Over the weekend of 4/18-19, I competed at a swim meet where I tried to follow the nutrient ratios prescribed by my last post. Before I share results, I would like to state that it was rather difficult to calculate a diet with exact ratios such as the 10 grams :7 grams carb:protein ratio from my previous post. Because of this, I did not exactly follow the diet but rather tried to keep the ratio close.
Even though my used diet did not measure up exactly with the ratios, I did observe some results. Throughout the day, I stayed energized and not too full to race. My day started around 7:00AM, about 2 hours before the meet started. Because I had a significant amount of time, I decide to eat a more protein based breakfast consisting mainly of scrambled eggs. This set up a base for me to stay full throughout the day. After the meet started around 9:00AM, I had a small energy bar made mostly of carbs but with a little protein. This gave me energy for my first race. After my first race, I had about half an hour before my second, so I decided to stay away from food and opted for some Gatorade. This kept me hydrated and light enough to swim my second race. After my second race, I had about an hour until my last one, so I had another granola bar again made of mostly carbs. My last race ended around 12:00PM and not once over the course of the morning did I feel weighed down or de-energized. So far the diet seems to work.
I will continue to work on measurements of macronutrients to set a more specific diet, but for now loosely maintaining the 10g carb:7g protein ratio seems to work well enough.
