Former Olympian competitive swimmer Stephanie Rice reveals her strict diet prior to her participation in the competition!
- Former Australian competitive swimmer and Olympic Gold Medalist Stephanie Rice did remarkably well at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games which were held in Beijing where she won 3 Gold Medals for her country.
- There were other prestigious awards and titles which came her way.
- She recently revealed the strict diet that she took before she participated in the Olympic Games.
Stephanie Rice reveals her diet
Stephanie Rice told Body and Soul that for 4 months before her appearance in the Olympics, she would take the same diet every day. She said:
“During my preparations for both of my Olympics, four months before I would be eating the exact same thing every day,”
So what did this diet consist of? She said:
“It was two pieces of toast with two eggs for breakfast, then lunch was always rice with a tin of tuna and steamed vegetables, and dinner was always a piece of meat with a carbohydrate like potato and veggies.”
There was not a single cheat day and Stephanie Rice ate the same thing for 16 weeks, 112 days, or 2688 hours. And there was no chocolate, pasta, pizza, cheese, or wine.
The exercise and practice
Along with such strict diet adherence, Stephanie Rice had to also do her practice and exercise. She used to have exercise sessions for 7 hours per day.
Stephanie revealed:
“When I was training, everything was extreme and the focus was not on looking a certain way – it was on the actual performance element of looking like that, so food was fuel; it wasn’t an enjoyment thing,”
She continued:
“I needed X amount of calories, or X amount of protein for muscle recovery so it was very science based.”
Her enjoyment of food now
But now that she has left all the competition behind, Stephanie is enjoying both her food and exercise. She realized that once the pressure and stress of the games are gone, she has switched to enjoyable foods and is, in fact, able to lose weight. Stephanie had put up a picture of this body transformation on her social media.
She said:
“After I finished swimming it was very much a case of not having to do anything for science anymore, so I had to find what worked for me and what I enjoyed doing.”
She now exercises only for 20 minutes per day. It is a short workout session in the comfort of her home. If she is unable to have time for the workout, she forgives herself for it and moves on in life. She does not repent of losing out on exercise on some days.
Her food now is delicious and healthy and not boring. She eats a vegan diet which includes chocolate, coffee, and a post-lunch dessert which is either frozen mango with coconut yogurt.
Stephanie admitted that for her body ‘less is more’ and she has realized it now. It works better for both her body and mind. The same applies to her glowing skin which she maintains with a minimum of care.
She does not need to apply a whole face of makeup to look good and nice. She uses Unichi products and they make her look better and glowing.