University of Washington athletes are undoubtedly some of the most talented individuals in the nation. The Dawgs have won multiple national championships and sent dozens of athletes to the Olympics over the years. While it may be easy to attribute that to hard work and natural talent, there is another component that goes into making a good athlete a great one. That secret ingredient is food.

When most students come to college, they worry about gaining the infamous “freshman 15.” Mostly as a product of staying up late and eating the slightly less-than-nutritious dorm food, freshmen often return home after their first year at school wondering how they fell into the dreaded trap. UW athletes, however, have an advantage that most students don’t. Her name is Emily Edison, and she is the head nutritionist for UW student athletes.

“I try to teach them to stay away from the “Cs:” cookies, candy, crispy, creamy and even Coke,” Edison said.

She has met with many of the athletes one-on-one as well as in teams. Dani Schuster, a junior cross country and middle-distance track runner, has met with Edison several times to discuss which foods will help her perform at her top level.

“I’ve learned in coming to college that the most important thing in being a distance runner is getting enough of the right food,” Schuster said. “Refueling right after a workout is a really useful nutrition tool. After a workout it is really important to put energy back into your body.”

While Schuster routinely runs between 40 and 60 miles per week depending on where she is at in her season, she feels that running is only part of the equation to being a successful athlete.

“Nutrition is equally important as the training aspect of distance running,” she said.

Runners aren’t the only athletes at Washington that have reaped the benefits of having Edison around, however. Although he hasn’t met with Edison one on one, junior starting goalkeeper Rylan Hawkins of the men’s soccer team has learned that one of the most important aspects to his training is to make sure he is eating enough food.

“We always try to get in food right after we do anything, especially after games,” Hawkins said. “Especially in that 30-minute window. Just something, whether it’s a Clif Bar or a full meal.”

While a post-game meal is important for restoring lost energy and nutrients, the pre-game meal is perhaps more important in terms of on-field performance.

“Pre-game always consists of eating a really big meal four hours before the game so it has time to get through the system but still giving us a lot of energy,” Hawkins said.

One common training theme for all athletes is the necessity of eating directly after a workout. This replaces many of the vital nutrients that the body loses during workouts and then craves.

“We try to tell our athletes to eat right after working out,” Edison said. “When you don’t eat right after working out and wait until later in the day, a lot of the energy burned is protein, and the carbohydrates get stored as fat.”

While Hawkins may not participate in as much physical activity during the game as a center-midfielder, his work in practice more than makes up for it in terms of calories burned.

“A goalie on the soccer team may be more sedentary during the game, but he is working equally as hard, if not harder, than the other guys in practice,” Edison said. “He needs to make sure he’s eating foods that will make him stronger.”

While these high-powered athletes are extremely conscientious of their diets and what they put into their bodies, they also enjoy things that any normal college student would.

“Really, I eat meals that everyone eats,” Schuster said. “I love pasta after a hard workout with some sort of meat and veggies. I also like steak and potatoes, bananas and strawberries, and ice cream, too. Runners are famous for having an extra bowl of cereal after dinner or before bed,” Schuster said.

Hawkins agrees with Schuster that while nutrition is important, allowing your body to enjoy a treat once in a while is certainly a good thing.

“Chocolate milk is my best friend,” he said.

So while most students occasionally watch what they eat, Husky athletes know that without the right kind of food they will not be performing to their potential.

“You only have one body; it is important to take care of it,” Schuster said.