Pre-Training Nutrition Strategies

Hey swimmers! This is coach Milo.

Welcome to another Q&A session where I answer questions from you all on the internet.

Today's question is:

"Pre-Training Nutrition Strategies"

Summary:

For pre-training fuel, Milo prescribes a macronutrient split of about 70 percent carbohydrates, 15 percent protein, and 15 percent fats, contrasting that with the average American diet sitting near 45 percent fat from fast food. The key, he says, is choosing complex carbohydrates like pasta, rice, or a non-white-bread sandwich, because they break down slowly and give you long-term energy. Simple carbs like white bread or a donut turn into pure sugar that burns off fast and leaves you crashing. He recommends pasta, rice, chicken, or fish for his athletes, and warns against pork, beef, and steak until dinner, since the body can't process them fast enough before practice; they sit heavy in the stomach and can even make you throw up in the water.

Answer:

Basically, what you really want is a diet of about 70 percent carbohydrates, 15 percent protein, and 15 percent fats. Just know that the average American diet is around 45 percent fat. Think about people going to Del Taco or Taco Bell or grabbing a burger, something really quick. There's just a lot of fat in that, and that's really bad. The truth is, get some pasta, get some rice if you want, have a sandwich, but make it a non-white-bread sandwich. Whatever the carbohydrate is, you want it to be a complex carbohydrate, something your body takes and breaks down really slowly so you have energy long-term. If you eat white bread, or something like a donut, it just turns into pure sugar and your body burns it right away, and you're probably going to crash. I always recommend to my athletes to have some pasta, rice, chicken, or fish. And I recommend you stay away from pork, beef, and steak until dinner time. If you eat that, your body can't process it fast enough, it sits heavy in your stomach, and you might actually hurl at practice. So watch out for those.