When it comes to preforming, the food that we put in our bodies makes all the difference in how well we will be able to compete. As athletes we can’t be like Popeye the Sailor and just eat spinach before a game, have mega-strength and destroy our opponents… I’ve tried.
Any athlete will tell you that practice makes perfect, and the same thing can be said about training your body to eat right. By minimizing the bad (yet oh so good) food from your diet, it will allow your body to understand what healthy foods help you preform better. Having the right food in your system will not only make you a healthier individual but it will also improve your performance out on the field.
SUNY Oswego is always promoting a healthier way of living, especially when it comes to what you eat in the dining halls. However the choice to eat the right things as an athlete falls solely on you. You have to make the conscious decision of doing what it takes to become a better athlete. So put down the extra slice of pizza and step away from the ice cream bar, and here are some helpful hints about eating right.
1) Freshman 15 is a Real Thing
It really shouldn’t be called “Freshman 15” in reality it should be called “Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior 15.” When it comes to eating in the dining halls it becomes a social event. Even when you are not hungry you still go to the dinning hall because that is where all your friends are. And when all of your friends are eating food around you its hard not to want to get a plate for yourself.
I am not discouraging you to go to the dining hall, in fact some of the best new food concoctions are invented in the dining hall, I am just encouraging you to grab some fruit, or make a salad instead of eating another full meal.
2) Check Out The Resident Dining Menu Online
Looking at the dining menu online before eating can help with making the right choices about what to eat. If you look at the menu only it will show you what is being served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and what foods are heart healthy, vegetarian, and vegan.
Also the dining menu online offers MyPlate. MyPlate is where you can pick foods from the menu that you want to eat and then it will calculate all the total nutrients (good and bad) you are receiving from that specific meal. By being able to visually see how the foods are helping or hurting your body it will make deciding what healthy food to eat easier.
3) Encourage Your Teammates
Eating healthier can change your game, imagine what it can do to an entire team. That being said take the initiative to circle the wagons with your teammates. Trying to eat healthy as a group is a lot easier than trying to eat healthy on your own.
I know for our team we have a sweet tooth for ice cream and Cooper Dining Hall has its own creamery. So after a lot of our meals we would go get ice cream afterwards and not think twice about it. It wasn’t until when we were in season that we were seeing the effect all this ice cream was having on us. So instead of just cutting out all junk food we decided that once a week in season we would go for ice cream. We were all in it together and it made things a lot easier. It’s okay to eat junk food as long as you manage how much you eat of it.
Lakeside Dining Hall