Photo Credit: Faith Moran / Splash News
U.S. Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte worked hard to prepare for Rio 2016, but would you believe his preparations included an 8,000 calorie diet? Ryan Lochte’s earlier Olympic successes netted him 11 swimming medals, including five golds.
He also boasts seven National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships and 51 major international medals. And with the Rio Olympics underway, it’s likely he’s ready to win some more.
Ryan Lochte’s 8,000 Calorie Diet
Ryan Lochte’s training for 2016 Olympics involved the consumption of an incredible number of calories per day. Lochte even admitted that he was “tired of eating because [his] jaw was getting sore.” Can you imagine? Well, you don’t have to because Lochte shared his meal plan with Bon Appétit. Fans of his can get a sneak peek into what he ate throughout the day.
Fellow swimmer Michael Phelps reportedly ingested a whopping 12,000 calories per day while training for the 2012 Beijing Games. This is not that surprising, but most people don’t know that Olympic athletes such as swimmers, cyclists, rowers, and marathon runners who train and compete for hours burn anywhere from 3,000 to 8,000 calories per day. Most of the time, these athletes have hired chefs to meet their nutritional needs.
Lochte hired a personal chef, Glenn Lyman (who was LeBron James’s former chef), to help him with his Olympic diet. Here is an estimated breakdown of what Lochte ate in a day, including the total calories for each meal, from the Daily News web site:
Breakfast:
- 6 eggs, scrambled: 597 calories
- —with ham, 1 slice: 46 calories
- —with spinach, 1 cup: 41 calories
- —with diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup: 25 calories
- Hash browns, 1 cup: 413 calories
- Pancakes, plain, 2: 298 calories
- Oatmeal, plain, 1 cup: 166 calories
- 1 banana: 105 calories
Total: 1,691 calories
Snack:
- Avocado toast
- — with 1/2 an avocado: 145 calories
- —with whole-wheat bread slice: 69 calories
- —with spinach, 5 leaves: 12 calories
- —with 1 egg: 91 calories
- —with hot sauce: 1 calorie
- —with tofu sausage: 120 calories
Total: 438 calories
Lunch:
- Fettuccine alfredo: 950 calories
- —with chicken: 282 calories
- Water with lemon-flavored MiO drops: 0 calories
Total: 1,232 calories
Snack:
- Peanut butter Kind bar: 200 calories
Total: 200 calories
Dinner:
- Lochte confessed he downs pizza, chicken wings, and Mountain Dew every Friday.
- Domino’s pizza, cheese, 3 slices: 870 calories
- Domino’s BBQ wings, 4: 960 calories
- —with blue cheese: 240 calories
- Mountain Dew, 2 12-ounce servings: 340 calories
Total: 2,410 calories
Dessert:
- Mint chocolate chip ice cream, 1 cup: 300 calories
Total: 300 calories
Lochte’s Swimming Practice and Training for 2016 Olympics
Lochte began training with strength coach Matt DeLancey in 2003 when he was still a freshman at the University of Florida. The two began doing “strongman training” together, which is a series of contests that tests muscle power throughout the United States.
The events were modified for the Ryan Lochte swimming practice routine. In addition, Lochte did strength training for an hour to 90 minutes a day, and on Sundays he had a grueling two-and-a-half-hour workout in his trainer’s garage. Lochte’s training for the Olympics also included plyometric workouts, box jumps, ankling and squats, and tons of core exercises.
Sources:
Pesce, N.L., “Eat to win: Ryan Lochte’s 8,000-calorie Olympic training diet,” New York Daily News web site, August 5, 2016; http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/eat-win-ryan-lochte-8-000-calorie-olympic-training-diet-article-1.2739833, last accessed August 5, 2016.
“Ryan Lochte Biography,” Biography.com web site; http://www.biography.com/people/ryan-lochte-20839841, last accessed August 5, 2016.
