As a swimmer you need food to give you the energy to train and compete. This information leaflet gives you some helpful hints on how to improve your performance through eating and drinking the correct amount and types of food. The first section gives general information on diet and why we need food. A section follows this on what foods and drinks to have if you are swim training regularly. Finally information on what to eat and drink for competition days is given. It is important to start eating healthy foods that an early age. This will help you think about food as part of your preparation for training and competing throughout your whole swimming career. The booklet is specifically designed for swimmers who are aged nine and upwards. If you fall into this age group and you swim it's important to give this leaflet to coaches, teachers, and parents, so they can help you with your food intake. The most important person to discuss this leaflet with is the person who buys your food and prepares your meals.

When you're awake your body burns up energy has you walk to school, sit-in lessons, play with your friends, and also go swim training. Imagine your body is like a car, to go on any journey the car needs petrol, and the engine uses this energy to make the wheels go round. The faster the car is driven the more the petrol it will burn up.

The car = your body

Petrol = food you eat you

Car engine = your muscles

Your body needs energy to make your muscles work when you are playing or swim training. The food you eat gives your muscles energy. The more exercise you do the more food you need to eat. Just like a car can run out of petrol, your muscles can run out of energy unless you give them the right amount and type of food.

A Formula one racing car has to have high-octane fuel to make it go fast. If you put in ordinary unleaded from your local station it would not go very quickly. When you swim if you give your muscles the wrong types of foods they will not be able to give you the energy to swim fast. What you eat plays an important part in swimming well. You may train hard and have a good technique, but if you eat the wrong foods you will not achieve your full potential.

Before we look at foods to eat for swimming, it is important that we look at what you eat every day. Fill in the table below by circling the food you eat.

List A:

Breakfast cereal sugarcoated. Breakfast cereals, high fibre. Fresh fruit juice.

Semi-skimmed milk. Fruit. Scrambled eggs.

Toast. Jam.

List B:

Fried eggs. Grilled sausages. Fried sausages.

Full-fat milk. Butter.

Breakfast is a very important meal in the day and provides you with the energy you need throughout the morning. If you swim train early try to have a glass of fruit juice and perhaps a banana on the way to training and eat your breakfast before going to school. The list "A" foods are all high in carbohydrate and low in fat which is important for your muscles. If you like, this is equivalent to the petrol going into the car. Your muscles prefer carbohydrate rich foods such as breakfast cereals and toast. If you have circled more items in list B and A then you need to think about eating more cereals and toast and saving your cooked breakfast for the weekend.

List A:

Banana, Oranges, Dried fruit,

Scone with jam, Toast, Cake with jam,

Fruit bar.

List B:

Crisps Nuts Chocolate bars

Chocolate biscuits Cream cakes.

Eating snacks between meals helps to top of the energy in your body and allows you to play and have enough energy to concentrate in school. As you have a lot of growing to do you need lots of energy throughout the day. Try to choose healthy snacks at least once per day and keep the high fat snacks in list B down to once or twice a week as a special treat. This way you will have healthy teeth and lots of good energy for your muscles.

List A:

Sandwiches Filled roll filled croissants Baked potato

Pizza and salad Salad.

List B:

Pies Sausage rolls Chips.

Lunch is important as it gives your body the energy to finish school and stop you feeling hungry before you go training in the afternoon. Try to choose things from list "A" for your lunch as these foods will provide energy, carbohydrate, and protein, which is essential for you to grow. Try to avoid the fatty foods such as pies, chips, and crisps.

List A:

Chicken Lean meat Fish Eggs Lentils,

Peas, Beans, Parsnips Potatoes Pasta

Rice fresh or frozen vegetables Salad vegetables.

List B:

Deep fried chicken Sausages fried Chip-shop fried fish

Fried eggs Fried chips Creamy sauces

Fried rice, Tinned vegetables.

If you train in the evening you should each your meal when you get home. Foods on list "A" are good to eat. Those on List B are not bad foods; they are just high in fat and should be eaten occasionally not every day. Ask your mum to grill, bake or boil rather than fry. This helps to cut down the fat you eat. Try to have green vegetables everyday.

List A:

Fruit crumble Sponge cake Yogurt Fruit salad Stewed fruit.

List B:

Creamy ice-cream Chocolate cake Cream Fruit fritters.

Puddings and the deserts are essential to every growing young person's diet. If you can try to have a fruit-based pudding, and choose low-fat toppings such as yogurt, frozen yogurt or custard made with semi-skimmed milk. Ice cream is OK occasionally but not every day.

List A:

Milk Fresh fruit juice Squashes Water

Herbal tea, Isotonic drinks.

List B:

Fizzy juices, Fizzy Drinks Coffee Tea.

For a healthy body you need to drink at least six cups of fluid a day mainly from a list A. Fruit juices and squashes can help provide your body with vitamins which are essential to you every day. To many sugary fizzy drinks will make you thirsty and are very bad for your teeth. Milk is a good drink to have but you should keep your milk intake down to about one pint per day water. Diluted fruit juices and Isotonic drinks are good when you are training at the pool as they strop you from becoming dehydrated. Remember, if you drink Isotonic drinks always use a drinks bottle and brush your teeth after a training session to keep your teeth healthy.

Total up your foods:

You can repeat this exercise once a month to make sure that you are eating more from list "A" and "B" at least five days at of seven.

The following nutrients are in the foods and earn the following scores:

Carbohydrates: 5

Protein: 4

Fat: 3

Fibre: 4

Vitamins and minerals: 5

Water: 5

Simple sugary carbohydrates are found in; Sugar, Jam, preserves, sweets, biscuits, fizzy drinks. Carbohydrates are taken up by the body into the cells very rapidly and are used for energy quickly. They represent the short-term energy supply. Complex starchy carbohydrates are found in; bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals. Complex carbohydrates provide longer lasting sources of energy. These foods are the five star of fuel sources, and a very important energy food for the exercising body. Particularly your muscles where it is stored as glycogen.

Fats from vegetable sources such as olive oil, and corn oil are healthier than hard animal fats such as cheese, butter, and fat on meat. Fax provides energy to the body, however the muscles do not directly use it during exercise, and it should be kept low in the swimmer’s diet. In addition to energy, fat also provides fatty acids, which carries the fat-soluble vitamins needed by the body for good health.

You will find Protein in chicken, fish, lean meat, milk, dairy products, beans, lentils, tofu, and quorn. Wherever possible low-fat foods are rich in protein should be chosen, e.g. semi-skimmed milk and low-fat yogurt. Protein is a building block food, which provides the body with amino acids, to build and repair tissues and organs such as muscles; some Protein is required in every meal. Most people eat more than enough Protein.

The most important of these are vitamin C, Iron, and calcium. Good sources are citrus fruits, red meat and dairy products, respectively. These are micronutrients that are essential for health and well being and our found naturally in fresh foods.

Fibre is rich in carbohydrate foods, which are wholegrain. E.g. whole meal bread, and also in fruit and vegetables. Fibre is important for general health and keeps the gut working well. In a swimmers diet some Fibre is important however too much is not desirable particularly during Competitions!

The body is 65 per cent water and has a very high requirement for fluid. Water is important to maintain the body's temperature during exercise and prevent the feeling of thirst. It is also vital to keep Fibre working well and in the body. Even a small weight loss during training due to loss of sweat severely impairs performance.

To prepare your body for swimming you should arrived at training with a full fuel tank, remember that racing car. Do you ever feel any of the following symptoms when you swim; sick, tummy pains light-headed or dizzy, cramps? If you do you may well be eating too close to your training session or be slightly de-hydrated. It is best to leave a minimum of two hours between eating a meal and swimming, this will help to avoid some the symptoms listed above. To keep your energy stores topped up rather than eating three meals per day, try having five to six small meals per day. What you eat depends largely on when you are training or competing. Before early morning swim you should have a drink and eat a high carbohydrate snack as soon as you get up. When the early morning training ends a high carbohydrate breakfast should be eaten within one hour. It may also help to eat a large bowl of cereal before going to bed to ensure your energy stores for training the next morning are topped up.

Muscles refuel or replace used energy best within the first two hours after exercise has finished. To benefit from this try to eat a high carbohydrate snack or drink within this time. Having appropriate snacks in your kit bag helps to ensure that you start to replace used energy as early as possible. Here are some Snacks which you could keep in your bag to eat after training; bananas, raisins, fruit and cereal bars, sandwiches; such as banana & honey or Jam, Jaffa cakes.

You should consider your diet and fluids every day to optimise on your training, however competitions require some special planning. Try to take the food and drink you need for competition with you or in a large cool-box.

Eat a high-carbohydrate meal the night before competition. Base your meal on foods such as pasta, rice, potatoes, noodles, cous cous, or bread. If you are eating out and the menu is not high enough in carbohydrate, topping it up by eating extra bread, such as Rolls or pasta. Make sure that you never trying any new foods the night before competition. Always try out new foods during training. Think about what you want to eat and drink during the competition day and plan ahead.

Eat a high-carbohydrate low fat breakfast 2 hours before the competition begins. Don't forget to drink water or diluted fruit juice on your way to the pool after breakfast.

Eating between heats depends on the length of time you have; the following is a guide but remember to practice during training. 2 hours or more you could enjoy a low-fat high carbohydrate snack from the previous list. 1 - 2 hours available choose a light snack such as a roll if fruit or cereal bar row low-fat yogurt. Less than 1 hour, stick with drinks rather solid food if you are accustomed to eating, try a Banana or a low-fat yogurt. Any less time, and stick with liquids only.

Remember to replace used energy within two hours after your day ends. This is particularly important if you have a long journey ahead. Make sure you have adequate food and drink for your travel time. Try to eat a main meal before you go to bed, this is particularly important if you are competing the next day.

To prepare your body for swimming you should arrive at training with a full fuel tank and have adequate fluids in your body. You should practices during training to maximize your nutrition; this will make it easier to get it right on a Competition day.

Swim training can be grueling with many early-morning starts; this requires discipline and a well-organised menu! As with many sports eating and drinking to optimise for the body’s requirements needs to be planned and to have adequate time gaps before exercise begins

It is safe to say that the meals and snacks eaten should be high in carbohydrates to enable muscle cells to remain high in glycogen. It is important to eat and drink regularly throughout the day and avoid long gaps with no food or drink. Some people prefer eating small meals regularly throughout that the day rather than three large main meals. However often you choose to eat, keeping in mind that your diet least needs to be high in carbohydrates every day. The following pages give some ideas for each meal.

Fresh fruit juice, bowl of breakfast cereal, or porridge with semi-skimmed milk, Banana raisins and apricots. Toast white or whole meal bread with jam, honey or Marmite. Or raisin bread with Jam. Or toasted bagel with jam or low-fat spread. Or pancakes with maple syrup.

Filled roll or sandwiches; low-fat fillings such as chicken salad, egg mayonnaise, lean ham and reduced fat cream cheese, Edam Gouda with pickle, chicken tikka masala, Turin sweetcorn, jacket potato with beans, low-fat cheese or tuna salad, pasta salad with tuna or chicken or lean ham, with sweetcorn and peas. Or bread based pizza with a low-fat topping tomato sauce, chicken or mushrooms and sweet corn.

You should aim to have a large portion of the carbohydrate foods and ensure that with each meal you have a protein food. Vegetables are important and should be eaten with your main meal, particularly the high-carbohydrate ones such as sweet corn, sweet potato, and parsnips. Pasta any kind with a low-fat sauce such as tinned tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, sweet corn, tuna, grilled chicken, lean meat low-fat grated cheese. Rice dishes such as kedgeree, risotto with vegetable seafood and ham pie, rice spiced curries such as lamb spinach and tomato sauce. Chile, con carne, Lasagne made with low-fat sauce sauces with crusty bread and salad. Potatoes boiled or baked with chicken, lean meat grilled or steamed fish and assorted vegetables. Grilled low-fat sausage lots of mashed potatoes, peas and beans. Pizza thick bread brace with Tom water-based toppings plus any of the following; chicken, lean ham, tuna, olives, mushrooms, sweetcorn, and low-fat cheese.

Low fat fromage frais, yogurt, Fresh or tinned fruit salad, Dried raisins, apples, apricots, Pureed fruit with custard ice cream, Tubs of rice pudding or flavoured custard, Bread and low fat spread, fat free sponge with custard, Bakes bananas with honey and low fat crème fraiche, fruit cake, hot cross buns. All custards should be made with semi-skimmed milk.

Mineral or plain water, Fruit squashes, Fresh fruit juice diluted with water, semi-skimmed milk, Tea, weak coffee.

Raisins, apricots, sultanas, rice pots, bagel with honey, muffins, hot cross buns, filled rolls/sandwiches with honey, banana, cereal / fruit bars, biscuits – Jaffa cakes, fig rolls, garibaldi, fruit – bananas, apples, pears, oranges, sport drinks.

When you refuel your muscles with glycogen you can predict how much carbohydrate is required by knowing your weight. 1 gram per kilogram of body weight. Using this formula enables you to eat the required amount of carbohydrate within the vital 2-hour post-exercise period. Try to become familiar with the carbohydrate content of the foods you eat. Look at the labels, and make your own score sheet of high carbo & nice tasting foods.

Whenever you travel your feeding routine is likely to be disturbed. The body expects to be fed at certain times, and this combined with the training regime will have established a routine. The aim of competition traveling is to minimise the impact of the journey on this routine. Where possible eat the same types of meal and snacks at the same time. If necessary take your favorite foods which you have identified above with you. Or purchase them from when you get to the competition venue. When staying in a Bread & Breakfast try to have your breakfast 2 hours before the competition starts.

Any form of travel will is not only exhausting but will also de-hydrate the body more quickly than normal, air conditioning and hot waiting areas. Drink more than usual before and during the journey. If you require vegetarian meals remember these may have to be ordered before hand. If traveling overseas you might need to think about taking certain foods that may not be available locally. In the end, planning your travel, food and accommodation is as important as the planning put into your swim schedules.

There is no satisfaction from training hard, only to feel that your competition effort was let down at the last minute.

Remember:

"A proper diet can’t make an average swimmer elite, but a poor diet can make an elite swimmer average"