To be able to achieve to the best of your ability, your training needs to be backed up by a well-balanced and healthy diet with good nutrition. As well as having the neccesary and correct fuels to get through day to day life, swimmers also need extra fuel to get through the harder sessions so that they can fulfill their potential. If this doesn't happen and the body doesn't have the correct balance diet in one week, the performance during training will start to decrease and this will be reflected in a competition.
Like everyone else, a swimmer's diet is broken down into:
Energy
The amount of energy a swimmer requires per day before you take into account their swimming is hard to estimate as it depends on their development as children develop at different rates. On top of this, it is estimated that swimmers can require between 500 to 1,500 calories per session. This is only a rough guide as the amount of calories they actually use depends on the duration and intensity of the set. The bigger the body and the more powerful the swimmer, the greater the energy demand of exercise will be.
Carbohydrate
This is the primary fuel source for your swimming and will help you complete the milage required during a training set. They are not fattening when taken in reasonable amounts which is used during exercise which will leave little which can be converted into fat.
There are two types of carbohydrates and the first is Complex Carbohydrates. These are found in foods such as potatoes and brown rice and are made up of long chains of glucose and take a long time to break down. Hence, they release a steady stream of energy as the body breaks it down. The second is Simple Carboydrates which is glucose in shorter chains or in a purer form which is broken quickly and therefore releases energy quickly. However, this can upset the body balance but one type of sugar which doesn't is fructose, found in fruit, which is a good snack following training.
Even with perfect nutrition, the body sturrgles to store lots of glycogen although this does improve as the swimmers matures and as they become fitter. It has been estimated that at best young swimmers probably have just about enough carbohydrate to last for a 1hr 30mins session for a steady set or only 45mins if a hard set.
Therefore, the aim for young swimmers is to keep their levels of glucose high throughout the day and top them up if necessary. Due to it's importance, carbohydrate should make up 60% of the total calorie intake of a swimmer.
Protein
Protein is required to build and repair muscles, produces hormones, supports the immune system and replaces red blood cells. It can also provide an energy source when other sources are no longer available (eg starvation). Therefore, swimmers require more protein when training as swimmers are more prone to injuiry and infections, particularly respiratory infections due to the high levels of training they do. Protein can be found in foods such as fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, whole grain cereal, bread, beans, milk, etc.
When we eat protein, it is broken down into different amino acids and these, in the correct amount, will help to carry out functions such as muscle repair. However, the amount of protein we need has more than halved in the past 20 years as research has found that amino acids are so important that the body is very good at recycling old proteins and reusing amino acids. However, the amino acid pool avaliable for growth and development is reduced during muscle breakdown and must be topped up.
Therefore, as the recycling process isn't 100% perfect, young swimmers should consume some protein every day. It should make up 15% of the total calorie intake of a swimmer.
Fat
Fat is used by the body for energy but it takes much longer for the body to break down fats. It also has nearly twice the number of calories per gram when compared to carbohydrates and so a diet high in fat could lead to weight gain in an inactive person. Yet some types of fat have an important role in helping growth development and repair of body tissues with dietary far being a good source of fat soluble vitamins.
Therefore, as the body needs some but not too much fat, it is recommended that swimmers should eat less saturated fats (e.g butter, cream, red meats, etc) on a regular basis but some sources of unsaturated fat (e.g sunflower oil, olive oil, nuts, seeds, etc) is essential to help the immune system fight off infections. Swimmers should try to avoid foods with trans fats on a regular basis which are found in highly manufacutured foods such as chips, cakes, pasteries, burgers, bacon, etc. It should make up 25% of the total calorie intake of a swimmer.
Vitamins and Minerals
These are absolutely essential for normal rates of growth and development and to ensure the most amount of energy is extracted for use from the food you eat. To ensure a good range of vitamins and minerals, it is recommended to eat a good range and amount of fruit and vegetables. They not provide us with minerals and nutrients but unlike meat, they also provide other high quality nutrients such as carbohydrates, fibre protein and good fat.
Special considerations need to be made for iron, calcium and vitamin D, antioxidants and salt. Iron is essential for growth as it is required for the development of red blood cells. To get the recommended amount of 10-15mg of iron per day suggestions include whole grain cereal, porridge, beans, etc. Calcium is essential in the development of strong bones with Vitamin D needed to absorb the calcium out of the blood and into the bone. Children need 1.3g of calcium per day and 200IU of Vitamin D per day with good sources being milk, cheese, yoghurts, fish and beans. Antioxidants are essential for the maintenance of the body as help to combat OFR's (oxygen free radicals) which are produced by the body naturally during normal metabolism. Normally young people are very good at producing their own antioxidants but the more exercise results in more OFR's. Therefore, swimmers should eat more fruit and vegetables to help. Salt helps provide the mineral sodium which is needed by the body but is found in all foods naturally so no extra is required. However, lots of highly processed foods contain high amounts of salt added by the manufacture so avoid salt use at home and avoid high salt foods in possible.
Therefore, swimmers should eat at least the recommended amount of 5 fruits and vegetables per day and more!!
Water (Hydration)
This is the most important of all of the nutrients required by the body not least of all because around 60% of our bodies are water. It serves as the transportation system of the body in the form of blood, a vital role in temperature regulation and creates the environment in which every single chemical reaction in the body takes place. Becoming dehydrated results in a drop of blood pressure which can affect the delivery of food and oxygen to cells and ultimately performance when competing. It has been estimated that losing 2% of body weight in the form sweat can affect performance by up to 10%.
Water is lost continually throughout the day and levels of water must remained topped up throughout the day. Swimmers should always bring enough drinks to last the session whether this is in the form of water, weak cordials or sports drink such as lucozade sport is fine. Swimmers should NOT let themselves get to the point where they are thirsty - by this point they are already dehydrated!!
As the swimmer progresses through swimming, sports drinks become more relevant as they are an isotonic drink and will help to ensure the blood glucose levels remain constant so they can keep going. The are numerous drinks on market including Lucozade Sport and Powerade and many others. You can also very easily make your own version home. However, don't get these drinks mixed up with energy drinkse, e.g. Red Bull, as they are very different and not recommended.
Therefore, swimmers should drink regularly throughout the day in addition to drinking during training. They should aim to take in at least 3 litres of water per day.
Before Morning Training
First thing in the morning, eat breakfast as you need to restore the levels of glucose in the blood before you go training. If you live within 30 mins of the pool, eat food such as a large bowl of cereal which your child finds easy to eat such as Coca pops are fine as they need to be absorbed quickly. If you live further away, eat a snack type food such as a cereal bar, a banana, smoothie or fruit before eating a proper breakfast after training. Make sure you also have a glass of water after waking up to help rehydrate your body.
After Morning Training
Following training, the glycogen stores are near empty and the activity to creat more glycogen is at its highest for the following 2 hours. Swimmers should aim to eat carbohydrate as soon as possible (ideally within 30 mins) after training which is easy to eat and is absorbed reliatively quickly. This can include slices bread with jam, a scone with jam, a hot cross bun and more drink to help restore and help the body to recover.
During the Day
Swimmers are encouraged to make healthy choices for school lunch. This could include baked potatoes with beans or tuna, pasta or rice dishes with tomato based sauces, low fat rice puddings, fruit yoghurts and fresh fruit are all examples. They should also drink constantly throughout the day so that through at least a litre of water or squash during the day.
Before Evening Training
If swimmers have some time at home before training, a snack after school - bagels, crumpets, etc, followed by a meal such as a bowl of pasta before training. A cereal bar in the car on the way to training will help to top up the energy levels and an isotonic sports drink during training should be sufficent.
After Evening Training
Swimmers should remember to eat carbohydrate, ideally withing 30mins of training finishing. They could eat things such as cereal, baked potatoes with beans, etc. The meal should have carbohydrate to protein in the ratio 3 to 1. To help recover further, try to go to bed as quickly as possible, especially if they training the following morning, to help the body recover.
The important thing to remember here is that nothing you do the day before or on the day of a gala itself can make up for poor nutrition the rest of the time. It is getting it right all the time that will enable swimmers to have enough energy to swim at their best in competitions.
Breakfast is essential so get up in time so that it isn't rushed!
Most food on gala days needs to be low fat and breakfast is no exception so forget fry ups or sausage and bacon sandwichs. Breakfast should be made up of whole grain or high fibre cereals or porridge with semi skimmed milk rather than full fat milk. You could also have fruit and fruit juices and even whole grain bread toast with marmalade or jam but try to avoid the butter or margarine.
After the warm up, remeber to drink to rehydrate your body and keep drinking throughout the day. Swimmers lose a lot more fluid through sweat on gala days than during normal training sessions as they will be out of the pool in a hot, humid environment. Feeling tired for the last event is more likely to be due to inadequate fluid intake during the day than anything else. As a rough estimate you are going to need half a litre of fluid per hour. Remeber to take enough fluid with you to last the whole event.
Eating during the day depends on how much time there is between events but usual guidelines apply - try to eat little but very often throughout the day and avoid fat. That means avoid chocolate, crisps and the pool cafe - stick with cold pasta or rice salads. If there are longer gaps, e.g between morning and afternoon session, make sensible decisions in pool cafe. Stick to baked potato with tuna or beans rather than having a burger with chips.
Remember to not eat to close to the race and instead top up the glucose levels using a sports drink or eat a handful of jelly babies, jelly cubes or other easy sweets may do. You can eat these 15-20mins before a sprint event to provide you with extra sugar.
At the end of the day, especially if you are competing the next day, have a good size meal which is high in complex carbohydrates but easy on the fat with a small amount of protein.
REMEMBER: DRINK, DRINK, DRINK