Josh Smith came back to UCLA a few pounds lighter, down from 25 percent body fat to 17 percent.

"I'm trying to get down to 10 percent," Smith said.

Smith said poor eating habits, including a habit of skipping breakfast, contributed to his lackluster sophomore season. 

"By the time I got home at six or seven o'clock, I'm starving," Smith said of his lopsided eating schedule. "Then it's boom, boom, boom."

Smith can feel the clock ticking on his college basketball career.

"It's weird that it finally started getting in my head now," he said. "I'm like, 'OK, maybe I shouldn't eat this.' Or, 'Maybe I should go to the gym tonight and not just lounge around.'"