Cowboys Nutritionist Speaks

[FuzzyLumpkins]

This is my fourth full season with the Cowboys,” says Amy who earned her master’s degree in exercise & sports nutrition from Texas Women’s University where she now serves as an adjunct professor. “Coach Garrett is a huge proponent of nutrition, so the book that players receive on their first day of official workouts has a whole sheet on their nutritional goals, tips on how to reach those goals, and whether or not they need to gain weight or lose weight. In rookie minicamp there were 30 new guys competing for very few positions.



“I work with the strength & conditioning staff and look at the new players’ body fat and weight. Some guys may need to gain weight, others need to lose weight. In turn, I educate them to get to their proper weight. I use my red-yellow-green food labeling system in our dining facility to help them understand ‘what are high calorie foods?’ And ‘what are low calorie foods?’ So it’s about fueling their bodies to help them reach their goal because if they don’t have enough fuel they’re not as likely to make the team.”



Amy’s relationship with the team extends beyond players. She works closely with the coaching staff and football operations department.

“In addition to the strength & conditioning staff, I also cross-check with the positon coaches to make sure we’re preaching the same message. Me being kind of the ‘mom’ of the team, I can say, ‘Okay, here’s the goal and we’ll do these things to get there’. It can depend on whether or not the players, especially rookies, are already living here, or maybe they’re staying at a nearby hotel, or maybe they’re at an extended stay hotel. I give them lists of foods and snacks to pick up at a grocery store so they have healthy items to eat while they’re away from our facility. We also have a chef that cooks individually for players so, based on a player’s goal, I figure out how many ounces of protein they need, how many cups of carbohydrates or vegetable, etc. We’ll have my chef cook specifically to that calorie range, then he packages it up, puts the player’s name on it, and delivers it to our dining facility at Valley Ranch so that all the guys have to do it take it home and heat it up. That’s helpful because we pre-plan and fine-tune their nutrition.”

http://www.5pointsblue.com/fueling-the-competition-team-dietitian-amy-goodson/

 

[The Natural]

pretty enjoyable read, thanks for sharing. Incredible access these guys have as professional athletes

 

[DandyDon52]

or we let them just go to in and out

 

[LarryCanadian]

More important than many players, especially early on, understand. Figures with all the investment in the players, and all the hard work in weight room and on field, an organization in this day and age has to focus on this (my step-nephew is a Washington Husky - and they do this already too - every after practice a "shake" with individualized protein and weight gain and recovery substances is waiting for each player....- they now pay for and provide 3 full meals per day, while it used to be 1.....- nutrition is huge)...

Gregory and others won't be just eating burgers and pizza anymore.....- they will be watched a lot more closely - might take a year or two before it transforms bodies, which is usually the case (anointing oils need to be put away or at least used patiently, even the "healthy - good fat - kinds"....).

Michael Irvin said it, - can't remember if it was on his short-lived reality show (Hawkins is still playing I think), or if it was on NFL network - story about talking to players - he said to a few guys "You are no longer eating for pleasure/fun - you are eating for PERFORMANCE now"......and he's right - genetics only does so much - and so many are so strong genetically in the field, that nutrition plays a big roll nowadays...

Good to hear this - and chefs preparing meals to be brought home - how great is that - NO EXCUSES!!!

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Good read. And like us all...the players cheat on occasion (see: Gregory, Randy and burger love).

I wish a personal chief cooked up my meals every night.

 

[big dog cowboy]

She needs to move into our house for a few months.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

Good read. And like us all...the players cheat on occasion (see: Gregory, Randy and burger love).

I wish a personal chief cooked up my meals every night.

Were would you get one of these?

Would he have to wear the head dress in the kitchen?

 

[Idgit]

Were would you get one of these?

Would he have to wear the head dress in the kitchen?

Oh, great googely-moogely.

 

[slick325]

Good post Fuzzy. Thanks for sharing...

 

[Idgit]

I'm always interested in this topic when it comes up. A couple of things. One: 'Fueling the Competition' is a dumb name for this article. Just because it's a phrase that has the word 'fuel' in it doesn't mean you can just use it when it means something else entirely.
Two, I heard Amy talk on the radio last offseason and I have to admit I'm surprised by some of the stuff they do. Peanut butter sandwiches at half time, for example. Not the worst thing to eat, but there are better post workout options. I've heard her talk in the past about the difficulty with keeping players hydrated and with enough electrolytes, for example. That seems like a fairly rudimentary problem that they ought to be able to solve for a professional sports team. I think she was only a part-time resource, anyway, which also surprises me. And everything she talks about sounds like it's revolves around body fat/weight. I would think an organization like the Cowboys would be doing full metabolic workups on every player on the active roster. It'd be the kind of endeavor that you'd think would require multiple full-time nutritionists on top of the chef and an app tied to the playbook iPad for tracking pre/post workout means and macronutrients and such.

And also, why do they care about what the coaches eat? Other than when Kiffin was here and needing regular fiber.

The other thing that I always think about with their nutrition plan was the truly poor job they did at training camp of stretching prior and post workouts. They looked like a high school team out there, with guys doing half-hearted hamstring stretches and such. Made me want to go over there and push on their torsos to help them get it right. This, during a season where we were losing guys to hamstrings left and right. The coaches and the trainers were just letting them get away with it.

 

[dwreck27]

Nutrition has taken these genetic freaks to new levels...

When people say why don't today's players look like years past I remind them about how much is put into nutrition plans and simply playing and specializing on football year round unlike back in the day when players had summer jobs etc...

 

[bark]

I'm always interested in this topic when it comes up. A couple of things. One: 'Fueling the Competition' is a dumb name for this article.

And also, why do they care about what the coaches eat? Other than when Kiffin was here and needing regular fiber.

it.

Why do they care? Two words Rob Ryan.

 

[Idgit]

Why do they care? Two words Rob Ryan.

Lol!

 

[locked&loaded]

I'm always interested in this topic when it comes up. A couple of things. One: 'Fueling the Competition' is a dumb name for this article. Just because it's a phrase that has the word 'fuel' in it doesn't mean you can just use it when it means something else entirely.
.

Its not a great name but it refers to the, '[In rookie minicamp there were] 30 new guys competing for very few positions."

 

[Idgit]

Its not a great name but it refers to the, '[In rookie minicamp there were] 30 new guys competing for very few positions."

Ah. That actually makes sense. I take back what I said about the name, then.

 

[AzorAhai]

And also, why do they care about what the coaches eat? Other than when Kiffin was here and needing regular fiber.

I took the statement to be working with the coaches to be on the same page regarding what they want for the player. She wouldn't want to be bulking up Randle, when the coaches want him slim and so on. I could have completely misunderstood, but thats how I took it.

 

[Setackin]

I'm getting the feeling gergory doesn't listen to well... didn't he say he had no idea how to eat healthy and still gain wieght? But yet he was in a 1 1/2 hour class on the subject and was given a list (personalized none-the-less) and I'm willing to bet he can go to talk to these ppl anytime he wants...

I'm extremely excited about him, but he seems a little lazy and very boneheaded...

 

[JBell]

Bruce Carter said he never heard of her.

 

[Setackin]

Bruce Carter said he never heard of her.

When did he say that

 

[sureletsrace]

But what does this mean in regards to AD?

I'm confused.




Sorry, I had to go ahead and get it out of the way. Carry on.