Insatiable Appetite: Inside the World of Competitive Eater Juliet Lee

Juliet Lee, a 44-year-old Germantown mother of two and a busy hair salon owner, is also the 11th-highest-ranked professional competitive eater in the world. The weekdays she spends logging minivan miles to school events and tending to other people's hair are followed by weekends filled with inhuman quantities of food, not so much eaten as shoved down her esophagus under strictly timed conditions. This yoga-practicing suburbanite, who wears size zero jeans and shops the junior racks at Kohl's, has eaten, for example, 34 hot dogs, 48 tamales, 22 pork barbecue sandwiches and nearly five dozen miniature hamburgers. All within minutes.

Lee was online Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss her insatiable appetite for competition.

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NVCC: Ms. Lee:

How well is your fame in the U.S. known in China? Is it culturally acceptable over there to engorge oneself as much as possible just to win a money prize? Although China is a rising economic power, there are hundreds of millions in poverty and hunger. What would they think after seeing you?

Juliet Lee: NVCC,

I have friends from college who call me from China when they see news, so I'd say "yes" I guess I'm pretty well-known in China. Actually, competitive eating contests are quite popular in China, Japan and other Asian countries. It's not just "an American thing."

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NYC: Do you regurgitate after your competitions, or do you actually digest, say, 13 pounds of cranberry sauce? Also, how common is post-competition regurgitation among other competitors in your "sport"?

Juliet Lee: No, I don't (or haven't yet:) My metabolism is very high. I'm extremely active and it really doesn't take that long for me to digest most food.

I don't see anyone else regurgitating after contests - I think everyone who does this professionally doesn't need to.

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Rockville, Md.: Hello Ms Lee, Do competitive eaters typically throw up after the contest? I don't see how a person can comfortably keep all that food inside.

Thank you and good luck (I think)

Juliet Lee: Rockville, Md,

No, most competitors know their bodies, their capacities, and their limits. This is one of the things that separates someone trying this as a lark and someone who actually is prepared to compete. An amateur is more like to have a problem. Sometimes is ISN'T "comfortable," for a while, but as I answered another person, my system runs really fast and I'm not that full after a little while. Most contests are really just a few minutes, so most of the time I'm not actually that full, anyway.

Thanks for the wishes (I hope:)

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Columbus, Ohio: What was the controversy that occurred on stage at your Krystal qualifier? How many burgers were you penalized, and what was the reason?

Juliet Lee: Columbus, Ohio -

That was kind of a long story, but I'll try to put it in the short form. I was penalized my last two Krystals because I didn't swallow them "in a timely manner."

The "timely manner" was a bit subjective in my opinion, so I politely disagreed, to no avail. The two burger deduction made the difference between my place at the final or not.

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Fairfax,Va: Hello Juliet Congrats on your win. What is the worse food you have eaten?

Juliet Lee: Hi, Fairfax!

Actually, since each type of food brings it's own challenges there's really not a single food that's "the worst," but actually the sheer weight of 32 dozen oysters made me rather uncomfortable right after the contest. I really didn't want another oyster for the rest of the weekend:)

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washingtonpost.com: An Insatiable Appetite for Competition (Post, Oct. 13)

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Washington, D.C.: How do you juggle doing the competitive eating and family and a self-owned business? What is your daily life like?

Juliet Lee: My life as a mom, businesswoman, and competitive eater is, in a single word, "hectic." Fortunately, I have a very high energy level naturally, so that's a big advantage. But understand that competing is something that I like to do, but I only do it maybe once a month or so. I really can't devote that much time to it on a weekly basis - there are really much more important things in life. It's about keeping your priorities straight. This activity is fun, but the rest of my life is the stuff that really matters.

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Bethesda, Md.: How did you get into competitive eating and is this your full-time job/profession?

Juliet Lee: Bethesda,

I just heard about competitive eating on the news one day and I was intrigued by the idea. Once I realized that I could maybe make some money at it, I thought I'd give it a try. I started at an amateur pizza contest in Greenbelt, and the rest, as they say, is history.

No this is not my full-time profession. There are very few people who could (or would want to) make this this a full-time profession. I'm a hair stylist and mom in real life.

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Fairfax, Va.: What makes you so competitive?

Juliet Lee: Fairfax,

Honestly, I don't know- I've just always been very competitive. Maybe since I thought I had to do better than my brothers growing up, maybe because there is a very tough competition to get in to the better colleges in China, maybe it's just part of the culture in Asia.

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Rockville, Md.: What is about petite Asians that do so well in eating events like you, Sonja and Kobiyashi?

Juliet Lee: Rockville,

I've heard a theory called the "belt of fat" theory which postulates that thin people's stomachs have more room to expand than those with a lot of belly fat. I don't know if it's true, but it seems to make some sense. As far as Sonya, Takeru Kobyashi, and I'm concerned I know them pretty well and I assure you that there's a drive that pushes you to do your best no matter what you're doing.

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Vienna, Va.: What made you decide to become a competitive eater? And did you start at smaller events or just jump right into the major ones?

Juliet Lee: Vienna,

I was just intrigued with the idea of competitive eating. I had never heard of it, so once I heard about it, I thought to myself - "You know, I would be good at that!" So, I started by trying an amateur contest, which I won. I then started with a pretty major contest in Atlantic City that I didn't win, but did quite well at. I just started doing what contests were easy to get to, and seemed to be a food that I might be able to eat quickly.

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Washington, D.C.: How did you start doing this competitive eating? Did someone dare you? Had you always wanted to do this? What got you started? Have you been on TV?

Juliet Lee: Washington,

If you've been following this chat, you already know how I started, and no, nobody dared me - oddly enough, it seemed like a fun thing that I could do naturally. Yes, I've done a number of televised contests and shows. Look in the "Media" section of my web site www.julietlee.com for a complete list.

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Bethesda, Md.: I am sure you are getting this question a lot, but -- don't you find it a bit unethical to participate in competitive eating?

Juliet Lee: Bethesda,

I can't say I've gotten this question "a lot," but I have gotten it on occasion. Competitive eating is an interesting occasional "hobby" if you will. There's nothing "unethical" about this any more than maybe car racing wasting gas, football and boxing promoting violence, or really any other criticism of nearly any other pastime or sport. This is supposed to be a fun thing, it's not a serious issue. By the way, Major League Eating and I as well as most eaters donate literally thousands of dollars each year to a number charities and food banks. There's nothing unethical there.

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Upper Marlboro, Md.: Do you exercise daily?

Juliet Lee: Absolutely! Exercise is a big part of my overall healthly lifestyle. Don't confuse an occasional contest with day-to-day lifestyle choices. That would be like expecting a prize fighter to walk around punching people :)

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Oxon Hill, Md.,: How many calories do you eat on an average non-competition day?

Juliet Lee: Honestly, I don't know since I don't count calories. Most of my diet is fish, fruit, and veggies. I don't normally eat the type of food in my daily life that I eat in competition - then I really would be huge!

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McLean, Va.: How far in advance do you train for your competitions? And, do you train differently based on the food types involved in the competition? I'm fascinated.

Juliet Lee: I really don't "train" for competitions, I usually just try to get a sample of the food so I can figure out how to best eat it. Think about it for a minute - where would I get over 30 dozen oysters just to practice with? I couldn't afford it, and actually I don't think it's a good idea, anyway. Contests are well supervised and medical assistance is there in case of a problem. I don't think its a great idea to do home practice.

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Washington, D.C.: I had no idea this was popular in Asia, I always thought it was an American thing. Still, when I see it on TV or read about it, it doesn't seem right. Not sure if it's the waste of food or that so many people are overweight (not you) but I think this seems so 1950s ish. Isn't it time we got past this?

Juliet Lee: Yes, it really IS popular in Asia. In Japan specifically it's much bigger than it is in the U.S.

Actually when I saw the "extreme fighting" or whatever that is on TV I think THAT'S really wrong. Football seems crazy to me, too. Maybe this IS kind of "1950's" as you say..there's nothing wrong with that. There's a lot of things we should "get past" that are much bigger issues than a competitive eating contest.

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Juliet Lee: Thank you all for getting on-line with me today, but I really must go back to work - my REAL job. Clients are patiently waiting.

Thanks for the interesting questions and opinions - hopefully we can do this again soon!

Best Wishes

Juliet

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