Body builders doing food challenges are becoming a thing on the net, and who am I to judge. They are a very peculiar brand of athlete because they are working on altering their body composition. Indeed, some do not lift at all but merely compete on looks. And there is a great deal of variety among them, but a BMI over the healthy range is not uncommon.
What is odd, is young people doing the Michael Phelps challenge i.e. getting down the food that this swimmer does when in training. Yep, 12,000 calories high carb high fat. I looked it up, he is 6 feet 4 and has a BMI of 23.6. Although many feel he must be exercising like mad, I am taken by the time he must be spending in water. Olympic pool water might be 82 degrees F. Sounds comfy, but it isn’t, because the thermal drain in water in 25 times faster than in air. No other type of athlete deals with this.
I looked up cyclists as well, rumoured to eat a paltry 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day on the Tour de France (where they might cover 100 miles in one day). They tend to be shorter and lighter than Phelps: 5 feet 9 with a BMI of 21.6. What is stressful for the cyclist is how high his body temperature might get during the day.
Personally, I have never done body training but do find that body muscle mass varies over time: use it or loose it. Swimming is fun, but the cold is increasingly hard to accept with age. And cycling is a joy, but when one is rested on an empty stomach in the morning. Those who practice many activities end up handicapping themselves for one with the other. My advice: lighten up mood-wise!
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