Eat like an Olympian or Paralympian

Watching world-class athletes compete at the Olympics or the Paralympics is inspiring. It may even spur some of us to kick our own training into a higher gear.

In addition to training, high-caliber athletes focus on eating. That means eating the right kind of foods—either high energy or high carbohydrates—to help them reach their Olympic goals. Swimmer Michael Phelps, for example, may eat nearly 8,000 calories on competition days. We should not follow his food habits unless we're also willing to train like an Olympic swimmer.

Here's a quick guide to the kinds of foods that Olympic and Paralympic athletes typically eat to prepare for their events, and how many calories they can burn on competition day.

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