The recent dieting culture has made carbohydrates sound like a scary word. The truth, however, is the exact opposite. Performance and energy hold hands, and carbs are not really negotiable when sports join the conversation.

Here are six athletes who have gone against the fitness grain, including carbs in their diets for peak performance.

Oleksandr Usyk

The Ukrainian professional boxer holds both the undisputed cruiserweight champion and the unified heavyweight boxing championship titles. At 6'3", Usyk isn't on some new mystery diet or food fad.

"Training and good pasta, double portion, is magic. It's my fuel," Usyk shared. And this isn't an exception to the rule; it's the principle.

Eliud Kipchoge

Kipchoge is easily one of the greatest marathoners ever, being the first to break a sub-2-hour marathon. For such endurance disciplines, ketosis simply isn't logical, and the Kenyan runner understands that.

"Oatmeal is my favorite pre-race meal," Eliud Kipchoge quipped. In fact, the 5x Berlin Marathon winner has this exact meal before his marathons, often paired with white tea and fruits.

Michael Phelps

One of the most decorated Olympians of all time, with 23 gold medals, Phelps' success wasn't random. Especially, his massive intake of carbs was a conscious choice to hit over 30 hours of swimming every week.

For an exercise of that intensity, muscle glycogen becomes one of the primary body fuels, and pasta, pizza, and pancakes help replenish just that.

Rocky Marciano

Another boxing legend, Marciano, was raised in an Italian-American household. Naturally, food items like pasta and bread were routine staples. And the undisputed heavyweight champion never shied away from that, often sharing meal pictures with his mother.

Khamzat Chimaev

A name that needs no introduction, the UFC middleweight champion's career highlight bout came against Dricus du Plessis. After five rounds of brutal dominance, Chimaev remarked, "Al Capuccino, please feed me less pasta next camp. I'm tired of always eating it!" The rest is history.

Ilia Topuria

Another hot name on the UFC cards, the lightweight champion shares a similar dieting principle. "To have a great performance inside the Octagon, the protein doesn't give you any glucose that your body needs. Everything you need, it's electrolytes and carbohydrates," Topuria told Joe Rogan.

And this isn't a coincidence. It's a consistent pattern that points in a direction most aspiring athletes are terrified of: carbs are not simply a choice. It's a necessity if athletes want peak performance and an elite showdown at the highest levels.

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Written by

Proma Chatterjee

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil