Maintaining a strict and regular diet is important for any sportsperson. The fundamental is to stay fit, eat healthy and most importantly eat right. Depriving yourself from good food will not take you a long way, especially when you are having a huge craving to eat it. So make sure you eat right, in terms of moderation and balance it out by eating healthy in the next meal course. Eating anything in moderation is never a bad idea and can never impact your health in a bad way.
Swimming is one such activity or exercise that requires you to have a proper diet or nutrition. You require a balanced nutrition in order to gather stamina and strength to swim well. Energy is also a prime requisite when you are all out to swim. A proper and regularized diet boosts your energy levels and supports you in all your physical activities – swimming being one such activity. Eating unhealthy and having excessive junk food is bad news, and affects your swimming. So while you are busy brushing up your swimming skills, make sure you monitor your diet as well for better results once you are in the swimming pool.
If you are unaware of the diet that you need to follow, let us provide you with the right assistance.
Fruits and Vegetables – Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and play an important role in improving your immune system. Rich in minerals, fruits and vegetables help to keep your digestive and respiratory systems in good condition. The nutrition content is extremely useful and improves blood circulation. Colorful fruits and vegetables are great because you can then consume a wide range of antioxidants. No matter what fruits or vegetables you opt for, make sure there is sufficient greens as that is always ahead of all eatables. Any red color fruits and vegetables are also a must because they have high levels of antioxidants.
Right Intake of Protein – Regular swimming classes indicate that your body muscles need repair and to replenish energy. For that, regular intake of proteins is a must and that comes in the form of meat, eggs, dairy, nuts and beans. In your attempt to maintain a proper diet, look out for leaner protein sources. Best sources of protein that is good for a swimmer would be chicken, turkey and fish. Talking about fish, the types that must be in your diet are haddock, cod, bass and plaice. The oily fishes that should be in your diet chart are mackerel, tuna, salmon, trout and sardines.
Complex Carbs – Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy that your body needs in order to perform better. In fact, carbohydrates are considered to be the fuel that enhances your performance. Your body further works on the carbs that you consume by converting them into glycogen and then having them stored in the muscles and your liver. There are three types of carbs that your body needs and they are fibrous, complex and simple. So make sure you consume sufficient amount of carbs and stay energized always.
Vitamin D for Muscle Building – Vitamin D is considered to be one of the most important nutrients that your body needs if you are a sportsperson wanting to better your performance. It improves the health of your bones and builds strength for your muscles. Muscle synthesis and muscle contraction also gets better if vitamin D is part of your diet chart. Unfortunately vitamin D deficiency is a common problem among swimmers and things get all the more difficult during winters. Vitamin D food sources include fatty tuna, egg yolk, fortified milk and cheese. Diet is not just about bad food since it includes the above mentioned tasty and healthy food items.
Hydration – Dehydration always reduces energy and decreases capacity to work or exercise. That is the main reason swimmers need to have sufficient amount of water and keep themselves hydrated. This does not imply that swimmers need to just restrict themselves to water. Along with water, they can also have lots of fresh fruit juices but not canned juices. Well hydrated system is the best way to stay fit and swim well.
So make sure you take the help of a professional dietician to eat healthy and stay fit. Keeping a track on your diet will automatically help you better your performance.
