<p>I know this has been touched on several times, but it is definitely possible to be an athlete and eat well without the dining halls. </p>
<p>I am a junior varsity athlete, and I generally shop for and cook all my own food. It does take some planning (about ~1 hour a week to go buy groceries), but then you have all the meal and snack food you want. It is cheaper, and isn’t a huge time drain. I have never had a problem between school, athletics and my other extracurriculars. It usually takes about 30 minutes for me to make dinner (a welcome break from studying). In my dorm, it was very social and cooking freshman year made me some of my best friends. Making a lunch to take with you can take 5-10 minutes, and you have food throughout the day. </p>
<p>It may mean that you have to make cooking a priority, but there are plenty of simple meals (and lots of cookbooks geared towards college students with 30 minute meals). You eat more healthfully, cheaper, and you can make sure you are meeting your calorie goals. There were a few days where I just didn’t have the extra 30 minutes to cook, but I usually kept a stash of good frozen meals (Amy’s etc.) or had made leftovers I could heat up. Otherwise, making some pasta is really quick and you can make it healthy with frozen vegetables, or fresh fruit.</p>