The Ancient Olympian Who Ate 57,000 Calories a Day
The
eyes of the world are firmly fixed on London, England, with 2012’s
Olympics Games now underway. A whole host of athletes from almost every
nation across the globe have trained to within an inch of their lives,
with the hope of bringing home the gold from this most prestigious
event.
Many
of the Olympians have spent hours in the gym from childhood to perfect
their sporting techniques and their bodies. With this incessant training
comes the need to eat the right foods – most of today’s athletes will
be focusing on specialised diets to help them push their bodies to the
limit.
Tailoring
food intake for sport is by no means a new “fad”. Diet has been an
important factor for Olympians since the competition’s earliest records.
Milo the Croton – Ancient Greece’s Heavyweight Champion
Ancient Greece tells the story of Milo the Croton. The wrestler, who lived in the 6
th century
BC, was crowned winner at six Olympic competitions. Tales of Milo’s
strength have been passed down through the generations, and so too have
stories about his insatiable appetite. As the fable scribed in
The Deipnosophists goes; Milo of Croton once carried a four year old bull around the Olympic stadium, before cutting it up and eating it
all in
just one day. He is documented to have regularly eaten 20 pounds of
meat, another 20 pounds of bread and have drunk three pitchers of wine;
around 57,000 calories in all. Judging by the 6,000 calories even
today’s most extreme athletes eat, the ancient figure has probably been
exaggerated over the decades.
More
telling, is the story of alcohol. Back in Ancient Greece wine was drunk
with most meals as well as used in cooking, so undoubtedly many of the
Olympic competitors would have taken to their sports with more than the
natural fire in their bellies. Even
Hippocrates is
reported to have told those competing to get drunk a couple of times to
heal sore muscles. If this was effective, presumably it was because the
morning after, athletes suffered more from their hangovers than from
their aching arms and legs.
The
alcohol content of an Olympian’s diet is something which is not
replicated by today’s athletes. In fact, many sportsmen and women choose
to avoid alcohol and other vices like cigarettes altogether, in favour
of healthier lifestyle choices to give them the edge over their
competition.
For
people looking to gain the health and strength of the modern day
Olympian, today’s advice would be to give up smoking and drink alcohol
only in moderation for a healthy lifestyle. There is help and support
available through health care providers for those looking to make this
positive lifestyle choice. Or alternatively, you may choose to
buy Chantix, a medication which helps people stop smoking as this habit is now known to be notoriously detrimental to human health.
Ancient Greece Eats Atkins-Style
One
of the diets chosen by ancient Grecian athletes may be more
recognisable to today’s supermodels and celebrities than Olympic
athletes. Food historians have uncovered Greek and Roman remains, which
suggest the first Olympians ate a
meat-heavy diet similar to Atkins, to prepare themselves for competition.
This
differs greatly to the Olympians of today, who eat a wide array of food
depending on the sport and weight class they’re competing in. Nur
Tatar, a female Turkish Taekwondo fighter competing in 2012’s games,
reduced her calorie intake to just 1500 a day in order to reach the
right weight for the category she’ll fight in. Her daily meals consist
of a balance of fruit, vegetables, carbohydrates, protein and water. On
the other hand, a male
Olympic heavyweight rower might
eat up to 6,000 calories every day throughout his training schedule –
but note, this is only recommended for athletes in intensive training.
Again, this diet includes elements from all the food groups to ensure
strength and energy. It includes two breakfasts, plenty of carbohydrates
and protein, as well as sports drinks and water.
History
tells us that diet is important for health and sport – but different
cultures have different opinions on what sort of meal makes a good
athlete. Although, whatever sport you choose, and whatever you’re
planning on eating, rest assured that wolfing down an entire bull will
most probably give you indigestion.
