A delicate balance that is difficult to achieve

Energy expenditure versus necessary energy intake is usually measured by the amount of sweat, but for athletes who practice underwater sports, maintaining balance can be difficult.

Triathlete Van Fletcher fell in love with the pool for the first time at the age of 6.

Fletcher said that at age 49, he learned that he needed to fuel his body in a completely different way.

“The sport has improved a lot in terms of swimming technique and even training philosophy. Nutrition has improved tremendously, I’ve really seen a big difference there,” Fletcher said.

The athlete explained that he now pays more attention to what he eats outside of the pool.

“When I was young, I might have drunk Gatorade or just water, my diet was secondary: not anymore,” he said.

Speaking to WRAL News, Fletcher recalled a moment during a race last year when his nutrition made the difference between a competitive finish and not having enough energy to finish the race.

“I did an Ironman in July of last year,” recalls Fletcher. “I was having a great race until I got to the running part. My body just stopped working. It wasn’t willpower or toughness, it was like I couldn’t get my body to run and I was really discouraged.”

He continued: “I had a trainer who helped me and he said I should do an autopsy later and see what I thought went wrong.”

Fletcher said he realized he lacked the energy to finish the race the way he wanted because he hadn’t eaten and drunk properly.

After changing his diet plan, he decided to take part in an Ultraman competition.

“On the first day we swim 6.2 miles and bike 90 miles. On the second day we bike 175 miles and on the third day there is a double marathon,” Fletcher said.

The athlete finished first and thanked his support team for helping him stick to his nutrition plan throughout the race.

“There was a lot of good evidence, but nutrition was a huge part of it,” he said. “People can be in the best shape of their lives, but if their electrolytes are out of balance and they’re not hydrating enough, they’re going to be exhausted and they’re going to burn out.”

Fletcher also said he did what was called a “sweat test” to determine how much fluid he lost during the swimming portion of his training and competitions.

The test is used to measure fluid and sodium loss and can be helpful for some athletes to better tailor their nutrition plan to their peak performance.

The test is also used to diagnose cystic fibrosis.

Many people think you only lose salt and sodium, but you actually lose other minerals as well. That’s why I’m very careful to make sure I always get potassium and magnesium in my diet,” explains Fletcher.

Registered dietitian Addie Claire Jones said sweat tests can be helpful for athletes who play multiple sports, but may be unreliable for those who only swim.

“In most cases when we do sweat testing, we see a sticker somewhere, and that doesn’t work for swimmers,” Jones said.

The Raleigh-based health professional works with athletes of all ages and skill levels and has a large client base of swimmers.

“A swimmer’s diet is not always the same,” Jones said.

She explained that putting together nutrition plans for swimmers depends greatly on several factors, including age, weight, gender and the type of event they are participating in.

“For children who are still growing, we calculate their needs very differently. They are actively growing differently, and at 49 or even 29 we are not actively growing,” she said.

Jones continued, “Swimming nutrition is very similar to running nutrition in the sense that you’ll have some swimmers who are your strength athletes. On track, for example, that would be shot putters or sprinters, and you’ll also have your endurance athletes.”

Jones said in order to create a customized plan for each swimmer, she needs to know which event is the longest.

“Is it 15 seconds if everything goes well, or is it 5 minutes? The way we fuel them is very different. Also, the way we fuel them during training on land and in the gym will be very different,” she explained.

Generally, Jones said, a nutritionist working with a swimmer would start with macronutrients.

“We make sure they get enough carbohydrates for energy and proteins and healthy fats for recovery,” she said. “Then we also pay attention to the micronutrients. For athletes of this age, we make sure their hormone levels are in the healthy range to prevent amenorrhea.”

Jones agreed with Fletcher about the importance of hydration, especially for swimmers who cannot always estimate their fluid loss during training.

Jones recommends a baseline of half a swimmer’s body weight in ounces of water plus an additional 20 ounces of water per hour of exercise.

For swim meets that last several hours, Jones recommends consuming more carbohydrates about three hours before a big race and eating smaller snacks between meets.

“We’re looking for fast carbohydrates to enable explosive performance,” Jones explained.

She said some examples include a bag of applesauce, a sports drink with real sugar or a plain bagel.

For athletes who are not yet at that stage and want to improve their performance, Jones recommends the 30-30-30-30 rule.

“30 grams of carbs 30 minutes before workout, 30 grams of carbs 30 minutes after workout,” Jones said. “Is that perfect for everyone? No, but it’s a good start.”

She continued, “Our muscles and brain are fueled solely by glucose, so we need those carbohydrates. Some athletes who do more endurance training also need fat for energy. For my marathon runners or a triathlete, we would start adding a little bit of fat, especially after the first hour of training. It’s a delicate balance.”

Jones says it’s always a good idea to talk to a registered dietitian who specializes in your problem area.

“At least meet with a nutritionist once and find out what your basal metabolic rate is,” Jones said. “Once you have that knowledge, you can apply it throughout your training cycle.”

She added: “Ask questions of someone who specializes in that area, because even among dietitians, there are some who focus on kidney health, some on cardiovascular health, and some on exercise. Just as sometimes you go to your primary care doctor but sometimes you need a specialist, the same is true for registered dietitians.”

Fletcher agreed and warned other athletes not to try to change too much on their own too quickly.