After a long delay, then a frustrating cancellation and surprising un-cancellation, Joey Chestnut retained his mustard yellow belt by winning the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. But the stormy weather and whiplash of storm-related uncertainty clearly took its toll on competitive eating’s G.O.A.T. Instead of firing down 10 days worth of calories in 10 minutes, Chestnut’s 62 hot dogs — his lowest mark since 2015 when he was dethroned by Matt Stonie — only made up nine days of his recommended caloric intake.
That’s right, in front of a reduced crowd, Chestnut scarfed down at least 17,920 calories, per Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs’ official nutritional information and assuming the dogs consumed at the greatest eating throwdown in the universe are the company’s smallest offering. Here’s the breakdown of exactly what he put in his body — and the daily percentage of what he’s supposed to put in there based on the FDA’s guidelines for a 2,000-calorie diet, where available.
Calories: 17,920 (896 percent of daily recommended value)
Sodium: 48,980 mg (20,408 percent)
Total Fat: 1,116 g (17,169 percent)
Saturated fat: 372 g (18,600 percent)
Trans fat: 62 g (28,182 percent)
Total Carbs: 1,490 g (4,960 percent)
Dietary Fiber: 62 g (248 percent)
Sugars: 124 g
Protein: 620 g
Cholesterol: 1,860 mg
So yeah, probably not great for his body. But healthier than the 72 dogs he put down in 2017, so it’s possible he’s feeling a little bit better tonight than he typically does after a long day at Coney Island.