DIET COLUMN

During the Olympics, Michael Phelps’ diet was a hot topic of conversation. We shared with you his daily habit of consuming more than 10,000 calories. This past Saturday night, Michael poked fun at himself on SNL. The show was even sure to point out that unless you’re training and working out like Phelps does, it’s “almost certainly fatal” to subscribe to this approach.

Subway’s Jared Fogel even pointed out that “this diet sucks a footlong!”

When we think of the country Jamaica, two primary things come to mind: Bob Marley and a certain kind of herb. After this 2008 Olympics, the image of the Jamaican sprinters running at mind-boggling speeds will likely be sandwiched in between these two more traditional images.

Jamaica is proudly home to the two fastest men in the world, 100m champion Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell. And women, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart are the gold, silver and bronze medallists in the women’s 100m.

What is it about this tiny country of only 2.8 million people that makes it able to corner the market on running and produce the world’s fastest sprinters? It’s not steroids. For the past two decades, Jamaica has been scott-free in testing positive for steroids.

Maybe it’s island life.

Take the food, for instance: Jamaican cuisine is known for its “jerking” method of cooking that relies on slow-cooking food with spices like ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Perhaps it’s the “punch” of the spices that helps these star athletes break world records.

The bottom line is that Jamaican cuisine is healthy: The fish from the Caribbean Sea provides athletes with abundant amounts of lean protein and the tropical fruit, which is loaded with vitamins, fiber and tons of flavor, can satisfy any athletes’ sweet tooth.

Or maybe it’s the system in which these young runners are plucked sometimes well before age five, when their natural speeding abilities catch the eye of scouts. From then on, they are groomed and primed to cultivate their talent and carry on the legacy of former Jamaican sprinters. Whatever it is, these runners have been spectacular to watch in their emblazoned yellow jerseys. Their legs which cycle at a dizzyingly fast pace make it seem as if you’re watching the race while hitting the fast-forward button your television. They are that fast! And they have been that much fun to watch! Here’s another thumbs-up for the adage “size doesn’t matter:” This tiny island, smaller than the state of Connecticut, has blown us all away this past Olympics with its speed and spirit.

It was just released that upon Michael Phelps’ return to the U.S., for whom he’s won eight gold medals, he will become the poster boy for Frosted Flakes cereal.

This is the cereal, covered in sugar, packed with calories that kids across America are eating for their very unhealthy breakfasts. And the guy pitching is in fact the one who kids across America are admiring for his remarkable athleticism.

After his medal-sweep in Athens, Michael pitched Wheaties. Which seems very appropriate. The brand conveys, health and strength. Frosted Flakes is far from being the breakfast of any champion. In fact, in the newly-released Eat This, Not That for Kids!, Frosted Flakes topped the list of cereals your children should never eat… or you for that matter.

One serving of Frosted Flakes has 120 Calories, 0g Fat, 12g Sugar and only one gram of Fiber.

Compare that to Wheaties with 100 Calories, .5g Fat, 4g Sugar and 3g Fiber. Also, Wheaties is made with 100% whole grains.

With a platform primed for encouraging and promoting the health of children in America, it’s disappointing to see Michael Phelps cashing a check for the alternative.

Very few of us have the time (or discipline) to train year after year like the Olympic athletes do, but when it comes to their bodies, we would all love to have access to the secrets and training tips that sculpt these elite athletes into the phenomenal machines they are.

The experts at WebMD recently came up with a list of ten things we all can do to get our bodies (kinda) looking like our favorite Olympians. Here is a look at a few of their suggestions that caught my eye:

1. Know what your body is best suited for: So you’ve already signed up for a gymnastic class at your local gym but you’re 5′ 7″. Not to dash your hopes at a gold medal, but most gymnasts are under 5 feet (Shawn Johnson is a petite 4′8″). They pack a lot of power and speed in those compact bodies. The take-home message with this suggestion is to work with your body type, not against it. If you love to be active and want to invest some energy into excelling at an activity but don’t know what you’re suited for, seek the counsel a trained exercise physiologist. He or she will be able to take a logical look at your body composition and your muscle fibers to determine what kind of sport you are best suited for.

2. The Power of Protein: Much attention has been placed on what the Olympic athletes eat to maintain their endurance and keep them healthy. Every piece of dietary advice from the athletes themselves, their personal nutritionists or their trainers include the ”p” word: Protein. The key to developing muscle and keeping your energy levels sustained throughout the day, whether you’re swimming four hours or sitting at your desk for four hours, is to include a lean protein source in each meal or snack you eat.

For most of us, you can find out how many grams of protein you need by dividing your body weight in pounds by 2.2. This will give you your weight in kilograms. Next, multiply this number by 1.5 to get the average number of protein grams you should consume each day. Many of the Olympic athletes are eating 3 to 5 times the amount of average protein intakes for their weight and size because of their training and physical needs, they require more.

Have fun as you apply some of the tips and inspiration of these Olympic athletes into your own life. Make realistic goals for yourself and even though we may never sport abs like Michael Phelps or Dara Torres, we can at least have a great time trying to achieve our own fitness goals.  

If someone can please explain to me why we are so obsessed with what the Olympic athletes, I’d love to hear it. I am just as intrigued as anyone else as to how these elite sports figures eat to stay healthy, look amazing and stay at the top of their game.

From Michael Phelps eating his victory meal of a cheeseburger and fries on Saturday night to Dara Torres’s favorite training breakfast of a citrus berry smoothie, the interest of what these athletes nosh on is captivating.

For women, learning the nutrition tips and secrets of some of the United State’s most powerful and accomplished Olympic athletes is like learning how to put on mascara from your older sister. The sharing of beauty and health advice is our way of connecting with one another, supporting each other and educating one another. No matter how old we are, we never tire of swapping advice with one another.

Two former and current female athletes give us their inside scoop on how to stay healthy, look beautiful and keep their bellies full and satisified.

Even though Dara Torres and Mary Lou Retton are not similar in height, they both have similar eating styles. Neither of them count calories. Instead, they rely on eating everything in moderation, eating small amounts of indulgent foods and relying on lean proteins and plenty of fresh foods to fuel their day.

Retton who is a busy mother of four girls, eats to be healthy even though she still works out everyday. Also, as a mother of four impressionable young ladies, she keeps words like “skinny,” “fat” and “thin,” out of the daily vocabulary of her female household and instead talks with her children about the importance of being “strong,” “powerful” and “healthy.”

For Torres and Retton, counting calories, measuring fat grams and hopping on scales sets the groundwork for unrealistic body size expectations, unhealthy body images and potential eating disorders. Torres, who herself wrestled with bulimia for many years, focuses now on eating what she wants, when she wants, but exercising a lot so that she can have her cake and eat it too.

Here is a recipe of Torres’s favorite breakfasts: A citrus berry smoothie that packs fiber, protein and taste into a satisfying meal and great post-workout snack that was created by Eating Well magazine.

1 1/4 cups fresh berries
3/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
1 tablespoon toasted wheat germ
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place berries, yogurt, orange juice, dry milk, wheat germ, honey and vanilla in a blender and blend until smooth.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 432 calories; 3 g fat (2 g sat, 0 g mono); 15 mg cholesterol; 77 g carbohydrate; 20 g protein; 7 g fiber; 250 mg sodium; 617 mg potassium. 8 Weight Watchers Points.
Nutrition bonus:
Vitamin C (175% daily value), Calcium (63% dv), Potassium (18% dv), Magnesium (16% dv).
4 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 3 fruit, 2 low-fat milk

We all would love to have defined shoulders like many of the Olympic athletes we have been watching. But most of us don’t have the time or discipline to train like they do. Don’t worry though: U.S. Olympic basketball player Candace Parker has a simple and fabulous move that anyone can do, even from your bedroom. Just look at how beautiful and sculpted this WNBA star looks!

Try this move and see the changes in your deltoids.

Lie face-down on your bed and “swim” the freestyle and breast strokes for thirty seconds at a time. Repeat three times. Gradually, see if you can “swim” for longer and notice the difference in the definition and strength of your muscles and shoulders after performing this exercise for a few weeks.

This one move from Parker keeps her shoulders looking sleek and in awesome shape, even when she is on the road and doesn’t have access to sophisticated gym equipment.

Parker’s shoulder move was featured in the August issue of Self magazine.

We all have our preconceived image of the ideal athletic body. Watching the Olympics this past week, it dawned on me that even athletes, whom we may think of as having uniformly perfectly-shaped bodies, come in all shapes and sizes.

In support of my observation, I noticed that NY Times did a quick piece on the array of sizes that these elite and conditioned sports stars come in. What is fascinating to learn also is that the caloric consumption for a female sinewy marathon runner is very similar to a 335-pound, 6-foot-five inch Shot-Put Olymiad: 4,000  to 5,000 calories a day.

Yes, these are athletes who spend most of their waking hours intensely training and thereby burning off crazy-amounts of calories. But if you take this one step further, you can begin to understand how heredity and inherent metabolic factors may play a crucial role in determing how much someone can eat. And how much someone can or can’t eat affects how he or she looks.

The most refreshing aspect about the Olympics is that all of these athletes’ bodies are beautiful and perfect. The sheer power and ability that each of these glorious bodies possesses so that they can perform their skill with the strength and dexterity which has gotten them this far is inspiring and worthy of much more attention received by any rail-thin model or Hollywood Who’s Who.

Maybe you had the same feelings of sadness as I did when I was watching the 2008 U.S. Olympic gymnastic team prepare for their preliminary subdivisions Sunday evening. Gymnast Samantha Peszek rolled over her ankle during her warm-up routine minutes before the competition began and was forced out of every competition except for the uneven parallel bars. She is still able to perform in the uneven bar events  because they don’t require the constant ankle pounding that the other events do.

But Peszek isn’t the first female gymnast to be sidelined due to ankle problems. Teammate, Chellsie Memmel, is also out due to a injured ankle and she, like Samantha, will only wow audiences with her uneven bar routine over the coming days.

I believe that there is a lesson in everything, for all of us, even if we remain untouched by someone else’s pain. Granted, most of us aren’t training for the Olympics, but if you love to workout and consider exercise to be an integral part of your mental and physical health, then safeguarding yourself against an ankle injury, like those experienced by these two young athletes, is a lesson well learned. Whether you’re a runner, cyclist, walker, tennis or basketball player, here are a few tips to protect your ankle against an injury:

1) Wear the Proper Footwear. Whatever your sport of choice is, it is necessary that you invest in the appropriate shoes for that specific sport. Even walking and running should require two different sets of shoes.  Talk to a personal trainer or a knowledgeable sales person when you go to buy your athletic shoes. Let them know about any previous injuries you have had so that they can recommend the best shoe for you.

2) Exercise on Appropriate Surfaces. Whether you are jogging or downward-dogging, exercising on the appropriate surfaces will ensure greater ankle stability and will decrease your chances of spraining your ankle. Invest in a quality yoga mat, if you are a yoga practitioner, run on a treadmill if you’re a runner, and avoid playing basketball on cracked and uneven courts. The quality of the surface that you are pounding your feet and ankles on will influence how much shock your body absorbs and how well your legs are supported.

3) Use support only when needed. Wearing an ankle brace to prevent an injury, if you have never had an ankle injury is a precautionary practice that should be avoided, according to the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. This team of experts recommend only wearing a protective support band if you are recovering from an injury or if you are prone to recurrent ankle injuries. With a few small steps, you can save yourself from not only an ankle sprain, but from fractures, peroneal tendon injuries and chronic ankle instability.

It seems like the biggest news to come out of Beijing today is how much swimmer Michael Phelps must eat. The darling of the 2008 Olympics must pack in 12,000 calories a day in order to keep up the energy to fuel his grueling 5-hour-a-day, 6-days-a-week training schedule.

I’m jealous and I have no shame in admitting that.  And I have a feeling that anyone who has been on a diet or looked in the mirror and wasn’t truly happy with what they saw, has a twinge of jealousy, too. Twelve thousand calories! That is over 9,000 calories more than the recommended daily caloric intake of most males in this country. It takes effort to eat that much. But Phelps is no stranger to effort.

At least he knows how lucky he is. Phelps doesn’t take his bottomless appetite for granted. He knows that he’s one of the very, very lucky ones who never has to think about what he can’t eat. He can eat anything he wants. And he knows that once he stops swimming, his days of feasting might come to a close. But to eat like that and to look that way…. that boy must have done something wonderful in a former life to be living a life of such beauty and gluttony.

What it would be like to wake up in the morning and know that you could not just eat anything you wanted, but that you HAD to eat it? Do you think that the sweet indulgence of food would lose its flavor? Would gooey brownies taste as decadent? Would this gastronomic freedom make you love just as much as you do now on your 1,500-calorie a day eating regimen or would eating become more of a chore, and perhaps, god forbid, an annoyance?

It’s quite realistic to believe that the lure of food would lose some of its attraction, but you can’t argue with the sumptuous taste of a cheesy piece of pizza or a fresh-out-of-the-oven, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chip cookie. I don’t think that kind of “beauty” loses its luster too quickly.

But back to reality. If you’re wondering what Michael, “The Stomach,” Phelps eats, here is a look at a typical day’s worth of food.

Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise, two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayonaise on white bread and 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

Dinner: One pound of pasta and an entire pizza and another 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

How does he manage to swim after that?

It should also be noted that Phelps is unable to break the 200 pound mark.

Who hasn’t been inspired watching Olympic athlete Kerri Walsh and her beach volleyball partner, Misty May-Treanor pounce their way on the sand as they blaze by opponents like Cuba in just a 36-minute game?

It’s their athleticism and their physical shape that is so captivating about this dynamic duo.  It is one thing to see skinny models lying around on the beach in a bikini, but it’s a whole different sight to watch women in world-class physical shape with real muscles and real physical prowess competing in a sport that is just as fun (and difficult) to play as it is to watch. So what does it take to have tightened and tone midsection like volleyball queen, Walsh? A lot. But don’t be discouraged. She has let us in on a few of her secrets that keep her 6-foot-3-inch body looking and feeling amazing. In addition to practicing on the volleyball court, three hours a day, Walsh also practices pilates three days a week. She feels that it has given her greater flexibility, strength and stability.

Her favorite pilates move is called The Teaser.  Here’s how to do it:

1) Lie on your back against a flat and smooth surface, like a yoga mat. 2) Reach your arms over your head and place them on the floor behind you. 3) Roll your torso up as you extend your legs about 45 degrees in the air. As you do this, bring your hands to your toes. 4) Roll back down and repeat 3-5 times. Remember to stay in tune with your breath as you perform The Teaser. Inhale as you come up and exhale as you come down. Keep lifting up through your core and extending through the front of your chest. Also, try not to let you chin dip. Keep your gaze looking forward and your neck elongated.

Practicing this move a few times a week may not win you a gold medal, but it will firm up your tummy and create a more sculpted and refined look. And with plenty of beach days still ahead of us, that bikini will never look better on you.