What's on Mike McMullan's Plate?
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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.”