A healthy diet is imperative for fitness enthusiasts and student athletes alike.
This is encouraged by the graduate level dietetic interns, the Coordinator of Wellness Education and by the Dietetic Internship Assistant Director at Keene State College.
A student athlete’s diet goes beyond eating his/her fruits and veggies on a daily basis, and may be more complex than that of the fitness enthusiasts.
KSC junior and midfielder for the men’s soccer team Riley Steele said, “During the season, I definitely eat a lot more, just because I am burning more calories.”
Practices can be long, hot and arduous, especially in the beginning of the fall season.
“We usually get to practice, get our stuff on, do a passing drill, do a formal team dynamic warm-up, then we stretch and break up and do more of a functional training based on which day of the week it is,” Steele said.
Exercise during practices is clearly important for high performance, but how an athlete fuels up before and after is also key.
Andrea Cuzzupe/ Equinox Staff
“I try to eat a pretty decent-sized breakfasts every day, just to start my day off, always making sure I stay hydrated, drink as much water as possible and after practice I eat a pretty big dinner, and now that I am off-campus, I have been eating a little bit healthier,” Steele said.
Coaches play a major role for the performance of athletes, but there are other resources on campus as well.
KSC Coordinator of Wellness Education Tiffany Mathews said, “In the past, I have met with teams to talk about nutrition education and sometimes our undergrad interns have spoken with them too.”
As for the avid gym-goers, a healthy diet is recommended, and there is coaching offered for these students, as well as the student athletes on campus.
For students looking for guidance and tips on how to eat healthy, there is an easy way to obtain training from graduate level dietetic interns at KSC.
Dietetic Intern Internship Assistant Director, Whitney Houser stated, “The dietetic interns who are most interested in one-on-one nutrition coaching, individualized nutrition education, and nutrition to fuel fitness and athletic performance have been assigned as KSC nutrition coaches for the fall semester.”
While this is a new implementation for the entire student body at Keene State College, there has already been some interest from KSC students.
KSC junior Eric Walsh and fitness enthusiast at Keene State College said, “I recently heard [of the program]. I actually plan on using it because it sounds incredibly helpful.”
Walsh spends close to nine hours at the gym per week.
“Before I work out, I try to have a smaller meal with some carbs, but not too many to make me full, but afterwards, I’ll have a bigger meal filled with protein,” Walsh said.
Whether a student is looking for some guidance or an athlete is looking to make himself or herself better, the interns are looking to be a part of a healthy campus.
Mary Curtin can be contacted at mcurtin@kscequinox.com