Eating prior to swimming

[jenson1a]

Hey Talvi

Great list! Tks for sharing

Sherry

[angelinamike]

I get to the pool at 7.30 every morning and just drink a large glass of juice but don't eat anything.

[Polish TI fan]

Originally Posted by jafaremraf

swimming on an empty stomach can leave you lethargic afterwards.

Hi jafaremraf,

Might sound odd, but I am actually looking for that "lethargic" feeling after the workout quite often... a pleasant feeling of relaxed healthy tired body, if you know what I mean...

Going back to the subject, I normally only have a cup of green tea and a few sips of water during my home warming-up and stretching before my morning swims. I usually swim between 6-7am. Then have a breakfast about 30-40mins after the swim. It's worked all right so far for me.

Regards,
Wojtek

[Rhoda]

Originally Posted by jafaremraf

I know I shouldn't swim on an empty stomach and I know I shouldn't swim on a full stomach, and to be honest I'm always trying to lose a little weight so I avoid snacks(!), but as I was so tired the last time I swam I am going to have to eat something.

Are you referring to the old adage about not eating for an hour before swimming? It's an old wives tale, you aren't going to cramp up or drown from eating a bit beforehand. Obviously you don't want to eat such a large meal that you get heartburn, but there's nothing wrong with having some food in your stomach when you begin.
If you are going to eat only afterwards, try to make it sooner than 30-40 minutes later. Eating within 30 minutes improves your recovery rate.
People who do very long distances in open water eat while swimming. In fact, on the Swimtrek tours the guides insist that participants have a good breakfast before heading out for the day, as having a little food in the stomach keeps blood at the core and prevents hypothermia.

[Talvi]

Originally Posted by Rhoda

... having a little food in the stomach keeps blood at the core and prevents hypothermia.

That is very interesting Rhoda. I've not heard it before.

[Rhoda]

For a long time I was puzzled by the origin of the old "Don't go into the water for at least an hour after eating." adage. (My mother took this to the extreme of not allowing us to have tub baths for at least an hour after supper!) Then I read a very old mystery novel that I'd picked up in a bed and breakfast somewhere. One of the characters is murdered by pushing him into an ornamental pond shortly after he has supper, and the sleuth explains that his death is due to the food congealing from the coldness of the water and becoming a solid mass which supposedly blocks blood flow to the heart. This is complete nonsense, of course, but if people actually believed that in the 1920s, it could explain the origin of this old "rule".

[Talvi]

Originally Posted by Rhoda

For a long time I was puzzled by the origin of the old "Don't go into the water for at least an hour after eating." adage. (My mother took this to the extreme of not allowing us to have tub baths for at least an hour after supper!) Then I read a very old mystery novel that I'd picked up in a bed and breakfast somewhere. One of the characters is murdered by pushing him into an ornamental pond shortly after he has supper, and the sleuth explains that his death is due to the food congealing from the coldness of the water and becoming a solid mass which supposedly blocks blood flow to the heart. This is complete nonsense, of course, but if people actually believed that in the 1920s, it could explain the origin of this old "rule".

Great stories! And your explanation of the "old wive's tale" makes a lot of sense to me.

p.s
read somewhere that a meal keeps blood at the core and that therefore eating prior to a cold water swim helps maintain core temp and therefore stave off hyperthermia. I believe this is not the case as digestive needs compete for blood with vital organs so making the drop of temperature in them greater.

[Rhoda]

Well, that's what we were told by the Swimtrek guides. Keep in mind that they weren't telling us to have a huge meal, just to have some food in there, also that they fed us liquid calories in the middle of the longer swims (5000 metres or more.)
One was an English Channel swimmer, another had done Alcatraz something like 400 times, another was a former member of the South African national team, so I'm going to assume they knew something about the subject.

[Talvi]

Originally Posted by Rhoda

Well, that's what we were told by the Swimtrek guides. Keep in mind that they weren't telling us to have a huge meal, just to have some food in there, also that they fed us liquid calories in the middle of the longer swims (5000 metres or more.)
One was an English Channel swimmer, another had done Alcatraz something like 400 times, another was a former member of the South African national team, so I'm going to assume they knew something about the subject.

That makes sense i.e not empty stomach. Different to eating a proper meal etc (e.g http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7315967 b- ddn't find one quick on humans!). Liquid calories (high GI) presumably pass through without high demands for increase blood volume to stomach. I don't have an adverse effect drinking a gainomax when my core temp drops below 34'.

[MaryGreen]

I usually eat a fruit when I get up, an apple or an orange. Then in about 15-20 minutes I swim. The stomach is not empty and you won't get any extra weight with healthy snacking.