10 Nutrition Strategies for the Big Race Day

Nutrition is often the most overlooked aspect of an athlete's training even though it is one of the most important. Properly fueling your body daily is necessary for your body to perform at its best - and it is no different the day(s) of a meet. USA Swimming posted this great article by Jill Castle about how swimmers should be eating/drinking during race days.

10 NUTRITION STRATEGIES FOR THE BIG RACE DAY

       

BY JILL CASTLE, MS, RDN

At the end of the season when you’re laying everything on the line, don’t let a misstep in nutrition or poor planning sabotage your goals. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you prepare for the biggest meet of the season:

1. Eat breakfast. Start races on the right foot by eating something first thing in the morning. Muscles and metabolism will get the carbohydrate and energy boost they need.

2. Eat at the meet. I’m not hungry, or I’m too nervous to eat. These are just two excuses for not eating at competition. Going for long time periods without food (namely carbohydrate) is a bad idea and will chip away at performance.

3. Be structured with eating. No skipping, delaying or erratic times for eating (ahem, midnight munchies). Even at the pool, space eating around events, keeping the pre-load/recovery eating cycle going. The body will perform at its best when it is fueled.

4. Don’t experiment with food. Stay with tried and true foods your body can digest and tolerate while swimming.

5. Focus on carbohydrates. These are the body’s first food resources for energy. Go for slow digesting carbs like oats, whole grain bread or bagels or starchy vegetables. When opting for pasta, hold the fatty sauces like Alfredo. Instead, go for marinara or a low-fat option.

6. Forget the fatty foods. These are best eaten later, not during competition weekends, as they will just drag the swimmer down, leaving him feeling full and sluggish.

7. Be prepared for hunger. Unexpected hunger can get the best of any athlete. Bring more food than you need. That’s better than running to the concession stand for something less-than-ideal. Remember the adage: If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.

8. Keep it clean. Important races and meets are not the time for fast food, junky snacks, sugary desserts or candy. Stick with wholesome, real food like fruit, whole grain breads and crackers, and nut butter.

9. Quench the muscles. Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration and muscle cramping. Swimmers don’t need to get fancy with sports drinks or other sugary beverages during competition, as most races are brief.

10. Sleep. Although not a nutrition recommendation, sleep is tightly tied to allowing nutrition to do its thing. Sleep is energizing and restorative, and the time of day when muscles are in major renovation mode, healing, building, strengthening and using all that good nutrition it received during the day. Don't sacrifice sleep!

Jill Castle, MS, RDN is a childhood nutrition expert and co-author of Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School (www.fearlessfeeding.com). She is the creator of Just The Right Byte (www.justtherightbyte.com), a childhood nutrition blog. She lives with her husband and four children in New Canaan, CT. Questions? Contact her at Jill@JillCastle.com.  

Our last post talked about bad eating habits swimmers should break, so this post provides 10 foods that swimmers should be eating. For young swimmers (this includes teens), it is important that they not only eat properly so their bodies can perform well, but also so that they are growing and developing in a healthy way. Athletes of all ages may be at a greater risk of being nutrient deficient, so please take a moment and read what Jill Castle suggests your swimmer should be eating! 

This article can also be found here.

10 FOODS SWIMMERS SHOULD BE EATING

       

BY JILL CASTLE, MS, RDN

The mystery behind what to eat is never-ending, partly because miracle foods are constantly surfacing while other foods fall from grace. When it comes to the growing swimmer, what to eat is important for growth and development, and also for athletic performance. Many children and teens in today’s world are missing out on calcium, vitamin D, fiber and potassium. Teens and athletes in general may be at greater risk of nutrient deficiencies if they skip breakfast, snack on nutrient-poor foods and use diets to control their weight.

Given this, here are 10 foods that will keep your nutrient intake high and your risk for deficiency low:

Nuts: All nuts are chock-full of healthy fats, fiber, protein, magnesium and vitamin E. Use them to top yogurt or cereal, or just grab a handful on the way to practice.

Seeds: Similar to nuts, seeds are full of fiber, healthy fats, magnesium and vitamin E. Eat them like you would nuts.

Ready-to-eat cereals: Cereal is fortified with nutrients such as folic acid, iron and vitamins A and E, making them a good source for these micro-nutrients. Have it for breakfast, snack, or dinner in a pinch, but beware of choosing cereal with too much sugar. Cereals with less than 8 or 9 grams of sugar per serving are best.

100% orange juice: Increasingly, you can find calcium and vitamin D- fortified OJ. Orange juice is naturally a good source of folic acid and vitamin C. Don’t guzzle it though! Orange juice can be a significant source of calories when more than a cup and a half is consumed daily.

Beans: Magical indeed! Full of fiber, protein, iron, zinc and magnesium—find ways to fit beans into your weekly (or daily) diet. Roast them for a crunchy snack, top a salad or burrito, or throw them in with diced tomatoes for a hearty pasta dish.

Low-fat cheese: An easy snack or serve it mixed into casseroles, pasta and in sandwiches. Low-fat cheese is full of calcium, potassium, and protein. 

Low-fat yogurt: “Nutrient-rich” is an understatement! Yogurt is a good source of calcium, vitamin D, potassium and protein. Go for Greek varieties if you are looking for extra protein. It’s great as part of a meal, as a snack, or dessert.

Low-fat milk or soymilk: Dairy milk is a natural source of calcium, potassium, protein and vitamin D. If soymilk is your go-to, make sure it is fortified with calcium and vitamin D. Many athletes use flavored milk (chocolate milk) for a post-workout recovery drink.

Dark-green leafy vegetables: These veggies like kale, spinach and collard greens offer iron and calcium. Pair these veggies up with foods high in vitamin C, or serve with meat to maximize the absorption of iron from the vegetables.

Orange fruits and vegetables: Loaded with vitamins C, E, A, and potassium, these help your immune system stay healthy. 

How many of these foods are you getting on a regular basis?

Jill Castle, MS, RDN is a childhood nutrition expert and co-author of Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School (www.fearlessfeeding.com). She is the creator of Just The Right Byte (www.justtherightbyte.com), and is working on her next book for young athletes, called Eat, Compete & Grow. She lives with her husband and four children in New Canaan, CT. Questions? Contact her atJill@JillCastle.com.

5 Bad Eating Habits Swimmers Must Break

USA Swimming publishes great articles to help coaches, parents, and swimmers be successful in the pool. Being successful in the pool, much like being successful on the field or on the court, often requires some 'work' outside of the pool - mainly in the kitchen! This article covers some common but harmful habits swimmers need to break in order to keep themselves healthy and able to train and perform their best.

5 BAD EATING HABITS SWIMMERS MUST BREAK

BY JILL CASTLE, MS, RDN

A habit is a regular tendency that is hard to give up. When it comes to food and eating, there are good habits and there are bad ones. Good eating habits promote health, overall wellness, and may even optimize swimming performance. Bad habits, on the other hand, may get in the way of athletic performance and future potential. Here are some of the bad eating habits I see among young swimmers: 

Skipping Breakfast
It’s estimated that about 20% of kids  (9-13 years) and 36% of teens (14-18 years) skip breakfast. The reasons vary, but in the case of the swimmer, they include running short on time in the morning, not feeling hungry, or eating too much the night before, which can suppress hunger in the morning. Swimmers need breakfast, not only for revving up their engine (metabolism), but also for paying attention in school, meeting important nutrient requirements, and feeling energized throughout the day. Breakfast kicks everything in motion—the swimmers “engine,” and his brain—so skipping it is a habit that needs to be broken. Don’t be picky about a full course meal! Almost anything for breakfast is better than nothing. Try a smoothie, instant oatmeal, a handful of nuts and cereal, a bar, or even a box of flavored milk.

Light-loading Lunch 
Some swimmers are “watching their weight,” and in doing so may think it’s healthy to opt for a salad or a cup of soup for lunch, or maybe a sandwich and nothing else. This uber-healthy approach, which sounds like a good (and healthy) idea, really doesn’t work, especially if after-school training is on the horizon. Lunch is the meal that loads the swimmer’s body with essential carbs and protein (as well as other nutrients) for training. So a salad or broth-based soup won’t cut it, but a sandwich or wrap on whole grain bread served with a cup of soup and fresh fruit would be ideal.

Overeating Later (after school, practice, and late at night)
When the swimmer skips or light-loads on eating earlier in the day, he is bound to experience significant hunger, eventually. After school or practice, or even after a full dinner, hunger may rear its ugly head, and the swimmer may overeat, and perhaps even binge (eat a large amount of food in a short period of time). Overeating can cause unwanted weight gain, and if done at night, may interfere with the morning appetite, and disturb a healthy rhythm of eating during the day. Back-loading calories at the end of the day robs the swimmer’s body of needed nutrients for training and learning at school when he needs it most—during the day!

Eating the Wrong Food
Candy, sweet muffins, chocolate-coated granola bars, chips, and cookies are the wrong foods for swimmers to be snacking on, or eating routinely. Once in a while, on a non-training day, or in the context of other healthy foods is acceptable, but relying on unhealthy foods to sustain a training program or competition is silly. While these foods can fit in to the swimmer’s diet, their role should be minimal. For example, one or two regular portions of sweets can fit into the swimmer’s diet without crashing it, however, eating a chocolate chip muffin for breakfast, a big cookie and chips at lunch, popping Skittles throughout practice or competition, and finishing the day with ice cream or fried food is a bad idea, and a blossoming bad habit. Eating the right foods, and downsizing the wrong foods, is an area where many young swimmers can do better.

Forgetting Fluids
A headache, feeling tired, and a sense of hunger may be signs of poor drinking habits. True, dehydration is common among young athletes and stems from getting behind in fluid consumption. Prepping for practice takes place all day, from eating nutritious, juicy food to drinking enough water or other beverages. Some swimmers forget to drink, and play catch-up at practice, which is hard to do. Ideally, swimmers should drink fluids all day (preferably water, milk or small amounts of 100% juice), come to practice with water or a sports drink, drink throughout training, and replenish with more fluids during their recovery and the rest of the day.

Don’t let these bad eating habits curbside the swimmer’s hard work in and out of the pool!

Jill Castle, MS, RDN is a childhood nutrition expert and co-author of Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School (www.fearlessfeeding.com). She is the creator of Just The Right Byte (www.justtherightbyte.com), and is working on her next book, entitled Eat Like a Champion: Performance Nutrition for Your Young Athlete. She lives with her husband and four children in New Canaan, CT. 

Read the article on USA swimming here: http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=1635&itemid=6475&mid=11541

What You Need to Know About Nutrition for Swimmers

As we mentioned in our post specifically about nutrition before and during swim meets, nutrition plays a critical role in athletic performance. How we feed our bodies directly affects how our bodies are able to perform. This post will give a more in-depth look at the overall nutrition your athlete needs in order to train well, perform well, and just continue to be a healthy, growing swimmer. 

*Note: Don't forget to read our previous post about hydration. This is one of the largest nutritional concerns for any athlete.

Athletes should go only 3-4 hours between snacks or meals, and it is important that they NEVER skip meals. 

Carbohydrates

As an athlete's training and competition level increases, the body's energy demands also increase, and when an athlete works near or at maximum intensity, carbohydrates are the only fuel the body can use. Carbohydrates are the primary fuel source for swimmers.

Ideally, 50-70% of an athlete's total calories should be from carbohydrates. The consumption of carbohydrates creates glycogen, which is the main way that the body stores glucose (a simple sugar that provides energy) for later use. So, a diet rich in carbohydrates increases endurance performance due to the extra store of carbohydrates in muscles.  If you do not consume enough carbohydrates, you will suffer from chronic fatigue and poor performance both in practice and competitions. A formula to calculate the recommended carbohydrate intake: for every 1 hour of training per day a swimmer should consume 2.5 grams per pound of body weight (weight in lbs x carbs in grams = daily intake).

Protein

Protein is also important for an athlete, and 15% of an athlete's total calories should be from protein. It can be found in a variety foods (not just meat). Protein builds and repairs muscles, supports the immune system, and replaces red blood cells. Protein is NOT a source of energy. Diets too high in protein can lead to dehydration for endurance athletes (such as swimmers). Below is a chart with several foods and how many grams of protein each provides.

Fats

Fats are also an important part of a well-balanced diet for athletes; one-fourth of an athlete's calories come from fat (20-25%). Fats are present in many of the foods we eat regularly, such as cheese, eggs, fish, nuts, butter, oils, chicken, beef, and other foods. Athletes want to avoid eating too many "empty" fats (these sources of fats provide no nutritional value) such as candy, donuts, and fast food. All fats are high in calories (1g carbs = 4 calories, 1g protein = 4 calories, 1g fat = 9 calories) so it is important not to have a diet too high in fats. The goal is to have calories that also provide nutrition, not empty calories!

Before Training

A pre-exercise "meal" (or snack) keeps an athlete from feeling hungry while also maintaining optimal levels of energy for the muscles.

After Training

To completely refill energy in the muscles, eat within 30 minutes after the completion of practice, and then eat small meals 2 hours and again at 4 hours after the practice (if possible).

The 30 minute window is the largest concern; an athlete needs to replenish those energy sources so that the next day they are not feeling tired and run-down. If glycogen stores are not replenished, the ability of the muscles to recover from the workout are impaired. Choose high-carbohydrate foods such as bagels, pasta, fruits, vegetables, yogurts, cereal with low-fat milk, toast with peanut butter and jelly, fluid replacement drinks (Carnation Instant Breakfast, Boost, Ensure), food bars (PowerBar, Cliff Bar, et cetera), french toast, sub sandwiches, baked potatoes with chili, smoothie made with real fruit, fruit juice, or chocolate milk.

If you cannot consume solid foods within 30 minutes after practice, try 2-4 cups of a fluid replacement drink, chocolate milk, or a food bar. Be sure to HYDRATE after training (or a competition).

Below is a chart containing the top 30 foods for swimmers. It demarcates if the food contains carbohydrates, proteins, and/or other valuable nutrients.

 **Due to the smaller size needed for the blog, the chart is slightly blurry. If you would like the pdf file of this chart (which is not blurry), please leave a comment or send me an e-mail (ms.kdennis@gmail.com) and I can e-mail it to you.

Nutrition plays a critical role in an athlete's performance - making wise food choices can increase the chances of optimal athletic performance. Visit any of the following sites to stay up-to-date on nutrition research and nutrition issues: www.acsm.org (American College of Sports Medicine), www.eatright.org (American Dietetic Association), www.usda.gov/cnpp (Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion), www.nata.org (National Athletic Trainers' Association)