When you’re U.S. downhill skier Steve Nyman, every day is a cheat day as far as food goes. “I get to eat everything in sight. It’s all about momentum,” the Olympic athlete explains helpfully. No such luck for bronze medal figure skater Alex Shibutani: he loves fried chicken sandwiches, but admittedly hasn’t tasted one in a while. Synchronized twizzles are not completed on a fried chicken diet, clearly.
Olympians, who compete in peak physical condition, are pretty much the pinnacle of bodily form and function. It’s their job to be as close to perfect as possible — and their job to track energetic input and output. Yet each sport in the mix for PyeongChang‘s Winter Games entails a different approach to diet, depending on the kind of activity you’re after. (Looks like skiing and snowboarding are where it’s at for those who don’t want to have to limit their intake; as snowboarder Alex Deibold notes, “I’m in a gravity sport,” and extra weight is perfectly welcome. Or consider freestyle skier Mac Bohonnon, who’s been trying to gain weight “for 22 years.” Other athletes are not in quite the same position.)
Between popular choices like pizza and ice cream (snowboarder Chloe Kim is a noted fan; so is skater Adam Rippon) to more unusual selections (is sushi really a “cheat” meal?), here’s how a number of Team USA’s Olympic athletes would choose to indulge — if and when they weren’t busy maintaining their carefully calibrated fitness status.
Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.
