleaning up your diet is hard. There were ups and downs. When I did clean up my diet, I saw a significant change in how I felt—I've reminded myself of that time and time again. I was seeing more clearly in all aspects of my life, and didn’t feel like a blob.

What happens for lunch and dinner?

Lunch is the one thing that I will be the most inconsistent with, since often after the gym I’ll have a second breakfast. For both lunch and dinner, I really think a lot about vegetables. For whatever reason, I feel like I hear my mom’s voice especially when I’m preparing food for my kids, asking me if I’m eating my veggies. The good news is that for the most part our boys are hammering through vegetables like they’re going out of style. We try to have a salad incorporated every night. And we eat at a decent hour so that we can get the boys into bed by 7 or 7:30. Honestly, I’m in bed shortly after them.

What’s something else that’s important to your routine?

I know how important sleep is. I wanna be the best every day, and my best is getting 7 to 9 hours.

What excites you right now?

I have a lot going on, and a lot of stuff I’m working on right now is based around mental health. I’ll be the first to admit that this year has been a struggle personally. It has taught me a lot, and my family—we’ve learned a lot about one another and ways to work better together. For someone who struggles with depression and anxiety, I take things one day at a time. I write and journal, so when I do have a bad day, I can look back and see what triggered me and what was really going on.

I hate seeing all of these articles about suicides. It literally breaks my heart, because I know what that feels like. I know what it feels like to not want to be alive. To see the other side of it, that’s important. For anyone who struggles, being able to flip that switch doesn’t happen overnight but there are tools to help: Going to therapy, talking to people, reaching out for help. My goal is to help as many people as I can and drop the suicide rate. It’s a lofty goal, sure. But I want to save lives. I want to make change. That’s what gets me thinking and out of bed every day.

Real-Life Diet

“I thought I was just going to be elite forever. But then you look at guys that have longevity like LeBron, and the amount of work he puts into his body and the recovery that he does—I was at a crossroads."

Originally Appeared on GQ