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Some NFL players weigh more than 300 pounds. If you think those players can walk into their team cafeteria and eat whatever they want, think again. In the ultra-competitive modern NFL, players and teams are looking to gain an advantage wherever they can. Nutrition has become an important component of building a winning team, which means NFL teams carefully control what players eat while they're in the practice facility.
On a typical afternoon in the Buffalo Bills' cafeteria, which was expanded in 2014, salmon, chicken, broccoli and asparagus are on the menu -- but no burgers, fries, ice cream or sweets. "Everything is going to be as healthy as possible," assistant strength and conditioning coach Will Greenberg said in August. "The idea is if we can give [players] as many good nutrients as possible while they're here, there's going to be times where guys go and they want cheeseburgers somewhere -- they're going to have that, that's going to be their choice, that's fine. But if we can give them three meals here and maybe a take-home meal, that's a great chance for guys to eat healthy all the time."
The Bills' cafeteria serves about 250 people per day, which includes players, coaches and staff members. The kitchen staff arrives as early as 4 a.m. to begin preparations for the day and serves food until about 7 o'clock at night. Greenberg works with a nutritionist twice per week to determine menus for players, but one favorite snack has stuck.
On a typical afternoon in the Buffalo Bills' cafeteria, which was expanded in 2014, salmon, chicken, broccoli and asparagus are on the menu -- but no burgers, fries, ice cream or sweets. "Everything is going to be as healthy as possible," assistant strength and conditioning coach Will Greenberg said in August. "The idea is if we can give [players] as many good nutrients as possible while they're here, there's going to be times where guys go and they want cheeseburgers somewhere -- they're going to have that, that's going to be their choice, that's fine. But if we can give them three meals here and maybe a take-home meal, that's a great chance for guys to eat healthy all the time."
The Bills' cafeteria serves about 250 people per day, which includes players, coaches and staff members. The kitchen staff arrives as early as 4 a.m. to begin preparations for the day and serves food until about 7 o'clock at night. Greenberg works with a nutritionist twice per week to determine menus for players, but one favorite snack has stuck.
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