Worcester, MA --- On Wednesday, January 30, nationally-renowned speaker Tim Wierman spoke to nearly 100 Worcester State student-athletes about proper nutrition, healthy eating habits and effective ways to lose or gain weight.

Wierman, who also visited Worcester State in 2011, is the President of Nutrition Education Services Inc., and is the creator of Eat To Compete.

As well as being a published nutrition author, Wierman has spoken at more than 280 colleges and universities and he holds a Masters in Nutrition Education.

Four one-hour long sessions were conducted for each of Worcester State’s 20 varsity female and men’s sports.

“The sessions were informative,” said sophomore women’s basketball student-athlete Alyssa Jasper. “We learned about how to refuel after practice and about dead legs.

“One of the other things he taught us was about how it’s okay to eat fast food, just in moderation. You want to make sure that you pair good foods with better choices.”

Jasper also excited that her fellow student-athletes would have the ability to have access to Wierman’s website which contains nutrition facts about specific foods and other helpful information.

“I thought it was cool that if you wanted to ask a question about something you weren’t sure about, you would be able to get an answer,” said Jasper.

Junior offensive lineman and SAAC member Tim Laramee cited that he learned things he hadn’t considered before on a number of different topics.

“I learned what was good for before and after workouts, and even what you should do for something like a Tuesday during a game week, which I hadn’t even considered being important,” said Laramee.

“He told us about what kind of supplements were illegal, which ones could hinder our performance and how eating a piece of chicken has exactly the same amount of protein as a protein shake.”

The funding for Wierman came from an NCAA Grant, which helps subsidize guest speakers. According to a survey conducted by head athletic trainer Jessica Meany and campus health & wellness educator Jenn Quinn, the student-athletes top request was for a nutrition specialist.

“For those that were present, we learned a good amount of useful information,” said Laramee.