EAT for SUCCESS

Swimming season has officially begun!!! We are shedding our lazy, off season routine of sofa sit ups, and leaving it behind us.  Our coaches are ramping up our fitness by giving workouts that include swimming, running, and dry-land exercises that will ultimately make us cry, just a little.  We realize that our bathing suits are slightly too tight, however these base practices will most likely help us to lose a few unwanted pounds.

Some of us may want to try and lose the summer weight gain a little quicker than others, by reducing calorie intake dramatically, while working out; It can be difficult to see our back fat flowing out of our bathing suit.  DON'T DO IT!

Don't worry, you will lose the weight. However, by restricting calories too much during base training, you will hurt your ability to perform and keep up during workouts. This will have detrimental effects on your competition results later in the year.

Ten to twenty years ago,  it was thought that having carbs within an hour of workout would give you an immediate sugar high and then the subsequent crash that generally follows, hurting performance.  More recently the evidence shows the opposite. Eating easily digestible carbohydrates an hour before practice can help athletes to workout longer.  Choose healthy snacks such as fresh fruit, low fat yogurt, a protein shake, whole grain cereal or cereal bars to have before practice instead of the chocolate bar.  These foods will provide you with the energy you need to do a great workout and still help excess weight disappear at a healthy rate.  Make sure you are enjoying nutritious snacks throughout the day, not allowing yourself to ever feel completely famished as that's when you will eat excess calories. Bring snacks with you that are 60/40 split of carbohydrate and protein.  And do not be afraid of calories, just make sure you are choosing the right ones.

If you are craving your chocolate, have it, 15-30 minutes after your workout is over, drink a glass of  chocolate milk.  Those athletes that consume chocolate milk after exercise have been shown to increase muscle fuel stores,  decrease body fat, and have a better overall physiological response to exercise than those that consume water or  sport drinks.

Eat to set yourself up for a successful workout and ultimately a successful season!!

      Bottom line is, the right snacks before workout can make you feel like this!!!

              

The never ending energy of my seven year old!


GOOD LUCK STARTING THE NEW SEASON

  

Why is my bathing suit so tight?

Why my bathing suit gets tight.

Swimmers burn a lot of calories.  We also tend to eat a large amount of food, on a regular basis, multiple times per day!

 So what happens when we are off season and taking a break from training?  We aren't burning as many calories anymore, however that hasn't stopped us from thoroughly enjoying massive amounts of food.

With only 2 weeks to go until swimming kicks off again it may be time to start watching our calorie intake a little more closely OR be prepared to buy a new swimsuit....... one size larger.


As you can see from my picture, one of the past times I like to indulge in is baking.  I love baked goods!  I also have difficulty passing by the refrigerator freezer; the chocolate chips are continually calling out for me to eat them. In season, due to training, I can maintain my weight by offsetting my indulgences with exercise. Off season, it is not so easy.

I often wonder why I feel the need to eat like I've never seen food before during the swim season and why I can't stop eating after the season is over.

It turns out that swimmers burn a lot of calories during a workout. Remember that  interview with Michael Phelps where he shared how he consumed 10,000-12,000 kcals per day while training....that's insane.....especially when you consider the average person eats between 1500 and 3000 kcals per day.  Freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly burn the most energy (500-1200kcals/hr), the better swimmer burns slower than the less adept swimmer struggling to stay afloat, and the temperature of the water plays a big role in why swimmers are so hungry after workout.

Generally the pool is between 72-78 degrees Fahrenheit, unless you swim at the YMCA then it is closer to 90 degrees.  Our body is working hard to swim and also to keep our internal body temperature at 98.6 degrees. In a 2005 study done by University of Florida researchers, athletes that swam in a pool with a temperature of 68 degrees for 45 minutes consumed 44% more calories than those that did the same workout in a 90 degree pool, when looking at exercise only. Due to the cooler water we utilize our carb stores differently then if we were running outside on a warm day. Our body craves fuel replenishment and we feel hungrier after swimming.

We become accustomed to eating a certain amount of food.  When we break from swimming our tummy is still looking to be filled to the same volume.  Unfortunately we are not expending the same amount of energy and those extra calories find their way to places on our bodies that we do not want them to be ( thighs, stomach, and the dreaded back fat).

Athletes, coaches and parents of swimmers should educate themselves and their kids on good nutrition and how to negate the excess weight gain that many swimmers suffer when they aren't training.

Here are a few easy tips to stay on track both off season and in:

1. Get rid of the quick, processed snacks. 
2. Choose whole foods from all the food groups.
3. Don't over eat.  By eating 4 Oreos a day over what you usually would eat you will gain 1/2    pound  per week.  (we all know we just don't stop at just 4 Oreos).
4. When you still feel hungry after your snack, or 1/2 hour after your large dinner, have a glass of water and hold off eating for 10 min.  By then the craving should pass.
5. Make snacks that are a combination of carbs, high FIBRE and PROTEIN. The fibre and protein will help you feel full longer.  In season the protein will also help speed up recovery.
6. Don't miss meals trying to keep weight off...it won't help....you may binge on sugary foods later on. 
7. Build a healthy body and a better athlete by making SMART CHOICES.