HEALTH

Eat Right

Eat Like an Olympian...The Right Way!

There’s been a lot of talk about the 8,000 calories a day that Michael Phelps downs. But just 'cause the clips show him dining in local Baltimore dives, doesn't mean all athletes are smashing down unhealthy grub 24/7. In January, I scoped out the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and saw how hard the team of chefs and dieticians work to make sure their Olympians have the best (and tastiest) food in the world.

The dietician there, Adam Korzun, MS, stressed 3 fab ways you could fuel your bod like an Olympian. He recommends stocking up on:

-Lean proteins, like chicken breast, fish or tofu. It helps repair your muscles after a tough workout!
-Good fats, like Omega-3s (found in nuts and fish). The Olympic Training Center’s kitchen doesn’t even have butter—at all.
-Antioxidant-rich foods, like blueberries, red beans and apples. A yummy way to boost your immune system.

And while ya don’t necessarily have to gulp eight glasses of water a day, Adam reminds us that hydration is “critical” throughout the day. Dehydration will zap your strength AND endurance—so not good for athletes.

Other fun Olympic food facts:

*The U.S. Olympic chefs are prepped to dish out 20,000 meals in Beijing
*The U.S. team will be eating local bread and produce while in China, but the chicken is being shipped all the way from the U.S.

The chefs at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado have over 1,500 recipes to chose from, but they’ll still make any dish a live-in athlete wants! The catch? They make healthy versions of the athletes’ comfort foods. They try to make it as close to mom’s as possible. Yum!

Blog It Out... Do you eat differently when you are training for sports and when you’re in an off-season?