This could be a misconception of mine but I always thought swimmers should be ravenous after swim practice. My son (13) swims for 2-2.5 hours and does not want to eat dinner after practice. He eats about 30 minutes before he leaves for practice but it's not a huge meal. Most days he skips dinner and goes to sleep without eating anything. I am concerned because 1. shouldn't he re-fuel his body after practice? and 2. not sure he is getting enough nutrition to sustain the level of effort that is needed. At the same time I want to trust his body to let him know when and how much he needs to eat. When I ask him he will say he is not hungry. Any advice?
Thank you everyone for your feedback. We are going to try a chocolate protein shake, a smoothie or a light meal and also try to make something he really likes and see if that cures his appetite problem. He's been sort of picky lately and I'm sure that's contributing to the problem.
What concerns me about this is it seems to me you are trying to do this under his nose - like, you're trying to trick him to eat.
He's 13, if he's at all intelligent for his age he will be able to answer questions for you to narrow down what's actually going on, and also to understand if you explain why proper nutrition is important, especially to a growing teen.
This isn't like trying to feed a 6-year-old peas.
Thank you everyone for your feedback. We are going to try a chocolate protein shake, a smoothie or a light meal and also try to make something he really likes and see if that cures his appetite problem. He's been sort of picky lately and I'm sure that's contributing to the problem.
What concerns me about this is it seems to me you are trying to do this under his nose - like, you're trying to trick him to eat.
He's 13, if he's at all intelligent for his age he will be able to answer questions for you to narrow down what's actually going on, and also to understand if you explain why proper nutrition is important, especially to a growing teen.
This isn't like trying to feed a 6-year-old peas.
