Diet Tips For Professional Swimmers

BEST DIET PLAN FOR PROFESSIONAL SWIMMERS:
A good nutrition is important for professional swimmers. A balance between carbohydrates, proteins, and safe fat increases our glycogen reserves which induce our capacity to win a competition.
Swimming requires too many calories such as 3000 to 6000 to maintain appropriate weight needed for competition.

A GIST OF DIET PLAN FOR SWIMMERS:

• Early morning snacks before training
• Plenty of water before and after training session
• Training and breakfast gap should be within one hour
• Snack at mid-morning
• Light lunch
• Mid-afternoon snack before training
• Proper Dinner
• Light snack just before bedtime

Meal Food Drinks

• Prior Training Light Snacks of whole wheat cereals/Toast, yogurt of double toned milk along with fruits Juice/Sports drink/protein drinks
• Breakfast Whole wheat cereals/Toast/Oats + Low- fat milk +Fruits/Sprouted seeds
• Full glass of juice
• Snack Light Snacks +Yogurt/cheese/Buttermilk Water/Coconut water
• Lunch Light Lunch-Non-Veg Sandwiches +full plate salad+ glass of low-fat milk+ Fruit Water/Soup/ Fruit Juice
• Snack Banana-2nos/ Sprouted seeds/Liquid Protein supplements Water/Sports drink
• Dinner Rice/Noodles/Pasta/Bread Roll/Chapattis +Sufficient Vegetables +Lean Fried meats Water/Soup/Milk
• Bed- time Dessert/Low- fat ice-cream+ Fruit Salad Water

Overview:
CARBOHYDRATES:
A reference Swimmer of 150 lb (68 kg.) requires 345 to 540 gm of energy from carbohydrates which should be divided throughout the day like 75gm during breakfast, 80 gm at lunch, around 150 from snacks, 100 gm from Dinner and from fluids-150 gm. Sources of Carbohydrates are from fruit, vegetables, Whole grain cereals, yogurt and drinks like fruit juices and milk.

PROTEIN:
Proteins help in growth, development and repair wear and tear of tissues of the body. Rich sources of protein are- Fish, Chicken, Nuts, Eggs, Beef, almonds, Milk and Cheese. A reference Swimmer of 150 lb requires 80-120 gm of Protein/day. To get sufficient protein Swimmers should include Protein supplements in their diets.

WATER/FLUID:
Swimmers need to drink plenty of water due to high fluid losses from the body which causes dehydration and can be harmful. Enough water should be taken before training, during training, along with every meal and snacks and whenever to feel thirst. Swimmers can take also sports drink which replenishes carbohydrate loss and provides sufficient electrolytes.

Although it’s difficult to monitor fluid loss during training, hence swimmers can check their weight pre and post swimming. Total 1.5litres of fluid needs against 1kg of weight loss.

PRE-SWIMMING FOODS:
Before 2-4 hrs of training,swimmers needs a carbohydrate rich diet, low-fat, low fibre along with plenty of water and sports drink.

Examples:

• Oats/other light cereal breakfast + low-fat milk
• Pan- cakes +Fruit juice
• Fruit salad+low fat yogurt
• Toast +jam/honey
• NonVeg Sandwich/bread roll +Salad+ Cheese
• If feeling hungry some dried fruit can be chosen before an hour of training.

DURING TRAINING:
Less saturated fats and balanced carbohydrate and protein in a 60-40 ratio.
Choice of foods also depends on the duration of exercise.
If 2HRS BETWEEN RACES: Meal supplements along with sufficient cold fluids.
POST SWIMMING: After training, it is important to reload our glycogen stores by taking enough carbohydrate-rich diet with lean protein. Immediately after 30 minutes of training, a snack should be taken which includes carbohydrates, protein, and fluids.