VALDOSTA STATE MAGAZINE 27 “And sometimes the days where everything goes wrong are the days you probably learn the most because you learn in the good and you learn in the bad.” In Presler’s case, she learned from the process and also ended up with intriguing results — while dark chocolate showed no increase in energy expenditure during exercise, it did cause energy expenditure at rest to increase by about 9.5 percent. “In the course of a day, the average person burns maybe 1,600 to 1,800 calories just at rest — that’s their resting energy expenditure,” Webster said. “So an increase of 9.5 percent equates to about 138 more calories each day. In terms of practical application, that would be the energy equivalent of about a pound of fat every 30 days. A number like that has some pretty significant implications in terms of obesity, energy balance, weight control, and things like that.” “Surreal” is the word Presler used to describe the findings. “I’m excited to be able to add to the literature,” she said. “With all the hard work that I put in, along with … everyone else who helped along the way, I just can’t believe that it shows exactly what I was hoping it would. It’s very rewarding. It’s very exciting to say that I was the one who ran all these tests and wrote this thesis.” Presler plans to eventually continue working with athletes and pursue a career in sports nutrition. “I love the drive that athletes have,” she said. “To see them make progress on the field because of something that they’re eating or not eating now is amazing, and it makes me proud to see them be able to succeed on the field. When I was younger, I played sports all the way through high school. I wanted to continue on into college. However, I didn’t eat properly, and I now see with all my research that I could’ve been a better athlete if I would’ve eaten better. I want to educate young athletes, older athletes, Olympic athletes, high school athletes, and recreational athletes, on how they can perform their very best.” Alexis Mitzel, a graduate assistant with the Center for Exercise Medicine and Rehabilitation, relaxes under a canopy while Dr. Michael Webster, associate professor of exercise physiology, assesses her resting energy expenditure. This was performed for both the dark chocolate and the capsaicin studies.