How Jones Protein (and Flavor!) Fuels a Two-Time Olympian
Former University of Wisconsin swimmer and two-time Olympian Phoebe Bacon knows what it takes to swim at the top of her game — and yes, she also knows her way around bacon. From pre-dawn practices to late-night dinners, Phoebe fuels her training with lean protein, wholesome meals, and a little comfort food along the way. We caught up with her to find out which Jones Dairy Farm products she keeps on hand, her go-to pre-meet meals, and the treat she can’t resist (spoiler: it shares her name!).
1) Describe your morning routine.
In the morning, I wake up around 5:25 a.m. for my 6:30 a.m. practice. I brush my teeth, grab my coffee, and make my oatmeal and I am out the door minutes later to start getting ready for practice. After practice is when I come home and make a large breakfast usually with some Jones Dairy Farm Turkey Bacon!
2) What’s your favorite Jones product?
My favorite product is a tie between the Uncured Cherrywood Smoked Turkey Bacon and the Dry Aged Cherrywood Smoked Extra Thick Cut Bacon. Both are so good, but I do like to save the thick cut bacon for more special occasions.
3) Pork, chicken, or turkey sausage, and why?
I love chicken sausage the most. Chicken sausage just has a better flavor, and I feel better when I eat it as opposed to pork and turkey. As an athlete eating lean protein sources is what I really tend to focus on so chicken sausage is always an amazing option.
4) What do you do to unwind at the end of the day?
The number one thing I do to unwind at the end of the day is cook myself a healthy and nutrient packed dinner. Growing up my mother was always cooking dinner for me when I would get home from a long day of school and practice, so I took after her in my love of cooking and it helped me relax at the end of the day.
5) What’s your favorite dish to cook?
My favorite thing to cook is chicken pot pie. I grew up making this dish with my dad for my birthday and his birthday, so it is nostalgic to me.
6) What’s your comfort food?
My comfort food is probably bacon. I grew up eating bacon usually about twice a day. I would have it for breakfast in the morning and then again at lunch so it will always be my comfort food.
7) What motivates you?
My biggest motivation is probably my team. I have grown up on various teams whether it be for swimming or soccer or ice hockey and having people around me who are constantly working to improve motivates me to work hard and want to succeed.
8) How’d you get into swimming?
I have two older siblings, and my mother would take all three of us to the summer pool to play and get out of the house. One summer my mom decided to put my siblings on the summer swim team. I was two years old at the time, so I was not ready to join the team just yet. The following year when I was three years old my mom felt it was the perfect time to put me on the team as well.
9) What’s something surprising about you that most people don’t know?
I think people would be surprised to hear that I love rebuilding and doing work on cars. My first car was a 1992 Jeep Wrangler that my father and I restored, and this is one of my most favorite memories.
10) How many grams of protein do you have to eat a day when you’re training?
I tend to get about 150 grams of protein a day to help sustain the hours of hard training that I do. This helps me to maintain and build muscle while still trying to push myself in the pool and the weight room.
11) Do you have to prioritize eating lean protein to maintain muscle?
I do prioritize eating lean protein sources because of the health benefits that they provide while also being easier for my stomach to digest.
12) If you weren’t a swimmer, what sport would you want to play/compete in?
I would like to be playing soccer. I have always had a love for soccer from a very young age, and my mom even played soccer in college.
13) Do you always wait 30 minutes after eating before you get into the pool to swim?
Definitely not always! Sometimes I even have a snack in between efforts on the wall in the pool. Eating is very important because of the number of calories I burn as a swimmer, so when I am hungry, I eat and sometimes that is within the 30-minute window of swimming.
14) Do you have a go-to pre-event meal you like to eat the day before, if so, what is it?
The day before a meet I love having chicken, potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. These are some of my favorite foods, so they are my go-to before my racing!
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