My delicious pre-swim meal, as seen yesterday morning at approximately 3:52 a.m. Yum. (Photo by Paul Tenorio/The Washington Post)
Washington Post reporter Paul Tenorio will train with a swim club over the next few months and chronicle his journey as he attempts to transform from regular guy/sports reporter to competitive swimmer — everything from his waistline to his best times.
One of the biggest challenges to conquering one part of this journey – my waistline/weight – falls not just in the hands of Curl-Burke coach Jeff King and the number of laps I swim, but also in my dietary choices. My best friend and roommate, Greg Prunchak, just so happens to be very into fitness and nutrition, so as I started this swim journey, I asked Greg for his suggestions on my diet.
First off, I am trying here to eat five smaller meals in a day. Here’s an outline of what they are/will be:
Pre-swim: Carbs and Protein. For me, this is usually a protein shake and an apple. I try to eat this as soon as I wake up at 3:50 so that it has enough time to digest before I’m in the pool at 4:30-4:40.
Post-swim: Carbs, Protein, Good Fats. This is my favorite meal of the day, because it feels more like a normal meal. Today after my dry-land workout at the gym, for example, I had three eggs over easy, two pieces of whole-wheat toast and a glass of orange juice. Sometimes it’s a bit different. It might be something simpler, like a protein shake and a banana.
Lunch: Protein, Veggies, Good Fats. Where it gets tougher to manage my meals is as I try to cut out the carbs. A typical lunch might be something like a salad with chicken and hardboiled eggs with a vinaigrette dressing and some dry roasted almonds.
Pre-Dinner: Protein, Veggies, Good Fats. Again, the goal here is to have a smaller meal, so it might just be a protein bar with some green veggies (peppers/cucumbers/green) and a handful of almonds.
Dinner: Protein, Veggies, Good Fats. Same goals as lunch and pre-dinner, but an idea for a meal usually breaks down into some sort of meat (chicken breast, pork tenderloin) with some veggies (broccoli and cauliflower), and then maybe a little peanut butter for dessert! It’s so sad that I now have to think of peanut butter as dessert.
Of course, a major key throughout the day is staying hydrated by drinking a ton of water.
Greg has been out of town on business all week and my first week of dieting has gone unregulated, so many of these meals have been me kinda-sorta guessing what falls into each category.
He gets back today, so I’m sure I’ll hear about what I’ve done wrong, but feel free to tell me in your comments. Also, if you know of a better diet for swimmers or are on one yourself let me know here.
Don't I look so happy? I did plenty of this today in the gym. (Photo by David Hall/Curl-Burke)
This has been one of my biggest hurdles, because as I’ve said before in this blog, my diet has been one of the hardest things to control. Often times I’m out on the road covering different events — for example tonight I’ll be in Baltimore for AC Milan – Chelsea and on Sunday I’ll be in New York City for the Gold Cup final between the US and Mexico — and so its hard to control what I’m getting on a plate when I have to go out to eat.
This is going to have to change. I’ll be packing plenty of meals, especially once Redskins training camp starts next Thursday.
Quick synopsis of the dry-land workout today: 15 minutes jump rope, resistance training with cords, abdominal workout.
Tomorrow I’ll try to head to the pool on my own for a swim to just to keep the muscle memory and not go three full days between swim sessions.
Commenters, I was hoping you might tell me what you remember about your own times starting out in the pool. What your biggest challenges might have been. What you can remember most about it.
Oh, and remember to follow me on Twitter!
I’m glad I found this through your link on Soccer Insider. This will definitely help keep me motivated as I started back at the gym 3 weeks ago. Cardio right now is swimming and elliptical until I can build up enough stamina to do more. Like you, I find keeping motivated an issue, but at least now I can go through it with someone virtually. Best of luck in this endeavor!
I am coming off a waterpolo injury and finishing up my rehab this week. I had been out of the water for nearly 9 months (and out of swim training for years). I have been back with my old club (Curl-Burke) for about 7 weeks. I have struggled myself so far with frustrations similar to your own. I think what few people realize about swimming is that it is a sport built on details. My biggest challenge getting back in has been re-mastering all those details, everything from flipturns to hand placement to breathing patterns, that make up the rhythm of swimming. Good luck with your journey. Hopefully we can both meet our goals.
Paul,
I’m 48 years old and have been swimming competitively since I was 10…swam through high school, college, and I now swim Masters. The regularity of my swimming has ebbed and flowed through the years (as has my weight) since college and my biggest challenge has always been just getting to the pool after having not been swimming for awhile. I remember spending months setting my alarm for an early wake up so I could go swim before work but every day that alarm went off I would reach over, reset it, and go back to sleep for a couple hours. Every night I would tell myself, “TOMORROW’s the day I start swimming again.” but it wouldn’t happen. I think you’re going about it the right way – make yourself accountable to others (a coach, teammates, the Post) and it will be easier for you to get up and get to the pool when you know people are expecting you. Good Luck and I look forward to following your journey!
Found your blog while browsing Google. Bookmarked. Looking forward to more nutrition tips.