What Do Olympic Athletes Eat, and Are Their Diets Healthy?

When the Olympics roll around, we’re collectively reminded of the incredible things the human body can do. Alongside the awe we feel at watching these seemingly superhumans compete, many of us also wonder what’s fueling their feats.

What do Olympic athletes eat? And are their diets healthy?

With the 2026 Winter Olympics kicking off this month in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, all eyes are on this year’s batch of top athletes, including Lindsey Vonn, Ilia Malinin, Chloe Kim, and Jordan Stolz. Curious how these must-watch personalities nourish their bodies to go for gold? We are, too!

Here’s a glimpse at what some of the world’s best athletes reportedly nosh on to perform (and feel!) like winners.

Lindsey Vonn: Avocados and Ice Cream

Avocado is also on the menu for dinner, tucked into a veggie-packed quinoa salad alongside steak or salmon. For lunch, Vonn said she eats a plate of chicken with rice, broccoli, and steamed vegetables.

While her eating plan is generally healthy and balanced, she told Self that she does indulge in dessert. Vonn said her comfort food is Ben & Jerry’s ice cream — specifically, the Half Baked or Mint Chocolate Cookie flavors.

Ilia Malinin: Chocolate Bars

The gravity-defying, world-champion figure skater will compete with Team USA for the first time this year, bringing his quad skills to the global stage.

“When I was younger, I always liked sweets and Hershey’s chocolate was my favorite,” Malinin told NBC Olympics in December 2025. “Now, it’s become a thing that takes a little bit of the nerves off my competition. It changes how I feel, so it helps me compete better.”

Chloe Kim: Protein-Packed Foods

Now, Kim told Women’s Health in January that a typical training day starts with a smoothie, including frozen bananas, peanut butter, almond milk, and protein powder. As an after-training meal, she’ll have soft-scrambled eggs, sourdough toast with avocado, bacon, and hash browns. For dinner, she favors Banza chickpea pasta with chicken and a protein-packed homemade pesto.

Berries, papaya, and hummus are her go-to snacks, Kim told Women’s Health, and for a boost, she often reaches for an iced oat milk matcha with a splash of maple syrup.

Jordan Stolz: Pizza and Pasta

“It’s not every day, but it’s frequent,” Stolz said of his pizza habit. And he admits he doesn’t shy away from carbs in general. “It’s usually pasta or pizza,” he said of his pre-training meals.

The 21-year-old Stolz has a sweet tooth, too. For dessert, he told People that he prefers his mom’s homemade cheesecake topped with Hershey’s fudge.

Jessie Diggins: Complex Carbs

The highly decorated cross-country skier has been open about her struggles with an eating disorder in the past. These days, though, she can often be found talking about the importance of food as fuel for performance and health.

“When we’re racing two to three times each weekend in the cold, I need to be sure I’m giving my body enough energy from food to sustain that amount of skiing,” she told Outside in October 2022.

Alongside coffee in the morning, Diggins has a breakfast of oatmeal with berries, yogurt, almonds, and honey. Her morning snack is often carb-heavy — an energy bar or muffin — and then lunch is two pieces of toast topped with mustard, cheese, and fried eggs, with a salad on the side. For an afternoon snack, she’ll have yogurt, granola, and a banana. For dinner, it’s often salmon, roasted sweet potatoes, and a kale salad with feta cheese, pumpkin seeds, and lemon dressing, along with dark chocolate for dessert.

In general, Diggins told Outside, “I like to eat a wide variety of fresh vegetables, proteins, and carbohydrates, like sweet potatoes, bread, quinoa, rice, farro, [and] pasta.”

Mia Manganello: Fresh Fruit and Juice

Shaun White: Beef Jerky

“If I’m in a pinch, I just stir it in some water. But typically I use oat milk or almond milk, add in a banana or a little avocado, then blend it together,” White told the publication.

Another snack he keeps on hand? Beef jerky. “It is the perfect chairlift snack: There are only so many that I can bring on a mountain that don’t fall apart when I’m riding,” he told The Strategist. “And you can only eat so many bars. I keep some in my backpack when I skateboard, too.”

While Olympians often follow an eating plan meant to fuel performance, each athlete’s diet looks a little different.

“Nutrition varies widely based on the physiological demands of each sport,” says Tiffany Ma, RDN, a board-certified sports dietitian based in New York City. “Endurance athletes typically require more carbohydrates to sustain long training sessions and competitions, while power- and strength-based athletes may prioritize protein and total energy intake to support muscle mass and explosive output.”

Overall, though, an Olympic diet is a generally healthy diet featuring a mixture of carbohydrates (for energy), protein (to build lean body mass and stabilize blood sugar for satiety), and omega-3 healthy fats like fatty fish (to quell inflammation for recovery and increase calories) — plus lots of fruits and veggies for their antioxidants and fiber, says Amy Goodson, RD, a Dallas-based sports nutritionist. “The more nutrient-rich the diet eaten, the better the athletes are able to recover after training,” she says.

Indeed, the types of carbs, proteins, and fats matter when it comes to nutrition, says Tara Collingwood, RDN, a board-certified sports dietitian and a certified personal trainer in Orlando, Florida, who is also a medical reviewer for Everyday Health. A good example is Vonn’s eating plan, which includes carbs in the form of whole grains (quinoa, rice) and high-nutrient veggies along with lean proteins (eggs, salmon) and healthy fats (avocado).

So, should you eat like an Olympian?

“Olympians can train on average four to six hours a day, which means they burn through fuel faster than most individuals,” causing their energy needs to be greater, says Amy Goldsmith, RDN, LDN, a Maryland-based dietitian who specializes in sports nutrition. What’s more, most of these athletes have more muscle mass than the average person, which means they likely have a higher metabolism. “Your metabolism dictates how many calories you need in a day,” Goldsmith says.

For those of us who exercise but aren’t Olympians, we likely don’t need to eat quite as much as these athletes, but the same general nutrition principles apply: “Eat an overall balanced diet with a variety of vegetables, fruit, lean protein sources, whole grains, and healthy types of fats,” says Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDCES, a Prescott, Arizona–based sports nutritionist and certified personal trainer for the diet app Rise. Grieger is also a medical reviewer for Everyday Health.

Ma says the average person can also benefit from the flexible approach these athletes bring to their diets. “There’s often a mix of nutrient-dense staples alongside fun, comfort foods,” like ice cream, cheesecake, and chocolate, she says. “That balance is important because consistency, enjoyment, and adequacy matter just as much as nutrient quality.”

To that end, it’s important for all of us to remember that “nutrition is about the trees, not the forest,” Goldsmith says. So while Malinin’s chocolate bar ritual may seem indulgent, “if he’s focusing on home-cooked meals that offer lean protein, lots of fruits and vegetables, and complex carbohydrates, this habit will not hurt him,” Goldsmith says.

“The key takeaway is that performance nutrition doesn’t have to be ‘perfect’ to be effective,” Ma says.

While eating exactly like an Olympian might not be in your best interest, dietitians offer these digestible tips inspired by the gold medal hopefuls.

1. Fuel Before a Workout

“Depending on the length, it could just be some high-carb snacks, like a granola bar or some dry cereal or [a] piece of fruit,” she says. “If it is a longer workout, then include protein or fat, like peanut butter toast or some yogurt with granola.”

A good example to eat before a long workout is Kim’s morning smoothie, which contains healthy carbs (frozen bananas), protein powder, and healthy fat (peanut butter). High-carb oatmeal is also a favorite pre-workout staple among Olympic athletes.

2. Eat for Recovery Post-Workout

Collingwood recommends prioritizing carbs, protein, and electrolytes (particularly after a long, sweaty workout) in addition to rehydrating.

3. Listen to Your Body

“One of the biggest misconceptions is that elite performance comes from extreme restriction or rigid food rules,” Ma says. “In reality, the most successful athletes tend to have a healthy, trusting relationship with food and know they need to eat to perform.”

4. Nibble on Healthy Snacks

Speaking of snacks, Collingwood advises following the Olympians’ lead by making them a regular dietary habit.

“They are eating their meals but using snacks strategically to bridge them from one meal to the next,” she explains. “Snacking helps to provide more nutrients (when you’re consuming a nutritious snack) for an athlete who is burning a lot of calories throughout the day and needs the carbs and protein for energy and repair of muscles.”

Kim’s fruit-and-hummus combo is a great example, as is Diggins’s snack choice of yogurt, granola, and banana. Listen to your body and have a snack when you feel hungry between meals (but do pay attention to avoid mindless snacking).

5. Eat Foods You Enjoy

Goldsmith notes that many Olympic athletes talk about enjoying the foods they eat, which is important for several reasons. “Forcing yourself to eat food you don’t like is unsustainable,” she says. On the other hand, making eating enjoyable can help you stay consistent in your nutrition.

“Nutrition should support the athlete, not stress them out,” Ma notes. “That’s a lesson everyone, Olympian or not, can benefit from.”

• Olympians’ diets vary quite a bit, as different athletes have different energy needs, but many follow a generally healthy eating pattern filled with complex carbs, lean protein, and healthy fats to fuel performance.
• Many Olympic athletes also take a flexible approach that makes room for foods they enjoy, which is important for balance and consistency.
• While the average person likely doesn’t need to eat exactly like an Olympic athlete, their diets do provide some good general guidelines for active individuals, including fueling pre- and post-workout, eating intuitively, and incorporating healthy snacks.