The members of your coaching staff are not experts in nutrition, however, they have considerable experience in performance as coaches of high level athletes and as athletes themselves. Bottom line - swimmers need a major amount of food. It is their fuel during training, and a key component to their recovery. There is a direct correlation between an athlete's nutrition (what they eat/drink, and when they consume it), their recovery (time off training, and sleep), and their performance (day-to-day, and peak).
Please review the following information compiled from industry experts ATLIS, BridgeAthletic, and the NCAA, and consider it as a guideline for dietary planning.
Basic Nutritional Template:
Many athletes get a little lost when it comes to nutrition. One reason is that there is so much conflicting information that it is difficult to know what or who to listen to for advice.
Another is that much of this advice is geared towards non-athletes. With the majority of nutritional research carried out on the general population, it is difficult to understand how to tailor the results to an elite athlete's lifestyle. Elite athletes - are by definition - not average. They are outliers. They don't fit so easily into the latest popular nutritional paradigm.
The basics of the nutritional program though, remain consistent, no matter who you are. A balanced intake of the three major macro-nutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) is a necessary starting point for almost all elite athletes, and forms the basis of our nutritional template.
The athlete's body is super-adaptable to all sorts of dietary conditions. The trick is to find the most effective plan for you. By starting with the basic template, and experimenting with different macro-nutrient profiles, nutrient timing, caloric volume, peri-training nutrition, etc., over time - and with detailed monitoring - we can hope to optimize your specific nutritional program.
The Basic Rules -
- Eliminate sugar (including fruit juices and sports drinks that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup, honey, and agave).
- Replace the sugar calories with healthy fats.
- Eliminate all synthetic additives, colorings and flavorings. This includes aspartame, MSG, dyes, and artificial flavorings.
- Eat Conventional: asparagus, avocado, onion, grapefruit, sweet potato/yam, lettuce, eggplant.
- Eat Organic: apple, potatoes, peach, peppers, celery, all berries, spinach.
- Favor herb based spices such as thyme and rosemary over powders.
- Eat protein with every meal.
- Enjoy your food.
- Be mindful while you are eating. Making healthy choices is challenging when you are distracted by other things such as driving, reading, or watching TV.
- Eat more food after training. The biggest meals of your day are eaten after your training. 65-75% of your daily calorie and carbohydrate intake should come within 4 hours after training.
- Courtesy of ALTIS
When is it worth the extra $$?
Rule #1: Do not skip meals or under-fuel to save money. Refueling takes precedence for elite athletes, and if the only option is to overspend a little, it is worth it.
Rule #2: Plan ahead with your nutrition and you will never be caught in a situation where you need to purchase overpriced items. Packing snacks and fluids to bring with you, or making your own meals instead of buying take-out will alleviate this issue.
Rule #3: Fresh produce is a large component of healthy nutrition. Given the choice between fresh fruits and veggies, and processed/packaged food, opt for the fresh items. People assume fresh produce is expensive, but often times the processed foods can be just as pricey, if not more so.
Navigating the Store: What are the Cheaper Healthy Staples?
On average, the following popular healthy food items fall into these price categories. This will help you decide which items to buy as staples and which to purchase as a luxury.
Final Thoughts
In the confusing world of modern nutrition, stick to the age-old phrase of "everything in moderation". This guide can help you trim costs while putting clean fuel in your body, but feel free to tailor it to your personal needs as an athlete. And lastly, choose the cheaper water.
- Courtesy of Megan Fischer-Colbrie and BridgeAthletic