Fueling the Future: Muskingum Athletes Embrace Eat to Excel Nutrition Program

When it comes to athletes, a major point of interest is how they perform on the field. Another equally important aspect is what they do off the field, specifically what they put in their bodies.

Muskingum Athletics is launching a one-year trial on a nutrition program in partnership with Aramark, the University's food service provider. The program includes featured menu items within the dining hall, retail call outs for grab and go options, a catering menu for coaches to choose better options, and the largest part of the program, the nutrition app, where athletes can monitor and track meals, hydration, and activity.

The Eat to Excel nutrition app is available to all Muskingum students through a school-specific QR code with downloads offered on both iOS and Android. The platform links directly to the campus dining hall menu, allowing students to see the nutritional profile of the foods they choose while also logging meals from off campus.

Beyond basic tracking, the app gives students sport- and position-specific fueling plans based on height and weight-without centering on calories-so they can meet performance goals. It also lets athletes record workouts and answer recovery questions to identify any gaps in their nutrition, provides a catering menu coaches can use to better support their teams, and offers direct access to a sports dietitian for individualized guidance.

"You know that you can have whatever options you want. This app will help with portion control. It will help with a healthier lifestyle-decisions regarding proteins, carbs and proper intake," said Athletic Director Kari Winters. "It's really going to be able to speak to our students on maintaining weight-our student athletes that might need to bulk up a little bit or student athletes that might want to lose a little bit."

This app assists with portion control and promotes healthier lifestyle choices. It focuses on managing the intake of proteins and carbohydrates. Proper intake is emphasized to support overall well-being.

"The Eat to Excel app gives us more insight into how our nutrition impacts our performance. It also makes it fun by adding an element of competition for who uses the app the most," cross country and track and field athlete Sarah Lute '28 said.

Students will have the opportunity to create their own personal accounts, tracking certain factors the tie into their eating and lifestyle plans. Academic Affairs and Muskingum Athletics plans to set up sessions to learn more information about the app and how to incorporate it into their day-to-day routine.

"Health and wellness are a big right now on social media platforms; there are a lot of healthy living websites and Instagram pages. This is one step to showcase how much we care about our students," Kari said.

With the rise in health and fitness trends, Muskingum is hoping this healthy app can become a permanent installment for students to use for years to come.