Spring 2014

About the Magazine

Northwestern is the quarterly alumni magazine for Northwestern University.
Contact or contribute to the magazine.

Campus Life
Photo by Mary Henebry.

What's on Mike McMullan's Plate?

Story Tools

Share this story

Facebook  Facebook
Twitter  Twitter
Email  Email

Print this story

Tell us what you think. E-mail comments or questions to the editors at letters@northwestern.edu.

Ever wonder about those strange designations we use throughout Northwestern to identify alumni of the various schools of the University? See the complete list.

Find Us on Social Media

Facebook  Twitter  Twitter

Heavyweight wrestler shares his recipe for success.

Mike McMullan, Northwestern’s lone heavyweight wrestler and the runner-up at the 2013 NCAA Championship, is a big eater. The junior from Easton, Pa., chows down five times a day to maintain his ideal weight — 245 pounds.  Here’s his daily menu:

Breakfast: Turkey and broccoli omelet with eggs from free-range chickens, multigrain toast, fruit juice. “Right now I’m on a pineapple juice binge.”

Lunch: Lean meats, balanced with a potato or other carb.

Before practice: Trail mix or dried fruit, an oat snack bar. “I don’t eat a lot. You just don’t want to feel famished going in to practice.”

Dinner: A 1-pound cut of red meat, chicken or fish with asparagus, broccoli, peas or carrots and a carb. He cooks most of his meals at home in the off-campus wrestling house.

Late-night snack: An energy bar, granola or yogurt. “The ‘superfoods’ [such as berries, nuts and seeds] are the best. They have nutritional value and give you energy.”

Occasional sweets — with a glass of skim milk: “I have a sweet tooth. I love Oreos — Oreos and ice cream, Oreo shakes, anything Oreo. It’s bad.”

Hydration: Ninety-six ounces of water a day — 64 ounces before practice and 32 before bed. “As a wrestler you’re burning so many calories. I probably lose 8 pounds at every practice. If you’re losing all that weight and not putting it back into your body, you’re going to fatigue way faster.”

On the road: “When we go on our road trips, and my teammates are a few pounds overweight, they can’t eat or drink at the airport or on the plane. [As a heavyweight] I’m one of the only people who can. I don’t want to make others feel slighted, so I try and hide it when I do eat. I’ll eat in the bathroom a lot of the time.”