Start right now on a seasonal plan of good eating and healthy physical activity, and your swimmer will display immediate benefits. Please note that no junk food is allowed either on the bus or at swim meets. If you are not sure which food you should not pack for the swim meet please consult the head coach.
Caloric Intake
For maturing young swimmers, the base calorie intake should be no less than 1500 calories per day. For every hour of swimming or activity you should add 400 – 600 calories to the base. For example a swimmer having 4 hours of swimming/land training should intake a between 3100 & 3900 calories. To determine if your swimmer is receiving enough calories simply write down everything they ate during the entire day (use an average of 3 days for best results).
Using Canada’s Food Guide is an alternative to counting calories, suggested servings are:
- ˜ 10 Grain Products
- ˜ 8 Fruit & Vegetable
- ˜ 3 Milk Products
- ˜ 3 Meat & Alternatives
Fat
Limiting fat should not be a priority when planning your swimmers meals. Fat is the primary fuel used when swimming longer practices. Fat is also important to transport fat-soluble vitamins. Daily calorie intake fat = 20 – 30 %
Protein
Protein is essential for bodily tissues for maintenance, growth and repair. They also play a vital role in the immune system and the oxygen transport system used to swim & perform daily activity. Daily calorie intake protein = 15 – 20 %
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are digested in the body to form blood glucose. Besides being essential for caloric needs Carbohydrates are either 1) converted to glycogen; primary fuel used by anaerobic energy-delivery system 2) stored in tissue as fat. Carbohydrates in the form of blood glucose are a fuel source for aerobic energy-delivery system. Daily calorie intake carbohydrates = 50 – 60 %
Iron
Iron is component of red blood cells that attracts and transports oxygen. Having an iron deficiency can cause swimmers performances to suffer because they cannot use oxygen properly. Adolescent females need to be extra diligent with iron intake when they start to experience the iron loss associated with menstruation. Blood testing is the best way to evaluate your swimmers iron levels. Supplementing intake with multivitamins is the best way to increase their iron levels.
Calcium
Due to rapid bone growth calcium intake is very important. Calcium also has an important role in muscular contraction and transmission of nerve impulses.
Fluid Intake
Becoming dehydrated is a health risk, and it can hamper performance: excessive fluid loss decreases blood volume, increases viscosity and decreases the rate of blood flow to working muscles. Recovery time from workout can be increase 10 times if swimmer is dehydrated!
Nutrient Replacement
Swimmers should eat something easily digested within 20 minutes of completing practice; the body is craving nutrients, and this period directly after practice is the best time to replace them.
