Are you eating enough? Weight Management Through Swimming and How to Calculate What You Need

Why good nutrition isn't just a recommendation but a critical component of your success in the water and beyond.

Happy Sunday!!!

In the world of swimming and maintaining an active lifestyle, nutrition plays an often underestimated yet pivotal role.

Beyond training in the pool and hitting the gym for strength workouts, what you consume can profoundly affect your performance, recovery, and overall well-being.

In this article, we embark on a journey through the nutritional landscape of swimmers and active individuals. We'll explore why good nutrition isn't just a recommendation but a critical component of your success in the water and beyond.

As a swimmer and human being with an active lifestyle, are you eating enough?

The question seems like a simple one, but is not.

It is not just about the number of calories, but the quality of the calories we consume that affect our overall performance in and out of the pool.

Calories are one component, but in our opinion, and based on tons of scientific research, it is not the most important aspect.

Let’s look at this example that I am sure will resonate with many of you:

Regularly, my swimmers share with me that they feel low energy, low strength, cramping all the time (especially on the quads and calves), dizzy, or sick.

One of the first questions we coaches ask is: What did you eat today and when? If the answer is “I haven’t eaten at all since yesterday, or I ate at McDonald’s’ half an hour ago”, then we have an easy answer for them.

But many coaches fail when the answer is something like": “..I ate as usual, had good meals, and didn’t skip breakfast or lunch, etc. and I also hydrated well…”. We fail at that moment because we don’t know how to help and what else to do.

99 out of 100 times, the issue is not related to the quantity and time of the meals, but the quality of the meals. Translated, macro, and micronutrients.

Don’t think this doesn’t transfer to you and me, because it totally does.

It transfers to our swimming and also to our lives outside of the swimming pool.

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Before moving forward, a quick explanation of Macro and Micronutrients

Macronutrients and micronutrients are two essential categories of nutrients that your body needs to function properly.

Macronutrients are the nutrients that your body needs in large amounts to provide energy and build and repair muscle tissues. The three macronutrients are:

• Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy.

• Proteins: Proteins are essential for building and repairing muscle tissue.

• Fats: Fats provide energy and help to store vitamins and minerals.

Micronutrients are the nutrients that your body needs in smaller amounts to support various bodily functions. They are divided into two categories: vitamins and minerals.

• Vitamins: Vitamins are essential for a variety of bodily functions, including cell growth and repair, immunity, and vision.

• Minerals: Minerals are also essential for a variety of bodily functions, including bone health, muscle function, and nerve function.

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To be clear, we are NOT going to get into the argument of which macronutrients you should eat. Meaning, animal-based versus plant-based, whole food carbs versus processed carbs, etc.

+40,000 around the world read and use our workouts, and we accept our differences and points of view. Here is the good news, you CAN achieve the nutrient goal you need independently.

This is a summary of the topics discussed in this article:

1. How many calories do I burn in an hour of swimming the Daily Free Swimming Workout?

2. How to lose weight swimming the Daily Free Swimming Workouts?

3. How do I find out how many calories I need per day as a swimmer?

4. How do I find out how much protein, carbs, and fat I need per day to perform well and feel good?

5. Why good nutrition is critical to sustain my daily Swimming and Strength Workouts

6. Special Considerations About Nutrition for Older Adults

7. What is the best source of energy for me? Carbs or fats?

8. When and what to eat before, during, and after a workout

9. Do I need supplements? (Protein, Vitamins, Minerals, etc)

Ready? Let’s go!

First, let’s get something out of the way.

We are going to spend a good amount of detail on the two most popular questions you have asked us on this topic.

Not that we don’t care about the others, we do! and we answer them as well below.

The two questions are:

1. How many calories do I burn in an hour of swimming the Daily Free Swimming Workout?

2. How to lose weight swimming the Daily Free Swimming Workouts?

First, let’s answer how many calories you burn swimming in one hour of our daily swimming plan.