I've been swimming properly, at least semi-professionally, for over 10 years and I don't remember much from my pre-swimming days foodwise. I still swam then so I imagine my diet was similar to what it is now except with less food. All I know is that when I was little, when I lived in Mansfield, my mum raised me on homely food, cooked from scratch. Lasagne, shepherd's pie and casseroles. Quite stodgy, yeah, but very decent food.

I've heard boxers have a rough time with food so swimmers are relatively lucky in that department. The most important thing with us is not weight, it's energy, which is why we have about six or seven small meals a day. Every morning I get up at 5.15am and I can just about stomach a glass of apple juice and a small bowl of cereal before I train. After a two-hour swim I'll have a second breakfast which is the same as before except much bigger: usually a bucketful of cereal and more apple juice. What I have varies – Rice Krispies, Weetabix Minis, anything like that, kids' cereals. Then I'll spend the morning doing weights and in physio.

By now I'm starving so I'll have a sandwich. I go through phases with my fillings. At the moment it's cheese, tomato and ham on 50/50 Kingsmill bread. Four slices, so two sandwiches. After lunch it's more training and then an apple, a portion of jelly and yet even more training either in or out of the water before I hit the gym. Here I'll do my set workout and break occasionally with a banana or a banana shake. Dinner is pasta or fajitas or braising steak. Now I live on my own, so when I cook it's something fast and easy.

It's a normal diet, just a lot of it. I can't imagine what it's like to go on a diet. I mean I would definitely faint if I didn't eat almost constantly. I only get a stitch if I don't let my food digest so the digestion process is the only time I stop doing anything.

I am allowed to eat what I want so long as I steer clear of takeaways. I still allow myself treats like chocolate and the odd glass of wine. My biggest weakness is cake, especially my friend's homemade chocolate cake. That or anything from the Hummingbird Bakery. I could eat a box of their cupcakes and if and when I request them, I have to make sure everyone gets one otherwise I'd eat the lot. The sponge and the frosting are to die for.

I can't stand fish. Yuck. Even talking about it makes me feel ill. Everything about fish is wrong. Their eyes, the smell, the taste, the fleshiness. Gross.

Dr John Briffa on Rebecca Adlington's basket

Apple juice

Highly sugary, apple juice will supply some ready and easily absorbed fuel for Rebecca's morning session. It is not, however, something I'd recommend in quantity for less active individuals, on account of its, well, very sugary nature. If drunk, I recommend diluting fruit juice at least half-and-half with water.

Rice Krispies

Like the apple juice, this stuff will liberate sugar quite quickly into Rebecca's bloodstream. That might just about be OK for an athlete who will generally be burning sugar readily and using it to replenish fuel-depleted muscles. However, I think such fodder, in the long term, is generally a major health hazard on the basis of its blood sugar-disrupting nature, and the fact that it is generally low in nutritional value.

Cheese, tomato and ham sandwich

Like the kids' cereal, this meal is largely fodder (the bread). The problem for most mere mortals with this sort of food is that by releasing copious quantities of sugar into the bloodstream, it stimulates processes that predispose to things like weight gain and type 2 diabetes. It can also, in the shorter term, lead to blood sugar lows (as the body can over-compensate for the highs) that can lead to fatigue, fuzzy thinking and food cravings.

Apple

Fruit such as this is a great way to get some carbohydrate into the body in a relatively tempered and nutritious way. This is so much better than most of the other carbohydrate sources in Rebecca's diet (eg bread, children's cereals, cupcakes).

Banana

Same as apple really, though generally higher in carbohydrate and a bit fast sugar-releasing, too. This fruit is still so much better than a lot of the carb sources so prevalent in Rebecca's diet.

Jelly

Sugary rubbish. Just rubbish.

Braising steak

At last, a decent source of protein. This has particular relevance to Rebecca as it's difficult to make or maintain muscle without some decent protein in the diet.

Cupcakes

Another example of a quite trashy food based on refined, fast sugar-releasing carb. In some respects, with a diet like this, it's perhaps a good thing that weight is not a major issue for swimmers like Rebecca.