Nutrition - Eat to Compete

Daventry Dolphins Swimming Club acknowledges that this information has been helpfully provided by Northampton Swimming Club.

1. Boosting carbohydrates for a competition

Start the day with a hearty bowl of cereal and low fat milk and/or toast (but easy on the butter/margarine).

Add dried fruit or a sliced banana to breakfast cereal.

Reduce the fat and protein component of meals and add extra carbohydrate. For example have an extra potato and less meat, an extra spoonful of rice or pasta and a spoonful less of oily or creamy sauce. Add an extra spoonful of beans and omit the fat from the meat.

Choose a thick base pizza rather than a thin and crispy one but cut down on the fatty toppings, i.e. more tomato, vegetables, ham, tuna, pineapple and less cheese.

Drink extra juice, squash or sports drink with your meal. This adds additional carbohydrate with no extra fat.

Choose carbohydrate rich, low fat snacks such as dried fruit/popcorn/tea-cakes, breakfast cereal, bagels, bananas, rusks /Pop Tarts.

2. The night before the competition

  • Rice or pasta with a low fat sauce

  • A noodle dish (e.g. chow mein)

  • Jacket potato with low fat filling

  • Deep pan pizza (ham and pineapple or vegetarian)

  • Beans on toast

  • Chunky vegetable/bean based soup and sandwiches

  • Breakfast cereal and toast

  • Boiled or mashed potato dish with lots of potato and smaller portions of meat/fish

3. Pre-event meals and snacks

  • Breakfast cereal and low fat milk

  • Porridge with syrup and raisins

  • Toast (scraping of fat) with honey/jam/ marmite

  • Banana or jam sandwiches

  • Muffins/crumpets with jam/honey/pancakes and syrup

  • Beans on toast

  • Pasta with tomato based sauce

  • Jacket potato with low fat filling

4. Guidelines for eating between races

LESS THAN ONE HOUR

  • Sports drinks

  • Carbohydrate supplements

  • Soft drinks (diluted fruit juice & cordial)

POSSIBLY

  • Bananas & raisins

  • Energy bars/ Nutrigrain bars

  • Confectionary

  • Jelly cubes

  • Sweets (e.g. Jelly babies /jelly beans /Liquorice Allsorts)

  • Plain biscuits

  • Rice cakes

2 - 4 HOURS

  • Sandwiches/rolls/pitta bread

  • Currant buns/tea-cakes

  • Bagels/muffins/crumpets

  • Scones/scotch pancakes

  • Toast/toasted sandwiches

  • Cereal /Rusks

  • Pop Tarts

  • Popcorn

  • Canned fruit or dried fruit

  • Low fat rice pudding

  • Pastas and tomato type sauce

  • Jacket potato

  • Rice and low fat sauce

View PDF of Log and Diet Sheets