Because you train hard, it is important that you know how to eat and drink healthily, so your body gets all the nourishment and fluid it needs.

Fluid balance

• Remember swimming pools are hot and humid you will sweat more than you realise. It is vital you make sure you are fully hydrated before training.
• Drinks should contain water, weak squash or watered down fruit juice.
• Always take a drink to training.  Remember you need to drink a minimum of 500 ml of fluid every hour. This might mean bringing two drinks onto poolside if it is a two-hour session.
• Drink small amounts of fluid throughout the training session.

Energy needs

• 60% of your food intake should consist of carbohydrates such as pasta, potatoes, whole grain rice 20% protein such as chicken, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, and 20% fat. Dietary fats are necessary and healthy, as long as they are chosen wisely and used in moderation. Saturated fats (hydrogenated fats and trans-fats) are generally solid at room temperature and should be avoided. Unsaturated fats (monounsaturates and polyunsaturates) usually come from plant sources are and liquid at room temperature.
• Make sure you have a light pasta meal or a bowl of cereal i.e. shredded wheat/porridge (not the sugar-coated type), or eat a banana and yoghurt before training. This will give you energy throughout the training session.
• Make sure that you have another carbohydrate meal after training to help the muscles recover. Chicken with potatoes would be good.

Balanced diet

• It's important to note that the sources of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats should be wholesome. Junk food and sweets provide you with energy, but only in the form of 'empty' calories, they give your body nothing to work with.
• Healthy carbohydrates come from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Carbohydrates are easily converted into energy in the body, so the recent trend of shying away from carbs is not a healthy one.
• Try to avoid fast food meals as they are high in fat and do not contain much goodness. The fat takes a long time to digest and you would not want to go to sleep on a fatty meal.
• Try and eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day
• Good sources of protein include lean meats, fish, egg whites, whole eggs, beans, seeds, nuts, and soy products.
• In order to have steady energy levels, always eat regularly and don’t miss breakfast.  Breakfast sets you up for the whole day, missing it will leave you feeling tried and you will only end up filling up on sugary foods with no nutritional value. You need plenty of energy. You should eat small quantities over the course of the day.

Weight management

• While you are still growing you should never 'diet' for weight loss or control, but should instead eat a balanced diet of whole foods. Combined with an active lifestyle, a diet including regular meals and well chosen daily snacks will allow you to naturally maintain a healthy weight while giving you plenty of energy to do sports.
• If you have concerns about your weight, speak to your GP.

If you swim competitively it is important to know how to eat and drink healthily for competitions either in a gala situation or an all-day open event.

Fluid Balance

• Make sure you take with you plenty of drink for the time you are competing.  As a general rule of thumb you will need to drink 500 ml of fluid every hour.
• Do not wait to drink until you are thirsty. 2% of dehydration leads to as much as a 10% to 20% decrease in performance
• Make sure you drink regularly up to the time that you compete; you do not want to dehydrate. However, it would be best not to drink just before the race as you will not swim as well if your stomach is full of water!

Energy needs

• Carbohydrates are the key. They give your body a ready made fuel of glycogen for you to swim on.
• Make sure you eat breakfast two or three hours before the competition if it is all day. Oatmeal cereal is good but so is one egg on toast!
• Have a good balanced meal the night before. If it’s an evening event, ensure that you have lunch that is adequate, i.e. jacket potato with beans or a pasta-based meal.
• During a gala it is far better to have eaten as above rather than during. Bananas, honey, jam sandwiches, flapjacks, drink yoghurts, fruit smoothie, dried fruit (apricots, mango etc.) are far better choices to have on poolside, because these can be broken down by the body much quickly.
• Eat pasta during an all-day competition. It is easily digestible and converts to energy quickly, another good source of food to eat during the day are bananas
• After competitions make sure you have another carbohydrate meal, such as Spaghetti Bolognese. This will help your muscles to recover from the competition and replenish your glycogen level.

Balanced diet

• The week before competition, eat foods high in carbohydrate.  At least 60% of your diet should be made up of carbohydrates such as pasta, rice, etc.
• Don’t eat a fatty breakfast like fried bacon and eggs. Fat takes a long time to break down and digest, what you are after is quick easy energy.
• If you feel too nervous to eat before the competition try a fruit smoothie. This will help to give you energy and is easy to swallow
• Take your own food to the event do not rely on the sweet machine

Weight management

• Don’t allow your body to, gain or loose, weight just before a competition. Try to maintain your weight level.