I’m a competitive eater in 10,000-calorie food challenges — here’s how I stay in shape
Most people wouldn’t be able to fathom eating 10,000 calories in a single sitting, let alone stay in shape while doing so.
But Katina DeJarnett has made a career out of eating five pounds of food at a time, consuming mounds of pizza, steak, burgers and cookies — and she’s still slender.
DeJarnett, known as Katina Eats Kilos online, is a competitive eater who documents her big food challenges on her YouTube account which boasts 689,000 subscribers.
While competitive eating isn’t classified as a sport, the 32-year-old told Business Insider that it requirers the same kind of preparation.
“You have to train pretty hard to be any good at it,” she said.
At five feet, two inches tall, DeJarnett has to make sure she can handle putting all that food into her body without overdoing it.
“I enjoy being a small human,” she shared. “It makes it pretty fun if I go in unannounced and play dumb and see the shock and awe when I’m able to eat all that food.”
While it’s probably assumed that a girl with a small build who consumes that much food at once has an intense and grueling workout routine, DeJarnett admitted that she doesn’t spend a long time in the gym — nor does she change her diet before a competition.
“I even eat a big breakfast or a snack before [competing]. If I get too hungry, it upsets my stomach and also I get grumpy,” she said.
In order to stay healthy and balanced, the former bodybuilder has a relatively simple practice of eating large, nutrient-dense salads, walking a lot and lifting weights.
While her weight fluctuates, she has mostly been able to maintain a slender figure by focusing on her calories per week instead of per day.
She aims for an average of 2,100 calories per day, but plans it across seven days in order to ensure that the calories consumed during competitions can add to the fuel and energy that gets her through the week.
DeJarnett typically eats one big meal a day in between the challenge. It’s usually a huge salad with protein, followed by a lot of soda to expand her stomach.
Recovering from the discomfort in the aftermath can take a while, too, and DeJarnett stressed the importance of staying hydrated.
An additional hurdle for her is traveling and working with her boyfriend Randy Santel — who is also a competitive eater and six feet, five inches tall.
She sees him have an easier time burning off the calories after a competition.
And though she doesn’t do long gym sessions, she continues to stay active in other ways, aiming for 10,000 steps per day, and 20,000 when she’s exploring a new place.
She also loves lifting, especially as a former bodybuilder, and does a “bro” workout split that targets different muscle groups over five days a week, 90 minutes a day, while resting on the weekends.
“I just love lifting,” she shared. “It’s not a punishment mindset, I see it as a reward, I ate all this food and now I get to go to the gym and use that energy.”
Though DeJarnett loves food and genuinely has fun at most challenges, she admits that eating anything more than six pounds is “very uncomfortable” for her — especially with a time limit.
“Thirty minutes into a challenge, you’re hurting, and even if it’s your favorite food, it doesn’t taste good anymore,” she said.
Competitive eaters end up learning different strategies for different foods based on the aftermath. Salty foods can cause bloating and spicy foods can lead to heartburn or indigestion. But when it comes to sweets, speed is the best way to go.
“You have to finish as quickly as possible before your body realizes how much sugar you’ve eaten,” she said.
