He says he has “an appetite for destruction.” UNH senior Lance Mailloux lends his protein-rich diet loads of credit for his success on the football field.
This year, Lance’s football coach has given him “weight goals” that guide him to gain a certain amount of weight to become a better defender. Being a former weight-conscious wrestler, Lance decided to gain his weight “in the healthiest way possible.” And so begins his hulk-a-licious diet description:
“I get in extra calories through drinking lots of fruit juice…”
“Instead of eating junk food, I eat larger portions of healthy (3-star) foods…”
“I eat a slow-digesting meal before bed to prevent muscle breakdown overnight…”
“I eat protein at almost every meal and I eat every 3 hours…”
Lance gets most of his diet advice from reading Muscle Fitness and Men’s Health magazines. Over the past year, he has also taken advantage of Guiding Stars ratings at the dining halls where he consumes 3-5 meals a day. “I have seen it around the dining hall but I didn’t know Guiding Stars extended into grocery stores,” Lance explained. He plans to take full-advantage of the rating system at the local Hannaford in the future.
This informed athlete is a great example of why every person has different nutritional needs—one diet isn’t perfect for everyone. The day of our dining hall chat, Lance had a variety of things on his tray: an apple with peanut butter (chunky, of course), a steak and chicken wrap, a small bowl of whole wheat pasta, some garlic bread, a piece of meatball pizza, and some celery sticks (for good luck). Although his tray was extremely full, Lance had made some pretty good choices according to Guiding Stars.
He was so excited to try my Guiding Stars inspired meal that he could barely continue talking to me. So I prepared him a healthy version of chicken parmesan (which he mentioned was his favorite food). I used whole wheat pasta, marinara sauce, grilled chicken, and melted some mozzarella cheese on top. He loved it – even more than the pre-made version that the dining hall offers during the year. This wildcat plans to add this to his weekly diet, and intends to eat about three times the portion that I prepared for him.
So what else has this nutrition conscious undergrad been able to accomplish.
He has always been a star athlete – since the day he could walk – but during his glory years at UNH, Lance has won a wrestling national championship, has played as a key part of the defensive line on the UNH football team for 4 years, and currently holds the team record for bench pressing 450 pounds.
Lance is made of muscle but also brains, as he majors in Environmental Conservation, minors in Business Administration, and holds a summer internship at the Jackson Estuary Lab in Durham, New Hampshire. He spends free time working out, hanging with friends, “mudding” in his best friend’s monster truck, going to his summer house at Lake Winnipesaukee, swimming, ice fishing, and going to concerts.
Although football is his highest priority, this wildcat is able to have some fun for himself – no wonder he needs to eat so much! His next step is getting a personal caterer, hopefully someone who specializes in 3-star chicken parmesan!
About our Student Blogger
Sarah Frederickson is a senior Nutrition & Wellness major at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). She has a strong passion for promoting healthy eating and overall wellness. With some help from the UNH dietitian, Sarah recently finished a project called Creative Eating which is an approach to educating students on making interesting, delicious, and smart choices in the dining halls.
Along with a personal blog that she uses to support this project, Sarah has a Facebook group where Creative Eating enthusiasts can stay updated with project events, news, and recipe ideas. She is also an active member of Students Promoting Information on Nutrition (SPIN), a UNH student organization meant to spread nutrition knowledge to students through peer education.