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 Phelps breakfast is too much to swallow
By Gordon Blackstock
THE thought of taking on
Olympian Michael Phelps at swimming would be too much for most of us.
But a Glasgow cafe is offering customers the chance of taking him on in a more sedentary challenge — matching his mammoth eating habits.
Incredibly, the American swimmer, who won eight gold medals at Beijing to seal his place as the most successful Olympian of all time, claims to munch his way through a mind-boggling 12,000 calories a day.
In comparison, the recommended intake for men is a paltry 2500 and 2000 for women.
“Phelps breakfast”
Now Cafe Bella, in Port Dundas Business Park, is offering customers the chance to match the Olympian in the breakfast stakes by ordering a “Phelps breakfast”.
 The gargantuan meal, which costs £8.99, includes three fried egg sandwiches with mayonnaise, tomato, lettuce and fried onions, a five-egg omelette, a plate of porridge, three slices of French toast and three chocolate-coated pancakes, all washed down with two cups of coffee.
So far no-one has managed to finish the huge portion — despite getting it free if they do.
Katia Ratta (28), who owns the business, said, “Like a lot of people I’ve been avidly following the Olympics and Michael Phelps’ success has been staggering so I thought I’d put something on the menu to honour him.
“I can’t believe how much he eats for his breakfast. It takes me a good while just to get it all ready — and his lunch is even bigger.
Light-hearted
“People have been coming in and ordering it but I don’t think it will become a permanent feature. It’s just been light-hearted. I don’t want all my customers getting fat and blaming me!
“No-one has managed to eat it all yet. Three guys came in on Friday and they only managed it between the three of them.
 “I’m doing a Chris Hoy-mlette as well with haggis in it and it’s proved very popular.”
However, Professor Mike Lean, a leading nutritionist at Glasgow University, said even athletes shouldn’t attempt the diet.
He said, “This is not a meal for a human being, it’s a road traffic accident.
“I don’t know if I believe he eats all that every day.
Dozen eggs
“You’re basically eating a dozen eggs every day. While they’ve always been seen as the healthy option, the more we understand about nutrition the more it becomes apparent even healthy food like eggs should be taken as part of a balanced diet.
“In this quantity it’s dangerous.
“In his breakfast you’d be eating two weeks’ worth of eggs in a single sitting, which would be an incredibly stupid thing to do.
“It’s high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
“The breakfast doesn’t even have fruit. If you ate this for any length of time you’d get fatter, have a higher cholesterol level and stand an increased chance of developing heart disease.
“It would be a much better idea to have what Chris Hoy eats for his breakfast — a bowl of porridge.”
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