For years, I've lobbied in favor of carbohydrates even as trend dieters raised their fists in protest of pasta, bread, and even fruit (I know one woman who won't eat bananas because of the "carbs").

And now I have a celebrity to back me up, whom I can pull out in any conversation at any time and be sure that whomever I'm speaking with will know who I'm talking about: Michael Phelps.

Here's a man who just completed what no one before him had ever accomplished: Eight gold medals in a single Olympiad, and the most gold medals altogether in the history of sport. And as the media has dutifully shown, he's about as fit as can be.

And guess what? He consumes 12,000 calories per day -- six times the US Recommended Daily Allowance for an adult.

What comprises such a hungry man diet?

Here's an idea: three egg sandwiches with fried onions, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast, three chocolate-chip pancakes, two ham-and-cheese sandwiches, two pounds of pasta, and an entire pizza.

Here's a related fact: very few of the nine million overweight and obese kids in America can afford weight-loss camp, the New York Times reported this week.

Now, while the Wall Street Journal advises us mortals that Phelps' diet should not be tried at home, I believe we can at least learn from his example.

Kids are overweight, weight-loss camp is expensive, and the medical costs to treat type-2 diabetes and other diet-related illnesses are even more-so. What's more: depression, anxiety, and insomnia have practically become epidemics in this modern world.

Obviously, it's too simplistic to say that exercise is the panacea for all our ills, but it's a very good start. It staves off and manages psychic unrest, improves metabolism, and prolongs life.

So, as I said to a completely sedentary friend the other night over dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, when she debated whether to get rice because she's watching her "carbs," "I think we should all take a page from Phelps' book. Eat the rice, and then do something with the fuel you've just put into your body."

Image Credit: Karen Blasha from Wikimedia Commons]