Michael Phelps, Chocolate Chip Pancakes, and Me

I've been hanging my head a bit about my unstructured eating habits and lack of consistent exercise. You know, a cheeseburger here, a day without a walk there.

But after reading Michael Phelps diet I am encouraged. This guy eats tasty! I thought I would have to eat food of cardboard quality taste for most of my life...turns out I can eat my favorite stuff!

I just have to swim a million laps a day!

This from BBC News:

As US swimming sensation Michael Phelps sets his sights on more gold medal wins at the Beijing Olympics this weekend, the BBC's Michael Hirst examines the part an extraordinary diet has played in the sportsman's remarkable success.

If it is true that you are what you eat, then here is the suggested intake if you want to become history's most successful Olympian:

For breakfast: three fried egg sandwiches, with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, fried onions and mayonnaise, followed by three chocolate-chip pancakes; a five-egg omelette; three sugar-coated slices of French toast and a bowl of grits (a maize-based porridge), washed down with two cups of coffee.

For lunch: half a kilogramme (one pound) of enriched pasta; two large ham and cheese sandwiches on white bread smothered with mayonnaise, washed down by energy drinks.

For dinner: Another half-kilogramme of pasta, perhaps with a carbonara sauce, followed by a large pizza and more energy drinks.

That combination may not sound very healthy, and at a staggering 10,000 calories, would feed five average men for a day.

But the menu is reportedly all in a training day's eating for champion swimmer Michael Phelps, who won six gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics and is aiming for eight this time round...

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I'm a Cheesehead and I Ain't Talkin' Brett Favre

Between double cheeseburgers, breakfast burritos with too much cheese, and putting cheese on my sandwiches...I've been eating too much cheese lately.

I'm a cheesehead and I ain't talkin' Brett Fahr or the Packers!

I know it's about the fat. But, let's look at what health experts say about cheese. I guess it depends on who's sponsoring your study!

This from the "Center for Science in the Public Interest":

WASHINGTON - Cheese is giving Americans a heart attack, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which is urging us to cut back. Cheese consumption has almost tripled since 1970, making cheese the nation’s biggest source of saturated fat.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American eats 30 pounds of cheese a year. That compares to only 11 pounds in 1970...

Now, this from the National Dairy Council:

Americans are consuming more cheese than ever before. Between1990 and 2000, per capita consumption of cheese increased by more than 21%. The demand for cheese is attributed to its great taste, versatility, convenience, and nutrient content. To meet consumers' ever-changing demands, American cheese makers have introduced numerous new varieties of cheese in various flavors and forms.

Cheese contains a high concentration of essential nutrients, in particular high quality protein and calcium, as well as other nutrients such as phosphorus, zinc, vitamin A, riboflavin, and vitamin B12. In 1999, cheese provided 25% of the calcium available in the U.S. food supply, a six-fold increase from 4% in 1909. The composition of milk used and the manufacturing process (e.g., manner of coagulation, length of aging) influence the nutrient content of specific cheeses. For individuals monitoring or reducing fat in their diet, many reduced fat varieties of cheeses are available. Also, individuals can include cheese in a fat reduced diet by making dietary trade-offs, for example, by balancing higher fat foods with lower fat foods...

This reminds me of the ol' glass-of-wine-a-day recommendation. Who do you think pushes those wine studies showing the health benefits? Winos of course! And now those cheese-is-super-nutritious stories? Cheeseheads of course!

Anyways, I haven't blogged in awhile in TheBigRuski Goes Healthy...so, I just wanted to leave this quick thought on cheese: It tastes good! Back off of it!

BTW...what DO you think of the Packers Brett Favre to Jets trade? (You can leave a comment about cheese as well!)

Carry on!

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