Hi:)
I'm just wondering does it matter to eat dinner before or after swimming? I used to swimming after dinner, but recently I can't arrange my timetable well so I have to swim before dinner(swim 4~5pm and eat at 6~7pm). Will it waste my effort if I have my swim plan like this, that is, gaining weights or something...
I heard if you swim before the dinner your body will consume the food very well and then put on some weights. If this is the case, the weight is muscle or fat?
After the last couple years of coming up short on my goals I really started to live the mantra "ya can't outtrain a bad diet" so I started keeping track of what i ate and found these things things to be true.
1. I am extremely sensitive to salt intake-I bloat up like crazy
2. Sugar is not my friend-it screws my mood and the spike/crash is too much
3. I can't eat anything heavy on training days-feel sluggish
4. When I eat is as important as what I eat.
The last one is very important cuz I found that if i eat less than an hour before practice/workout it tends to bog me down and make me uncomfortable.
So for the last few months I've cut out bread, starches, and pasta during the week and stuck with lots of vegetables, vegetable juice, fruits, protein shakes/lean meat during my day, nothing heavy and never more than 2-300 cals at a time. I have a good meal after practice even at 10pm since it will be at least 7-9 hours before I eat again...That whole "eating late at nite is not good" is a myth.
I've notice a marked improvement in mood, energy and even though I''m eating a lot 3500+cals a day Ive dropped 10lbs of bodyfat.
Play around with your diet a little..everybody is different. But fitness and swim goals will be tougher to meet/maintain without attention to eating habits.
When I do the evening swim workout (6-7pm), I eat after I get back home.
To avoid being hungry before/during workout, I make sure I snack around 3:30-4pm. Usually nuts or something similar.
If I think of it, I'll bring a snack with me and eat it in my car on the drive home. If not, oh well...
I always have water in my car, drink plenty while driving to and from workout. I also have a water bottle I bring on deck and again drink plenty of that during the workout.
Been doing this for years and it works for me. Yes, I'm sure I could stand to lose another 10-15 pounds, but I'm not going to kill myself getting there.
If your concerned about gaining (the wrong type of) weight, it's not really when your workout falls in the day relative to meals, it's more about what and how you eat. Anyways, it's important to refuel as soon as possible after a workout because as time goes by it becomes stored as fat instead of energy.
Just eat a balanced intake of what you need: protein, fats, vegitables, fruits, and even suppliments if needed (I include wine:)) and stay away from harmful or useless food (sugar, excessive starches, fast food).
