Competitive eater Joey Chestnut shares what happened after eating 76 hot dogs

If you’ve ever been curious about what happens after eating 76 hotdogs in 10 minutes, then we’ve got the answer for you…

There is nothing wrong with taking some time to see how many hotdogs you can eat in a 10-minute period, it’s important knowledge to glean for research reasons.

But if you don’t fancy cramming that much bread and meat into your face, the legendary competitive eater Joey Chestnut is on hand to explain exactly what happens.

The food hoover has won the famous Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest a whopping 15 times, and this year he broke his own record by managing to eat 76 in 10 minutes.

Joey Chestnut competes in the 2023 Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. (Credit: Bobby Bank/Getty)

Joey sat down with Insider and revealed what happens to the body when that amount of food is consumed so quickly – and it doesn’t sound too pleasant.

“Most people relate to feeling really bloated and tired after Thanksgiving,” the competitive eater said. “It’s kind of like that, except really, really bad.”

It’s remarkable that Joey isn’t sick of hotdogs after all these years, considering it’s now more of a job for him to eat them.

“People have told me they can smell the hot dogs,” Joey went on. “I really can’t, but the sweat afterwards, it feels sticky and greasy. My girlfriend says it smells different.”

Hotdog-smelling sweat might seem like a good time, but in reality, it’s probably extremely uncomfortable and a long shower is the only remedy.

“Afterward, I’m crazy exhausted,” he went on, saying that he heads back to his hotel for a much-needed rest. “Usually my first thing is either I’m thirsty or I want to go to sleep. I usually take a nap as soon as I can.”

Naturally, food that goes in has to come out somehow, and 76 hotdogs can pass through the system quite quickly.

“If you eat a lot of food, you’re going to go to the bathroom,” Joey said while adding that prior to a competition he will go on a cleanse of just water and lemon juice to empty his system.

“Most people, when you eat food, it takes nine to 10 hours to really digest it. After I do a cleanse, things are moving quick,” he said, as he needs to use the bathroom after four hours after a competition.

The competitive eater has no intentions of stopping just yet. (Credit: Bobby Bank/Getty)

The competitive eater still consumes hotdogs for pleasure outside of competitions, especially when he adds Cheez Wiz.

On potential retirement, Joey said: “As long as my body’s cooperating, I can see myself doing it for years. One of these days someone is going to come — some absolute boss, man or woman — and challenge me, and I’m looking forward to it.”

The man loves his hotdogs!

Featured image: Bobby Bank/Ivan/Getty