What Do Olympians Like Carlos Yulo Really Eat?

Olympic athletes—they're often seen as superhuman beings who simply defy the norm. They're quick, they're incredibly fit, they're powerful. We viewers are simply amazed at what they can do, and are incredibly proud when they represent us at the esteemed Olympic games. As we watch their matches, performances, and games though, what we often forget is the countless hours of hard work they put into the few minutes we see them—tireless days and nights practicing their sport, heading to courts and gyms when no one is around, repetitious movements that will bring regular folk to the point of giving up. But these athletes, they're a different breed. They were born for discipline and hard work, and a deep love for what they do. 

Take Carlos Yulo, our two-time gold medalist at the recent Paris Olympics. We are incredibly proud of him for what he has achieved, but do we really know what goes on behind the scenes? How hard does he practice and work out? What does he eat? How many hours does he spend on his sport? We may not know it all just yet, but we do know what athletes like him eat, thanks to our interview with the Philippine Olympic Team's Nutritionist Coach Jeaneth Aro. If you're interested to know what the likes of Carlos Yulo, Nesthy Petecio, and Aira Villegas eats, then read on!

Coach Jeaneth is an Olympic and Elite Performance Nutrition Coach who specializes in conceptualizing athletic fueling strategies for some of the country's top athletes. She has been practicing as a freelance nutritionist for nearly 20 years now, and she graduated at the University of the Philippines. Having had some sports background herself when she was in high school and college (she was part of a taekwondo team), Coach Jeaneth knows what it's truly like to live and breathe like the people she now coaches.

"I started helping the national team back in 2006. The first team that I helped was actually from the basketball teams under the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas in SEA Games 2007 in Thailand. And then from then on I started helping different national athletes. They hired me to be their nutrition coach, personal nutrition coach, and then some teams also hired me", she shares. "I became part of this Olympics campaign as the Philippine team nutrition coach primarily because I personally handle the nutrition programs of the 9 out of the 22 Olympians that we have. So pinadala na rin ako to help out", she also adds. 

She even handled Hidilyn Diaz back in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, as well as then silver medalist for boxing Nesthy Petecio. 

Metro.Style: What's a typical work day like for you?

Coach Jeaneth Aro:  Since I'm a freelance nutritionist, dietitian/nutrition coach, I handle my own schedule. So there's really no typical day for me. I do different things on a day-to-day basis. There are days that I'll go to the professional basketball team that I'm handling, the TNT Tropang Giga. And then there are days that I would meet up with my individual athlete clients, the national teams, members that I handle on their personal capacity. And then there are days that I would also visit the national team that I handle to check on their diet.

And then there are days since I'm also a social media influencer, there are days that I also make content to share nutrition education contents to my followers. And then the other days, I'm studying. So, I'm really doing different things on a day-to-day basis. There's really no fixed schedule for me, but I make sure that every single day is productive. So that's pre-Olympics.

During the Olympics, the schedule changed because my whole focus would be implementing the competition nutrition program of my athletes who are competing here. And then every day, I give them their nutrition guide or their nutrition program. They do it for the day based on the training session or the competition schedule, depending on what they will do on a day-to-day basis. So that is highly individualized. There are athletes who need guidance with regards to every single meal. It is the same if they cut weight or there is a weigh-in that needs to be done before the competition. But there are athletes also who are more on supplementation guidelines that I give.

MS: How do athletes differ in the food that they need? Do you make special programs for them?

CJA: Yes, their nutrition program is different. Of course, the program of a gymnast is different, like Caloy Yulo, versus our weight class athletes like the boxers and the weightlifters that I'm handling. For example, Caloy's main concern is more on energy maintenance for him to last in his long training hours in a day, sometimes once a day, sometimes two times a day. So that's our main goal. There's really no need for him to lose weight or whatsoever because his weight and body composition is okay. 

But for the weight class athletes in time handling such as boxing and those who are in boxing and weightlifting, that's a bit different from the program that I'm doing there. It's very specific when it comes to portioning, their overall calorie intake, the kind of food they eat, then what time the weigh-in is on competition day, and then how many hours the recovery time is on competition day.

MS: Are athletes very strict in their diet or are they also allowed to indulge in "treats" or junk food?

CJA:  The athletes are also people. So normal naman din yung kinakain nila. I mean, what normal people should eat, that's the same thing that they're also eating. Of course, priority parin syempre yung overall health nila. But there are days also that they indulge in treats or junk food. Normal naman yun. Lalo na kung kunyari, kailangan din nila ng break, or if they're going through a lot of things. I tell them that's normal and understandable and there are adjustments that can be done if ever they are diverting from our scheduled nutrition program.

MS: What are your non-negotiables when it comes to what you would define as a healthy diet?

CJA: Non-negotiables, actually I never had a non-negotiable. Everything is negotiated. Because for example, vegetables, most of the athletes that I'm handling can tolerate vegetables, but there is one athlete that I'm handling who is at the elite level. But sometimes he can't eat vegetables—vegetables that I usually feed to other athletes. And to that regard, I do my best to meet the nutritional requirements that he misses out on if ever he doesn't want to eat the vegetables that I serve.

MS: What are your top three tips to athletes who are clueless about what their diet should be like (for non-Olympians, regular sports participants, gym goers, etc.)

CJA: Top three tips? Well, of course, it's very important to establish first the fundamentals or foundational principles of timing of food intake that you're consuming if you really want to optimize your performance. Now, the supplementation is just like icing on the cake. It's not really necessary but it can help. With regards to supplementation, it's very important to consult a licensed professional to assess whether a sports participant truly needs to include supplements in their regimen.

Banner photos via @coachjeanetharo