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Top Tips On Nutrition And Diet For Swimmers

Good nutrition is very important to each and everyone of us, it’s important for good health and enhances well being. Whether you are a swimmer or not the following pages contain many good tips on nutrition.

Carrots If you have a good balanced diet and you swim, even better.

If your are like me, you get very confused about what you can and can't eat. So I have done my homework and put together these pages of information on nutrition, diet tips and weight loss.

Nutrition and a Balanced Diet

FACT – good diet is about getting the food and drink you need for,

Growth
Maintenance
Repair

You have probably heard the phase BALANCED DIET, which is the key to what we are talking about. While I am using Buzz words, how about this one, YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.

And it’s TRUE. If you eat rubbish, chances are you feel rubbish. If you eat well, you will feel well.

NOTE: These guidelines are for the average adult, those of you with special dietary requirements or under medical supervision should check with your doctor first.

What Is A Healthy Balanced Diet?

As a kid I remember my wise Nan saying, a little bit of everything in moderation. And as it turns out she wasn't far off the mark. We need a variety of foods and liquid, mostly from four main groups,

Which are……

	Starchy Carbohydrates. What? Simply put, these are Bread, Rice, Pasta, Oats etc…. These foods are you main source of Calories and Fibre.
	Fruit and Vegetables – Children’s favorite (NOT). These are our source of Vitamins and Minerals.
	Milk and Dairy – Yogurts, Milk, cheese etc……
	Meat, Fish, eggs, Beans and other protein rich food – These foods are the building blocks. For all those weightlifter amongst us, these are the muscle building foods.

Also see are page on Protein supplements if you enjoy weightlifting as part of your exercise plan.

Two Extra Groups Which Are Important

	Essential fats – From good oils, nuts and other natural foods.
	Water – This is essential for a healthy diet.

Eat natural; eat foods from the ground or from the trees. Try to avoid too many foods that come in plastic containers, these are often full of preservatives.

Want some more information on this, try our easy to follow Balanced diet table which has loads of information for you.

Extra Advice for pregnant women.

Obvious I know, but will mention it anyway because its important – Pregnant women should try to keep to a balanced diet at all time, and avoid alcohol.

FOLIC ACID (400ug to 600ug a day) is recommended up until the 12th week of pregnancy.

Specific Nutrition Requirements for Swimming

All sports are about two parts, TRAINING & NUTRITION.

Be your own judge when it comes to nutrition, listen to your body. Having loads of sugary foods everyday is not recommended, but you are allowed to treat yourself once in a while. So don’t be too hard on yourself either if you have that choccy bar on a Saturday night.

NOW back to swimming…….

HERE are some GREAT tips for eating and drinking before, during and after swimming.

EAT BEFORE you swim - Sounds obvious, but swimming on an empty stomach is not a good idea. Keep the amount fairly light, I find around an hour before you go swimming is a good time to eat.

Bananas are a fab fuel source before swimming.

TAKE A DRINK to the poolside – You wont know you are sweating while in the pool, so this will keep you hydrated.

TAKE A HEALTHY SNACK for after you swim – trust me you will feel like it after being in the pool. If you take something like fruit or a cereal bar it will stop you snacking on high sugar foods like chocolate bars or crisps.

I hope this page has been of use to you, please contact us if you would like to add further tips for our readers. Thanks

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