Recipes

Nutrition 

What Should I Eat/Drink During Competition?

Between events swimmers can refuel by including some high carbohydrate snacks and drinks.

LESS THAN 30 minutes between races:

fluids, sports drinks, juices, fruit

30-60 minutes between races:

bread with honey/jam/banana, sports bars, cereal bars

1-2 hours between races:

pasta, rice or noodle based dishes with low fat sauce/toppings

sandwiches or rolls

More than 2 hour between races:

a more substantial meal or meal replacement.

Fluid Needs

Most swimmers require at least 65-100 fluid onces per day. On hot days, sweat losses can be significant, especially when training in the sun.

Swimmers can assess how much fluid they lose during a training session by weighing themselves pre and post training. For each pound lost, 16-24 ounces of fluid needs to be replaced. 

Sports drinks are suitable fluids during long training sessions as they contain carbohydrates and electrolytes along with fluid.

Warning signs of dehydration include dizziness and light-headedness, muscle cramps, nausea, headaches, dark urine, dry mouth and feeling of extreme heat.

What Should I Eat Pre-Event?

Low fat, high carbohydrate meals 2-4 hours prior to the event along with plenty of fluid.

A small snack such as a cereal bar, fruit or dried fruit can be eaten about an hour prior to the race.

Examples of pre race meals include:

- Cereal with low fat milk and a piece of fruit

- Pancake with syrup and a glass of juice

- Liquid meals such as smoothies

- Sandwiches with low fat fillings

- Pasta, rice or noodle based meals.

What About Recovery? 

Swimmers usually train long and heard sessions, a recovery snack right after each training is essential to help refuel the muscles for the following training session.

Sports drinks, fruit, cereal bars, sandwiches and low fat muffins are all great foods for recovery and should be eaten within 45 minutes of a training session or race.

Following this a more substantial meal containing both carbohydrates and protein is required.

Are supplements necessary? 

Although supplements may be tempting to some athletes. To date there has been no supplement proven to enhance the performance of swimmers.

Sports drinks and sports bars can be useful supplements before or after a race as they provide a great source of carbohydrate.

Most swimmers should be eating adequate amounts of food to meet all vitamin and mineral needs. Female swimmers on weight loss diets can be at risk of iron deficiency. Iron rich foods should be included regularly in the diet. Iron deficiency should be diagnosed by a doctor through a blood test.

A multivitamin/mineral supplement may be useful in hard training.

Other Nutrition Tips 

Before training it is suggested to eat a cereal bar, a piece of fruit and a glass of orange juice + a sports drink during training, then followed by breakfast (as suggested above) after the training session.

Swimmers are often eating in the car on the way to and from training. It is important for swimmers to be organized and pack suitable foods and drinks with them for pre and post training.

Do not rely on the foods available at the venue as they may not be appropriate for recovery.

Many female swimmers can struggle to maintain low body fat levels. Athletes watching their body fat levels should follow a low fat diet maximize performance and promote long-term good health.

Swimmers tapering their training before a competition may need to reduce food intake to avoid unwanted gains in body fat.