MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- With every new batch of recruits, Staff Sgt. Eric Cayson, senior drill instructor, Hotel Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, pushes that nutrition is key to assisting the body in adapting to the new lifestyle. To reinforce this, Cayson gives a nutrition class before the training cycle even begins.
Nutrition is what it takes to keep the body going, said Cayson. Meat products provide needed protein, fruits and vegetables provide vitamins and even starch from potatoes and simple sugars from pastries are all essential to keeping your body healthy.
"You've got to feed the machine," said Cayson. "You get out of your body what you put into it."
During the class, Cayson talks about the benefits of eating healthy so recruits understand why they're eating what they're eating. Before recruit training, recruits eat what tastes good to them, said Cayson. He explains that eating well-balanced meals provides the proper nutrition needed to maintain stamina to complete their training.
"You're not going to get any stronger eating junk food," said Cayson. "You've got to eat right and put good [nutrition] into your body."
Recruits eat pre-planned meals from the mess hall, which ensure their bodies get the essential nutrients needed to fuel them through training.
"I let [recruits] eat what they feel they need to eat," said Sgt. Ira Prahl, drill instructor, Hotel Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion.
Cayson does things differently though and requires his recruits to get a little bit of everything. Even if they don't eat all of it, it must be on their tray, said Cayson.
"It always goes back to 'feeding the machine,'" he said.
Recruits are coming from a video game generation, they aren't as active and don't eat right, Cayson added. Then they come here and start eating right, they lose weight and start gaining muscle.
Having healthy eating habits isn't just advice for recruits, but for all Marines as well.
After recruit training, some Marines get out of shape, so they go to the gym three to five times a week to keep fit, but they don't eat right, so their bodies don't develop as fast, said Cayson. If Marines were to eat healthy instead of grabbing a quick energy-boosting snack here and there, it would help their bodies develop faster.
Replacing junk food with fruit for snacks will definitely help, Cayson said.
When first starting as a drill instructor, Cayson says he ate a lot of junk food and drank coffee to get quick bursts of energy. Now he eats at the chow hall at least twice a day and tries to eat healthy snacks, he said. After realizing eating healthy provided the long-term energy he needed, he started teaching his recruits about the benefits of being healthy to keep up during training.
"If you explain to a recruit that eating healthy will help them with training, they are more likely to do it," said Cayson.
Marines are known to be athletic and healthy. Part of staying healthy is eating right, and it all begins at recruit training, said the self proclaimed nutrition freak.
Endurance is important for any aspect of the Marine Corps, especially combat, and staying healthy helps build the endurance Marines will need for everyday activities, Cayson concluded.