A swimmer's diet depends on wether they are in training, out of training or at a swim meet.
Here's a quick guide below to what you should eat, and when.
Here's a quick guide below to what you should eat, and when.
Excersize Meals
Excersize Meals are the Meals you take either three or two hours before
training, depending on how much you eat and how hard you train. These should
keep your carbohydrate levels high. Some examples would be:
Baked Potatoes - you'll probably want to fill them with beans, sweet corn, or chilli, don't to put on to much cheese, as cheese is really fatty, and lastly, eat the potato skins, as those have the most nutrients.
Pasta Meals - again, not too much cheese, but a lot of vegetables. You could also try tuna or other fish, they're a geat energy source.
Beans on toast – low-sugar baked beans are really healthy. There are bags of protein in the beans and wholemeal toast has your complex carbohydrates. And if beans aren’t your thing, eggs will do a similar job.
Chilli con carne – but make sure you make the right version; beans, lean mince, and brown rice set you up perfectly for training. Fatty, greasy mince, white rice and salty tortilla chips definitely won't, though.
training, depending on how much you eat and how hard you train. These should
keep your carbohydrate levels high. Some examples would be:
Baked Potatoes - you'll probably want to fill them with beans, sweet corn, or chilli, don't to put on to much cheese, as cheese is really fatty, and lastly, eat the potato skins, as those have the most nutrients.
Pasta Meals - again, not too much cheese, but a lot of vegetables. You could also try tuna or other fish, they're a geat energy source.
Beans on toast – low-sugar baked beans are really healthy. There are bags of protein in the beans and wholemeal toast has your complex carbohydrates. And if beans aren’t your thing, eggs will do a similar job.
Chilli con carne – but make sure you make the right version; beans, lean mince, and brown rice set you up perfectly for training. Fatty, greasy mince, white rice and salty tortilla chips definitely won't, though.
Pre-training Snacks
Training on an empty stomach will decrease your performance and abilities by a lot, you might even "hit the wall" or collapse. Therefore, make sure you snack about an hour before training. You should also snack all day long. Great snacks would be fruits (preferably fresh. Fruit smoothies are also a great choice), energy foods (energy bars, cereal/fruit bars, protein shakes), or whole grain foods (cereal, toast, biscuits).
Snacking All Day
You have to keep your blood sugar as constant as possible to train well, by snacking throughout the whole day. Of course, if you don't train enough to build off all the calories that you put on, don't eat as much. But you'll need these calories if you train hard. Try to snack as many of the pre-training snacks, and any more that you can think of with many carbohydrates and protein.
Refuelling
After training for a long, hard session, your body will have to fill up all the energy you've trained off. Your body needs nutrients as soon as possible to repair muscels and replace energy, so you should try to snack 30 minutes after the session, preferably 15 minutes. You should try to eat a big, warm meal maximally an hour after the session. Of course you can eat before that. And again, make sure you eat the right stuff - something low in fat and high in carbohydrates and protein.