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Nutrients are the “chemicals” that supply the body with energy. Carbohydrate, protein and fat supply energy in the form of calories. These are your “Energy-Yielding Nutrients.” Vitamins, Minerals and Water don’t supply energy in the form of calories, but their presence is required in order for the body to access the energy provided by carbohydrate, protein and fat.

During exercise, the body gets its energy primarily from carbohydrate and fat. It likes to save protein for other things (building and repairing muscle tissue, hormones and red blood cells, and supporting the immune system). The only time the body uses protein as an energy source during exercise is when carbohydrate and fat are not present in sufficient quantities. This happens when the total caloric intake is too low over a period of months, and or the bout of exercise is so long that the body’s accessible sources of carbohydrate and protein become exhausted. Neither of these scenarios is desirable for swimmers.

Think about money. When you have lots of it, you don’t mind paying full price for things. But when money is scarce, or there is just too much you have to buy, you look for bargains. You’re not being cheap, just thrifty. Simplified to some extent, your body knows how to shop.

Now instead of dollars, think of your currency as oxygen. When swimming is “easy,” say during warm-up or your easiest sets, there is plenty of oxygen available to support the exercise. The body perceives itself as “rich” and doesn’t mind splurging on fat (1 gram of fat costs 9 oxygens). In fact, it automatically does so because it knows it might need carbohydrate at a later time.

When exercise is hard (we’re talking tough sets, definitely your hardest sets), oxygen is not plentiful. In fact, the body needs every bit it can get to support the exercise, but even that is often not enough, and the body is forced to derive energy in ways that do not require oxygen (i.e. anaerobic metabolism). In this situation, the body perceives itself as very “poor” and becomes very thrifty with its “purchase” if fuel. Since carbohydrate costs less than fat (1 gram of carbohydrate costs 4 oxygens), the body chooses to rely primarily on carbohydrate for its energy.

Keep in mind that this entire fuel burning process is never a case of “all or none.” In other words, the body is always using some combination of carbohydrate and fat, but the intensity of the exercise dictates which fuel source will be the dominant one. When swimmering is easiest, fat is the primary fuel source. When swimming is toughest, carbohydrate is the primary fuel source. When swimming is about 50% of maximum effort, carbohydrate and fat contribute about equally.

Let’s face it – the majority of workouts are hard. Above 50% for certain. If you consider the typical swim workout, it’s pretty safe to say that the primary fuel source for swimmers is carbohydrate.  This is why your athlete is so hungry when they come home from practice and are eating through your cupboards!

What are the first three foods that come to mind when we say “carbohydrate?”

1. Pasta
2. Rice
3. Bread

Each if these is excellent. But what do they have in common? They’re all white!

One of the most overlooked sources of carbohydrate is fruit. Yes, FRUIT. Fresh, canned, frozen, dried or juiced. No matter how you look at it, fruit is an excellent source of carbohydrate. Not only does fruit provide carbohydrate in the form of natural sugars (versus refined sugar), the bright colors of fruits indicate that they are also excellent sources of vitamins and minerals, including a sub-group called anti-oxidants.

You might recall that exercise is the stimulus that leads to training adaptations. And that adaptations to training occur ONLY is you give the body the right kinds of fuels during periods of rest.

Well, one of the side effects of exercise is the generation of “free radicals.” Free radicals are molecules that can actually cause damage to muscle tissue above and beyond the damage caused by exercise. The damage caused by exercise is normal. It serves as part of the stimulus for training adaptation to take place. But damage caused by free radicals is NOT a desired part of the training process. Damage caused by free radicals (aka “scavengers”) circulating in the bloodstream after workout can continue well into the recovery period. This is when the body is supposed to be adapting!

Anti-oxidants “absorb” free radicals, neutralizing their effect in the body before their damage to muscle tissue can amount to much. A diet consistently rich in fruits (and other colorful foods, such as VEGETABLES) is apt to keep the body consistently supplied with anti-oxidants, which will assist the body in keeping free radical formation to a minimum. This a good reason to eat lots of colorful foods during the recovery time between workouts.

Colorful foods include, but are not limited to:

Apples, Strawberries, Blueberries, Bananas, Oranges, Kiwi, Watermelon, Raspberries, Grapes, Mango, Papaya, Apricots, Red peppers, Broccoli, Corn, Squash, Carrots, Peas, Green beans, Tomatoes

Colorful foods DO NOT include: Skittles, Jelly Beans, M&Ms, Mike&Ikes, Fruit Loops.

It is recommended that the average adult human should consume 64 ounces of water every day.  Under intense training, the body can sweat several ounces of water every fifteen minutes.  While swimming, most athletes become dehydrated and fatigue will set in quickly.  For proper hydration, athletes should strive to consume approximately 20 ounces of water before practice, at least 20 ounces during practice, and 40 ounces of water after practice.  Athletes that are properly hydrated will swim faster and are more likely to fight off diseases such as common colds that students are exposed to on a daily basis.

Sample Daily Meal Plan for Girls

**article was provided by USA Swimming