Nutrition plays a significant role in swimmers reaching their potential. The food we eat provides fuel for training and competition and proper energy to repair your body as you sleep. This is as important as attending practices. This should be your normal day to day consumption.
Generally, swimmers need to eat a nutritionally balanced diet if they are going to perform at their peak. A swimmers diet should consist of:
60% of calories from carbohydrate
25% of calories from fat
15% of calories from protein
Here are some meals that provide 100 grams of carbohydrates:
1 bagel with peanut butter and 2/3 cup or raisins
1 cup of low-fat yogurt, 1 banana and 1 cup of orange juice
1 turkey sandwich with 1 cup of applesauce
2 cups of spaghetti with meat sauce and 1 piece of garlic bread
8 oz. of skim milk, 1 apple, 1 orange, 2 slices of bread and 3 pancakes
Before and during meet nutrition suggestions:
· Best foods to eat prior to meet are pasta, cereals, bagels, breads, fruits, and vegetables, in moderation. Eating these foods during a meet will do little in enhancing your immediate performance because these foods generally take a couple of hours to turn into energy. If these foods are eaten more then 3 hours before swimming they can provide energy in time for the race.
· Foods to eat during a meet are bananas, strawberries, crackers, plain toast (no butter), again in moderation will provide you with the best source of energy. Fruit juices (in limited amounts), water or Gatorade equivalent are necessary throughout the meet. Drink before you are thirsty and drink often. In sufficient amounts of liquids will negatively affect your performance.
· Stay away from fatty foods and protein during a meet: Protein is a great way to repair your body and restore energy after a practice or meet. However, during a meet, these slowly digested foods will rob muscles of blood in order to digest these foods
(Stay away list: potato chips, doughnuts, french fries, danishes, pizza, and proteins like peanut butter, any meat or fish.