EX-PLAYERS LEARN TO EAT NORMAL

Ex-football players learn to eat like civilians to save themselves.

Many college football players, once they graduate, discover that what they did to put themselves in shape to play football leaves them out of shape for a life that no longer includes the sport.

Now more than ever, players are learning to reshape those habits. They reshape themselves in the process. Most major-conference linemen dedicate years to gaining the weight that make them valuable on the field. They lift weights, run sprints and participate in grueling practice sessions that have become a year-round staple.

That constant activity burns a remarkable amount of calories. Replacing those calories creates eating habits that border on the absurd.

"I look back on some of the stuff I ate - going to a buffet and eating nonstop for an hour - and I can't believe I did it," said former Auburn tackle Steve Goula, who played from 1999 to 2002. "It was OK then. I needed the weight. I was in shape. It's just that it creates habits that are really hard to break."

Former Auburn starting center Jeremy Ingle, who stands 6-foot-1, played the 2004 season at 295 pounds. He crept closer to 300 pounds upon his return to Montgomery at season's end and knew almost immediately that changes were in order.
Ingle sensed it.

He also heard it from his most trusted source. Kevin Yoxall, Auburn's head strength and conditioning coach, helped Ingle bolster his body enough to thrive in the Southeastern Conference.
Now Yoxall is promoting a new approach.

"A body is not meant to be 300 pounds - especially when you're talking about a guy like Jeremy Ingle," said Yoxall, now in his 10th year with the Tigers. "When you're training like they are, you lose sight of how much you're eating. You have to think about food in a different way when your career ends. If not, things get out of control quickly."

Ingle reversed that trend slowly by walking on a treadmill. He was comfortable jogging on the treadmill a few months later after losing approximately 30 pounds.

The weight loss prompted him to examine more carefully the foods he was eating. Hamburgers and fries became memories. Ingle prepared meals at home more often, minimized his portions and watched the pounds disappear.

By the summer of 2006, some 18 months after his career ended, Ingle had lost 100 pounds.

"For me, it was really more of a lifestyle change and wanting to get in shape to live a life," said Ingle. "It's basic math. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that the less calories you take in, the better chance you have to lose weight."

The benefits of losing weight extend well beyond what some players can see. Stuart Hendon, a Montgomery physician, said players who add "artificial weight" must take steps after graduation to return their bodies to an appropriate size.

He said many patients who gain weight in their 20s one day become overweight patients in their 50s.

"We all know that 80,000 people pay to see Auburn be bigger and stronger. That's just the reality of it," said Hendon, a 1989 Auburn graduate. "Taking steps to lose unhealthy weight after a player's career is over is a good way to avoid problems down the road. The tendency is to go the wrong way. It's hard for these guys to change their diet, but it's going to lead to a better quality of life."

Joe Walker knows all about it. Auburn's director of sports nutrition for football has spent the past 16 months designing new ways to educate players about responsible eating. Surprised by how few players understood food preparation, Walker now shops with small groups of players several times each semester.

He shows them the difference between regular and lean meats. He teaches them how to make meals at home that are both inexpensive and healthy. He champions vegetables. He explains why eating fast food isn't a path to greatness.

The coaching staff helps out former players in other ways as well. Goula, who lost pounds in 10 months in 2005, said he sought guidance from recipes Yoxall in cluded in the team's 2001 handbook. Ingle said the discipline required to maintain his playing weight at Auburn became a powerful element of his weight-loss effort.

He laughs at the irony. "I wouldn't trade my playing days for anything. It gave me so much," Ingle said. "It gave me a gut, too, but it was my responsibility to take it off. I worked hard at getting big. I worked harder at getting smaller. I'm glad I went through it all. I'm a better person for it."

source: Moving on Sports and Lifestyle wires.
by jay g. tatekev