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Show For the 1 oye of fo o IN THE KITCHEN AND ON THE FIELD BY RYAN MILLER /SPORTS EDITOR PHOTO BY JAMESON CLIFTON Utah football team has athletes of many shapes and sizes, and the teams' many nutrition plan shows just that. There are three different categories that each player can fall into: maintain weight, lose weight and gain weight. Offensive lineman Junior Salt is happily in the maintain weight group. "They kind of let you eat whatever" Salt said. And for Salt that means a little bit of, well actually, a lot of everything. "Tell you the truth, man, I love food," Salt said. "I eat anything and everything. Anything from protein to a lot of carbs, a lot of chicken, a lot of rice and a lot of Tongan food. My mom's a really good cook so I eat a lot of her food." The one thing that Salt has restrained himself from is soda, but for the most part everything else is on the table, even if he knows that some of it isn't always the best. Salt was born in Utah, but comes from Tongan heritage. Polynesian food contains a lot of starch, and Salt realizes that is not the healthiest for his body, but sometimes can't help himself. "It's not a good thing to consume that much [starch], but it's very delicious and it's hard not to eat, especially Sunday," Salt said. Salt explained that in Polynesia, Sunday meals were always the biggest feasts and the meals that everyone looked forward. His family keeps that tradition and when Sunday rolls around, Salt is eating. The senior lineman does try to keep on the healthy side during the week though. Salt will often eat a big salad in hopes of filling himself up. "When I'm [at school] I try to at least throw in some greens on my plate, try to get a salad or something" Salt said. "Me, I love to eat and if I tell you I love to eat, I clean out the house, man, so by getting a big salad in my system T it helps me feel a little full.Then you know, I'll have a little bit on the side, like a chicken breast or some fish" Not all the Utes have as lenient a diet as Salt does, as they are asked to either lose or gain weight.To help the players accomplish their goals the Utes have a nutrition team to help plan and cook meals and set up diets for the team. "The nutrition team does a great job in picking out the best foods for us," Salt said. "We'll have guys complaining about the food they make here, but you know it's for the best. It's the healthy stuff for us and it's what we need. And you can definitely tell it transfers over to how we play on Saturdays." Even with the nutrition team's help, some Utes still struggle to reach the proper weight, and according Salt, the players who struggle the most are the ones being asked 6 { THECHRONY I NEWS I OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2014 } to gain weight. "There are a lot of guys that struggle to gain weight," Salt said. "I don't know how that's a struggle, man. Some guys have to gain like five or eight pounds. But for me, man, I can gain that in two or three days" Based on his love of food, Salt probably wouldn't mind proving just that. r.miller@chronicle.utah.edu @millerjryan he diet of a college student is pretty infamous. It can range from McDonalds to a salad or anything that is edible in the fridge. For student-athletes like junior Lindsey Luke, what they eat has to be more of a conscious decision. "I think that since being in college and being a college athlete I've focused a lot on eating healthy,' Luke said. "I don't count calories or anything like that. But as long as you know what you're eating. Or if you cook for yourself and you know what you're making is good, and then eat how much you want" Most of the team enjoys their meals in what they call the "fueling station" also known as the athlete cafeteria. An average meal for Luke at the cafeteria consists of chicken, broccoli, sweet potatoes, rice and a salad. Luke thinks about what she puts into her body and it's not just something she does during the season. She and her roommate, sophomore Audrey Gibb, love to cook and make whatever they can at home. Despite having to stay focused and watch what they eat, there are slip-ups sometimes, and they mostly come in the form of sweets. Some of Luke's favorites are Twisters and Starburst. Swedish Fish are a favorite of both head coach Rich Manning and Luke. Both were quick to sell out senior Katie Taylor as having the biggest sweet tooth on the team. Taylor has been known to give out candy on birthdays. "I don't see it, they hide it from me" Manning said. "But there is no doubt — I hear the rumors:' Along with the occasional sweet, Luke loves a certain fast food chain that she grew up eating at. "A binge meal would be In-N-Out when I go home," Luke said. "I usually eat a double-double protein style, [without bread]." Even if a player does slip up, it's not likely to make that much of a difference — a soccer player runs an average of seven miles a game. Some have even been known to run almost 10. It is no secret that athletes train extremely hard on the practice field and in the weight room to stay in shape, but what they do in the kitchen can affect them just as much as what they do in practice. That's why the team gets a weekly visit from a nutritionist to make sure everyone is eating right. Every Wednesday the team gets a 20 minute talk on what they should be eating during the week, pregame and post-game. The nutritionist has even gone as far as bringing a grill to practice to show the players how to cook a proper meal. Some players will even text the nutritionist while at the grocery store to get an opinion on what to buy. "We have an extensive service" Manning said. "We try to, like other parts of a college life, try to educate them as much as possible. Then hope they do the right thing:' Student-athletes overall are a little different from other college students, especially when it comes to what they eat. It has to be a conscious decision and something to think about during the season as well as the offseason. Practice can only go so far. d.garcia@chronicle.utah.edu @dominic2295 7 |