For the average college student, pizza, macaroni and cheese and instant anything is part of the staple diet. But for some, watching what they eat is part of college life-the freshman 15 isn’t an option. These aren’t just your regular college students, though, they are student athletes, and they usually have to think twice before going for a cheeseburger.
“Special diets are important for these athletes because of the high physical, mental and personal demands that are required?every single day,” said Jessica Janik, registered dietitian for all student-athletes at Saint Louis University.?”Properly fuelling themselves is critical in order to maintain focus throughout the entire competition, prevent muscle soreness and injury, increase overall recovery time and raise energy levels.”
Janik works with all the major sports at SLU, and while many times the diets are similar, some are as different as the sports themselves. She said strength athletes require a high protein intake, while endurance athletes have high carbohydrate requirements. The diet also depends on whether or not the athlete is in preseason, competitive season, or offseason.?
Kyle Patterson, a senior on SLU’s men’s soccer team, works with Janik to maintain a healthy diet.
“One of her important messages to us is to break our meals down,” he said. “So, instead of having three big meals per day, maybe have three medium-sized meals and little snacks in between. This is especially important during season when we are training every day.”
For tennis athletes, protein is an important part of the diet. Foods such as fish, steak (in small portions), chicken (not fried) and vegetables form the core of what the athletes eat.
“It is a simple diet that emphasizes less calories and good protein,” said P.J. Hendrie, a junior on SLU’s tennis team.?”It is really just a normal, healthy diet if anything. The biggest part of our diet is water. We must drink it all day-hydration is a huge component in tennis.”
Janik also noted that hydration is an important part of any sport and advises athletes, or anyone, to stay away from excessive caffeine, especially soda. Caffeinated products act as diuretics, elevating the rate of urination and speeding up water loss from the body.
“Athletes need to?stay hydrated and not practicing proper fluid replacement will result in poor athletic performances,” Janik said.
Swimmers also must drink water in large quantities, despite being constantly surrounded by it. The swimmer’s diet depends on whether or not they swim sprints or long distances.
Sprint swimmers generally try to build muscle in order to pull them through the water much faster, and eat more meats and peanut butter. Distance swimmers, on the other hand, strive for a more toned build, which enables them to swim longer without tiring as quickly.
Justin Breithaupt is a senior on the swim team who described his diet.
“[I eat] carbs and lots of them because of how long and hard a typical swim practice is: two to three intense hours, sometimes twice a day,” he said. “I eat at least one meal of pasta each day.
“Before big swim meets, the SLU team goes out to dinner together to an Italian restaurant and eats pasta. This is called ‘carb loading,’ and is generally done a day or two before the meet to make sure we have enough energy to race at our best level.”
Most athletes aren’t bound to a specific diet, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t take care of themselves. Kevin Lisch, a senior on the men’s basketball team, said he doesn’t follow a pre-set diet but still considers himself a healthy eater.
“I try to eat food high in protein and carbohydrates,” Lisch said. “Eating fruit, such as bananas, is also good. During the season, I burn up so many calories every day that I really don’t need to watch eating high caloric foods.”
Adair Quisenberry, a freshman on SLU’s cross country team shared similar sentiments as Lisch.
“I try to stay away from fried foods mostly and just aim for a balanced diet,” she said. “I think the rest of the team has a similar routine.”
So do the athletes ever give in to temptation? Of course, they’re only human, and they’re in college. However, it doesn’t affect them as much as it would the regular dieter.
“On the weekends, I usually eat whatever I feel I am hungry for,” Hendrie said.?”Overall, though, our team is in excellent shape, so a ‘bad meal’ once in a while does not really hurt us.”
Breithaupt, likewise, said it’s not worth compromising one’s happiness while adhering to a healthy diet.
“The best advice I have ever heard is that ‘a happy swimmer is a good swimmer,'” Breithaupt added. “And that means, if eating Oreos every night makes you happy, the effect of your happiness on your swimming will do more than a couple extra calories will do to hurt you.”
