Eating like a champ

I generally have a cup of tea and a bowl or two of cereal (Cheerios with blueberries is the current choice) to get me going in the morning. Michael Phelps, on the other hand, downs three fried-egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise...

...PLUS one five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar, three chocolate-chip pancakes, and two two cups of coffee. And he's only just getting started for the day.

Phelps consumes far more calories in one meal (4,000) than most of us do in three. That adds up to A LOT of calories in one day. Not surprising when you consider the intensity and length of his daily workout regimen, but just thinking about consuming 12,000 calories in a day--regardless of exercise routine--is mind-boggling. Here the rest of an average day of eats for Phelps, courtesy of a recent post in the Wall Street Journal blog:

Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks packing 1,000 calories.

Dinner: One pound of pasta. An entire pizza. More energy drinks.

Can't an all-time great Olympian get some dessert?