Why Olympians Don’t Eat the Same Thing Every Day

Fill Up: It’s that time again — the Olympics are now underway. And ever since champion swimmer Michael Phelps made headlines for eating 10,000 calories a day, we’ve been fascinated with what elite athletes eat. Well, things have changed since then, and many Olympians now follow nutrition periodization, adjusting their diet based on training intensity rather than eating roughly the same amount every day.

What to Know: Research shows that eating strategically can support training adaptations and recovery. Hence, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee encourages athletes to vary their carbohydrate and protein depending on how hard they’re training that day. The idea is that your body’s demands differ from day to day, so your nutrition should too.

How to Do It: This isn’t just for elite athletes. Apps like MacroFactor (note from the editor: I use this and love it) build in nutrition periodization, but you can also do it intuitively: eat normally on moderate days, scale back on rest days, and increase carbs ahead of hard workouts — no obsessive tracking required.