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| Members of the Nutrition Staff |
Under the supervision and drive of our team nutritionist,
Jamie Meeks, RD, the nutrition services available to the LSU student athletes have
been expanding. With the recent NCAA move to deregulate food consumption,
there have been a lot of positive changes.
Jamie and her staff have added Fueling Stations
to three different sports facilities, the Football Operations Facility, the Tiger
Stadium Strength and Conditioning Center, and the Cox Communication Academic Center for Student Athletes. In the morning hours, these Fueling Stations offer hot breakfast
sandwiches, bagels and yogurt among other items. Throughout the day, there are small, healthy snacks
that the athletes can grab when going to and from class. In the evenings, The Cox Fueling
Station an enhanced snack is offered. This enhanced snack varies from grilled chicken
sandwiches and sandwich wraps just to name a few. Meeks explained that the NCAA has changed some of the regulations
on feeding athletes. In the past years,
the athletes were only allowed to be fed essentially fruit, nuts, bagels, and granola. This year, because
the NCAA has deregulated some of the feeding policies, more can be offered to
the student athletes. In order to make
these changes, Meeks collaborated with nutritionists at other
schools and has been fortunate enough to be able to expand her staff.
She now has one full- time intern, Lauren Silvio, RD, and fifteen volunteer
sport nutrition intern students. These
students are responsible for manning the fueling stations, keeping them
well-stocked, and presentable. I asked Jamie Meeks
how she decided on what to include at the fueling stations.She wanted to have, "wholesome, full calorie foods available that were high in protein, contained good
carbohydrates, and healthy fats." By
including food that promoted energy and recovery, she hopes to improve the way
the athletes currently eat teach them what they
should eat when not at school. All of
work that Jamie’s and her staff has put into Project Fueling Station has certainly paid off. She has seen a positive change in the
nutrition of her athletes already. "The athletes are eating more
instead of back loading their calories. Their moods have improved and they have
higher energy levels. More importantly, there are fewer athletes who are
requiring one-on-one nutritional counseling. Overall, the Fueling Stations have been a very positive
addition to our elite, athletic environment. We would like to congratulate Registered Dietician Jamie Meeks on the success of her Fueling Stations and
the expansion of her staff!
Football Practice Facility Fueling Station
