NUTRITION
Reprinted from
“Training Agenda”, a USA Swimming
Sports Medicine and Science Series

Everything you do influences your performance, but your food choices have the most effect due to the long term and short term benefits. A proper diet, including proper selection of foods, will help your training and performance while also achieving a healthy lifestyle once you stop competing.

To help ensure a balanced diet, remember that there are no magical nutrition remedies. So forget the fads and eat a variety of wholesome foods from the four food groups--milk, meat, fruits & vegetables, and grains. Foods in these groups provide protein, fat carbohydrate, fiber and all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Your ideal diet should include the following percentage of calories:

Carbohydrate 50-60%
Fat 20-30%
Protein 14-18%

This nutrition series is designed to help you better understand good nutrition and to provide guidelines for ideal food choices. Within sports, there are four major periods that nutrition will impact:

During Training
1. Training represents the period in which athletes spend most of their time. Therefore, this category represents the most critical period. During this time, a diet high in carbohydrates is important. This is important since it is not uncommon for athletes training 4-6 hours a day to burn 2500 to 4000 calories a day. The best way to replenish these calories is with a high carbohydrate diet. By being conscious of this and by taking high carbohydrate foods or drink in the first 30 minutes following a workout, you can minimize depletion of energy stores.

Pre-event Nutrition
2. The major purpose of the pre-event diet is to ensure sufficient energy and fluid for the athlete. Two to three days before competition, a high carbohydrate diet with plenty of fluids should be emphasized. The pre-event meal should include a light, high carbohydrate meal three to four hours before the event.

Nutrition During Competition
3. Provided that good nutrition practices were followed during training, middle distance and sprint events will not be limited by nutrition-related factors. During a three to four day competition, make sure you consume plenty of fluids and each meal should include high carbohydrate, low fat selections.

Nutrition After Competition
4. High intensity work will deplete the muscle’s energy supplies. Therefore, carbohydrates play an important role after competition to make sure energy stores are maintained.

Food Choices
The best food choices include a well balanced, mixed diet with choices from each of the four food groups. You can get all the nutrients you need by selecting a variety of foods in the recommended serving size from each of the following food groups:

Fast Food Nutrition (??)
Yes! “Fast Food” restaurants play an important role in the diets of athletes on the go. Today, these restaurants can provide a viable source of good nutrition--but the choice is yours and selection is critical. Here are some guidelines to make wiser choices:

Menu Adjectives
Fat content must be watched when selecting menu items. If you see one of the following words, try to make another selection:
Fried, Crispy, Breaded, Scampi Style, Creamed, Buttery, Au Gratin, Gravy.

Selection adjectives that are good include:
Marinara, Steamed, Boiled, Broiled, Tomato Sauce, In Its Own Juice, Poached, Charbroiled.

Restaurant Choices
Depending on the restaurant you go to, here are some tips when selecting foods:

Mexican - Choose pot beans instead of refried beans and chicken or bean burritos and tostados. Ask for baked, soft corn tortillas instead of deep fried shells. Salsa is fine, but watch your chip intake.

Italian - Pasta with marinara sauce is good but watch alfredo sauces. Pizza, plain or with vegetables, is a good choice. Bread is good (watch the butter). Low-fat italian ices are better than rich dessert choices.

Chinese - Stir fried and steamed dishes, like chicken & vegetables and rice, are good choices. Minimize fried egg roll intake or avoid all together.

Burger Places - Salad bars are great but watch the dressing. Look for grilled burgers, hold the mayonnaise and go light on the cheese. Watch your french fry intake (select a baked potato with a little butter if you can) and go easy on the milk shakes.