Michael Phelps - 12,000 Calories a Day is a Lie

Michael Phelps, the swimming star of these past Olympic games, made more than a few headlines with the revelation that he eats 12,000 calories a day, almost 10 times what us regular folks consume. But while this number is much talked about, it's not actually true.

During his recent appearance on 60 Minutes, Phelps revealed that he actually eats about 8,000 to 10,000 a day when he's training. That's still quite a lot of food, but Phelps insists that he really needs it -- "I have to always just constantly shovel food in because I can lose five to 10 pounds in a week," he says. Dang -- I sure wish I could say the same.

What does he eat to keep his calorie intake up? His Baltimore apartment is stocked with junk food and healthy foods alike -- peanut butter cups and Nutrigrain bars, to name a few.