The new year is often a time when people make resolutions to eat healthier and maintain an active lifestyle. While some may have already fallen off the wagon so to speak, Syracuse’s CoreLife Eatery is aiming to help customers achieve their goals through the CoreLife Challenge.

Inspired by customers’ stories about how the restaurant changed their lives, CoreLife’s President, Scott Davis, said the restaurant was looking to take these inspirations and create something tangible for other customers to follow.

From this, the team at CoreLife created the CoreLife Challenge, a 21-day program designed to help participants recharge and refuel, paving the path toward living a healthier lifestyle. Participants receive daily motivational emails, specialty dishes and other in-store perks.

Sponsored by top athletes like Tim Tebow, the challenge is focused on making a difference by giving participants a framework to guide them through a 21-day process, Davis said.

“If you’re a student, nutrition is about powering your life up, knowing what to eat and how to use it as fuel for your performance,” he said.

While some college students are aware of the importance of maintaining a healthy diet, many take their health and nutrition for granted. A study conducted by the Journal of Nutrition and Human Health found that the average college student consumes fast food one to three times per week.

With constant pressure from schoolwork and lacking access to a kitchen, some college students are unable to prioritize healthy eating. Many students fall into a “college diet,” high in carbohydrates and fats, alongside substances such as caffeine, processed meats and alcohol.

Restaurants like CoreLife Eatery aim to stand out against the high volume of lower-quality, cheaper fast food options, encouraging customers to “change the way we eat to change the way we live,” Davis said. Serving thousands of customers each day, CoreLife Eatery has expanded from one store in 2015 to more than 50 spread throughout 11 states.

 

Originating in Syracuse, CoreLife has built a relationship with Syracuse University and the local community. Since opening, their menu has been embraced by students and student athletes. Davis and CoreLife Community Relations Director Meggan Camp said SU’s women’s field hockey, soccer and lacrosse teams have been customers of the eatery’s menu. Just one year after beginning their healthy eating routine through CoreLife, some players on the women’s field hockey team attribute their program winning its first national championship to their improved diets.

But the performance benefits of a healthy diet are not reserved just for athletes. Nutrition, especially among young adults, can play a critical role in academic performance, social success and overall satisfaction. With increased energy, brain capacity and focus, students with healthier diets tend to academically outperform those who don’t.

Todd Mansfield, cofounder of CoreLife Eatery, said that it’s important for young adults to fuel themselves with healthier food options, even if they aren’t directly thinking about their personal health.

“You guys aren’t thinking about cancer or heart disease,” he said. “What you are thinking about its how long can I concentrate, how much energy do I have and do I feel like I’m maximizing my life.”

While obstacles such as high prices and misinformation in the nutrition industry continue, CoreLife aims to help its customers engage in a free challenge with long-term benefits. By signing up, participants can expect special-menu items for free or reduced prices. Camp said this is perfect for students who don’t have the financial means of eating healthy.

“If you’re on a budget and you’re trying to make it work, this is a great way to benefit,” she said. In addition to receiving food at a low cost, participants are guided on how to eat healthy and given motivational reminders on how to follow through with their goals.

With more than 15,000 current subscribers, Mansfield said, this year’s challenge encourages participants to jump-start their healthy eating habits.

“We have the ability to change the way people think about food and their relationship to food … to see food as a powerful tool to charge their lives,” Camp said.

Published on January 22, 2019 at 10:16 pm