How Many Calories Should a High School Swimmer Eat?

Finding nutritious, delicious foods can sometimes feel like jumping in the deep end of a pool. Between teenage growth spurts and the fuel needed for athletic activity, it can be difficult to gauge how many calories a teenager needs. Teen swimmers and their parents alike may be wondering, “how many calories should a high school swimmer eat?”

To stay afloat in and out of the pool, swimmers should consume between 2,400 to 3,200 calories. Calorie recommendations may differ based on age, sex, and activity level. In general, swimmers should focus on eating small, frequent meals full of nutrient-rich foods to fuel their bodies during swimming and daily activities.

Read on to discover a registered dietitian nutritionist’s recommendations regarding teen swimmers and the best dietary habits for peak performance.

How Many Calories Does A High School Swimmer Burn In A Day?

Teen swimmers are experiencing two enormous demands on their energy — adolescent growth and development, and an increased level of physical activity. Swimming burns a significant amount of calories each practice, and meets demand a certain level of performance.

Swimmers burn around 500 calories per hour (or even more) depending on intensity, speed, weight, and other factors. In a day a high school swimmer burns around 2,400 calories (for girls), and around 3,200 calories (for boys). This daily estimation includes calories needed for normal body functions, digestion, movement for daily activities, and exercise.

It’s important for teens to eat enough calories. Beyond normal body functions, calories provide crucial energy for peak swim performance.

How Many Calories Should a Teen Swimmer Consume?

Teen swimmers require enough calories to sustain activity. The following chart can help teen swimmers figure out how many calories to consume:

Sex	Age	Calories Recommended for Activity Levels
Boys:	13	2,600 calories per day
	14-15	2,800-3,000 calories
	16-18	3,200 calories
	19	3,000 calories
Girls:	13	2,200 calories
	14-18	2,400 calories
	19	2,400 calories

You don’t have to track calories every day, but it can be helpful to have an idea for appropriately fueling a swimmer with enough energy. Many high school athletes do not eat enough calories and this negatively affects performance, training, recovery, and increases chance for injury.

What Foods Help A Teenage Competitive Swimmer?

Proper nutrition and eating habits energizes a teen swimmer’s workouts, recovery/healing, and time between workouts.

Every swimmer needs different food to fuel properly. There are many factors involved, including individual needs, overall goals, and level of training. The “best” food for a swimmer is the one that helps fulfill their unique nutritional needs.

Competitive swimmers need to focus on nutrition because it can make a difference in athletic performance. Teen swimmers should focus meals and snacks on healthy carbohydrates to fuel muscles, lean proteins to build and recover, and healthy fats. Some of the top recommended foods for a teen swimmer include sweet potatoes, oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat pasta/bread/crackers, vegetables, fruit, lowfat dairy, fish, beans, legumes, plant oils, avocados, nuts, and seeds.

What Nutrients Are Important For A Swimmer?

There are many nutrients essential to teen swimmers performing their best. A diet with varied fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein sources can supply important necessary vitamins, minerals, and more to help a teen swimmer feel energized, notice swimming improvements, recover faster, and grow stronger.

Recommended Nutrients for a Teen Swimmer:

Carbohydrates

The carbohydrates found in food are a swimmer’s primary source of fuel for muscles. Carbohydrates come from fruit, some vegetables, legumes, grains, dairy products, and sugary treats. Many teens think carbs=bad, but that isn’t true. Highly processed carbs and sugary carbs can be bad for you, but healthy carbohydrates are necessary and important for an active, growing teenager.

Teens should opt for high-quality, nutrient-rich carbohydrates when they can.

Carbohydrates for teen swimmers:

Whole grains
Fruits
Vegetables

Beans
Legumes
Low fat dairy products

Protein

Protein is crucial for building muscle. It’s also essential for repair and recovery after a workout. Lean protein helps keep calories at an appropriate level for teenage swimmers.

The following protein options are excellent for swimmers:

Turkey breast

Chicken breast (without the skin)
Fish
Lean cuts of beef

Nuts or nut butters
Seeds
Eggs

Greek yogurt
Protein powder

For questions about protein powder and supplements, these articles can help teens and their parents make the right personal choice:

Fat

Fat gets a bad wrap. Healthy fats are absolutely necessary for normal digestion, metabolism, brain function and more!

Keep your heart healthy with the following fats:

Avocado

Olive oil
Fish
Nuts (cashews, almonds, walnuts)

Nut butters
Seeds (chia, flax, pumpkin, sunflower)

For more information on fats for teens, the following articles can help you and your dietitian decide what is right for you:

How Many Grams of Fat Does a 15-Year Old Need Per Day?

Dietary Fiber

Dietary fiber helps to slow the digestion of the fuel you eat. This contributes to blood sugar control and helps your body avoid a “crash” later in the day that may leave you feeling fatigued and energy-depleted. Be sure to drink enough fluids to accompany the fiber you are eating.

Most teenagers don’t eat enough fiber, including swimmers! Include fiber regularly in your diet by choosing some of the following types of food.

High-fiber foods include:

Fruits
Vegetables

Legumes
Whole grains

Vitamins

B vitamins play an important role in energy production. They help make usable energy in a teen’s body from the fats, carbs, and proteins eaten during the day. They also play a role in the production of red blood cells.

Fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K) assist in regulating muscle health, improving immune health, helping organ function, heart health, and more important for swimmers.

Ensuring that vitamin needs are met each day can help improve performance. Choose foods with plenty of vitamins to boost your growth, development, and athletic performance.

Foods with plenty of vitamins include:

fruits
vegetables
lowfat dairy

lean meat and poultry
nuts
seeds

seafood
whole grains

Minerals

Swimmers need sufficient minerals for metabolism and muscle function. Phosphorus and magnesium, in particular, help with energy metabolism. Teen swimmers can get their daily dose of these nutrients by eating enough fruits and vegetables each day.

Iron is another important mineral. Meeting iron needs allows teen swimmers to reach their prime. Teen bodies use iron to carry oxygen to the blood. Oxygen is then used to help the body produce energy for faster, stronger swimming. Teen females need extra iron than males and many teenagers don’t get enough iron. Iron comes from plant and animal sources such as beef, chicken, eggs, fish, leafy green vegetables, beans, seeds.

What Foods Should Swimmers Avoid?

Swimmers shouldn’t make nutrition goals that restrict or limit foods. Having too many “food rules” for swimmers may create disordered eating habits and negatively affect swimming performance. However, there are some foods that can improperly fuel your muscles, make you feel fatigued early, cause stress and inflammation, increase your chance for injury, cause digestion problems during swimming, and make exercise harder.

Certain foods may be best to limit for a swimmer.

It’s Best to Limit These Foods During Your Swim Season, if not always:

Fatty foods and fried foods such as french fries, burgers, fried chicken, bacon
Sugary foods and treats
Soda and sugary beverages

Alcohol -any amount of alcohol is a bad idea for an athlete (especially teenagers)
Energy drinks -they are usually carbonated, full of caffeine, sugar, and other unnecessary ingredients
Highly processed snack foods

Artificial sweeteners– these can affect digestion and cause an upset stomach

Avoid These Foods Right Before Swimming:

Carbonated or sugary beverages
Gassy foods (beans, hummus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower)

Spicy foods (depending on personal tolerance)
Excessive caffeine
Excessive supplements

Dairy products- for individuals who are more sensitive
High fiber foods (such as beans, lentils, some whole grains, seeds, broccoli)

Remember, all foods fit in a healthy diet in moderation and balance.

The overall goal of eating should be to minimize inflammation and maximize energy and recovery. It is also possible to fortify the body and prevent future injuries or decrease their severity.

Teen Swimmers Should Eat to Avoid:

Dehydration- losing more than 2% body weight in sweat can result in early fatigue, cardiovascular stress, increased risk of heat illness, and decreased performance

Disordered Eating- eating disorders can be prevalent among athletes
Deprivation- depriving the teenage body of nutrient needs goes beyond swimming performance — it can damage the body
Deficiency- athletes are at higher risk for nutrient and energy deficiency if not properly feeding themselves

How Many Meals Should A Swimmer Eat?

The meals swimmers eat should sustain them through rigorous training schedules, hours of practices and swim meets, and be enough to keep their body in elite athletic conditions.

A swimmer’s diet should take these three main areas into consideration when it comes to nutritious meals:

Nutrition for strength and performance

Maintaining a healthy weight
Reducing fatigue & injury

Swimmers should eat 3 meals per day and 1-3 snacks to appropriately fuel muscles and energize exercise. Swimmers shouldn’t go longer than 3-4 hours during the day without eating and shouldn’t skip meals.

How Many Snacks Should A Swimmer Eat?

Snacks should be mini-meals to provide needed nutrients between meals. Putting together a quick and healthy snack is a great way to remain fueled and ready for a practice or competition. Swimmers should eat every 2-3 hours to maintain energy which equals about 3 meals and 1-3 snacks per day.

See also:

The BEST Post-Workout Snacks for Teenagers – Dietitian Recommended!

Tips for Snacking Healthily

Planning nutritious snacks is a key part of sustaining energy for swimming. From training to performance days, here are a few helpful tips for healthy snacking:

Eat about 1-3 snacks per day
Eat 1-2 hours before swimming
Snacks should be about 100-300 calories

Snacks should contain healthy carbohydrates and 15-30 grams of protein
Prioritize meal planning (include snacks in your plan)
Keep a snack in your swim bag (i.e. protein bar or energy bites)

Remember this simple formula for snacks = carbohydrates + protein (i.e. fruits + nut butter)

What Should Swimmers Drink?

Swimmers need plenty of fluids, especially as teens. Water is the best for hydration, meaning it provides the most benefit nutritionally for the general population.

Do Swimmers Get Hydrated While Swimming?

It’s important to know that swimmers don’t get hydrated from the water in the swimming pool. To stay properly hydrated swimmers should drink plenty of fluids, particularly water, during the day and during practice. Even if you don’t feel thirsty while in the water, you need to hydrate regularly.

How Teenage Swimmers Can Stay Hydrated

The goal of drinks for swimmers should be to rehydrate properly. Teens need to replenish the fluid lost through sweat.

Here is a general guide to follow for rehyrating during exercise:

Short duration (under 1 hour) – drink water

Moderate/high intensity (over 1 hour) – choose an electrolyte drink with 6-8% carbohydrate solution (i.e. chocolate milk, sports drink with some added sugar)

For swimmers, dietitians recommended protein drinks. 100% fruit or vegetable juices can also provide nutrients. Chocolate milk is also an excellent option as it provides carbohydrates for quick fuel, vitamins and minerals, and protein for recovery, along with fluid. Drinking a beverage with higher mineral content and limited added sugars and fats is the best option.

Electrolytes

Electrolytes are also an essential part of exercise recovery. The word “electrolytes” is just a fancy term for minerals like sodium (salt), calcium, and potassium. These elements help the body absorb the fluid it intakes.

Drink choices should not have too much sugar — excessive sugar and not enough electrolytes means the body is not receiving the replenishment it needs, especially in the case of a teenager’s growing body.

Beyond drinking nutritious beverages, a well-balanced, healthy, whole food-based diet provides plenty of electrolytes.

Is It Ok To Swim After Eating?

It’s a common myth that you need to wait 30 minutes after eating before swimming in a pool or ocean. While swimming diverts some energy from the muscles to digestion in the stomach and intestines if you recently ate, it doesn’t divert enough blood flow to cause any serious injury or severe problems.

Eating before swimming or between meets or heats can actually provide enough energy for peak performance. It comes down to personal preference, some swimmers don’t like to swim with a full stomach due to digestional problems and cramping. Choose to eat a fueling meal or snack at least 1-3 hours before swimming for time to digest and absorb nutrients.

Top Tips for Teen Swimmers to Stay Energized

The following tips are great guidelines for swimmers to stay fueled, from daily practices to demanding meets.

Eat every 3-4 hours. Each athlete is different, but the general recommendation is to eat frequent, smaller meals throughout the day to keep up energy. Don’t skip meals.

Listen to your body’s hunger signals. Hunger signals are a simple eating strategy that can naturally guide a teen swimmer.

Don’t go too long without eating. Each event or activity that involves swimming burns a significant number of calories. Eating frequently and using food to help promote recovery can encourage proper healing from exercise.
Quality over quantity. Instead of overeating or obsessing over calories. Eating a variety of nutrient-rich foods is crucial to swim support and overall health.

Use the “Athlete’s Plate” as a starting point. My Sports Dietitian recommends the following: “Always start with ¼ of your plate being protein.” Each swimmer and athlete will be different, but the following graphics can act as a great guide.

Should Teenage Swimmers See a Sports Dietitian?

It may very well be worth it to visit a sports dietitian in order to tweak your nutrition and improve performance this swim season. Special areas of discussion with your dietitian might include:

Needs as a teen for your specific age (i.e. what a 13 year old swimmer needs compared to a 18 year old)

Nutrition needs during practice days, meets, medleys, competition days, sprints, off-season, etc.
Menu planning, recipes, grocery shopping
Managing a healthy weight

Managing emotional eating or disordered eating
Sports-specific concerns (i.e. injuries, gastrointestinal discomfort, anemia)
Nutrient deficiencies

Specialty diets (vegans, vegetarians, food allergies/sensitivities, etc.)

The guidance of a sports dietitian can help swimmers develop a healthy weight management plan, find proper levels for energy needs and hydration, and introduce supplements or other aspects as needed.

Want help from a registered dietitian nutritionist for your swim season? Look no further, I have the solution. My newest ebook: Nutrition Game Plan for Teenage Athletes.

In Summary: Calorie Needs for Swimmers

Teen swimmers should eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods to sustain peak performance, from practice to swim meets. Quality proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats can help create a balanced plate. From training to weight management to race day, consulting a dietitian and having a solid support system can help teen swimmers stay afloat during busy schedules and seasons.

References

Beswick K. What are Electrolytes. Cedars-sinai.org. Published October 16, 2019.

Castle J. 6 Healthy Ways to Manage Weight for Sports. Eatright.org. Published August 16, 2019.

DWilson SD. Is Swimming After Eating Really Dangerous? Dignityhealth.org. Published July 1, 2018.

Eat 2 Win Nutrition. Performance Nutrition for Competitive Swimmers: Fuel the Movement. Mysportsrd.com. Accessed June 2021.

Ellis E. How Many Calories Does My Teen Need? Eatright.org. Published October 4, 2019.

MySwimPro. What Swimmers Should Eat Before, During and After Swimming. Myswimpro.com. Accessed June 2021.

Rosenbloom C. Eating for Strength and Recovery after Sports Injury. Eatright.org. Published January 12, 2018.

Rosenbloom C. Top Nutrition Tips: Dietitian Approved Processed Foods. Usaswimming.org. Published April 15, 2019.

SCAN/CPSDA Registered Dietitians. Nutrition for the swimming student-athlete. Sportsrd.org. Published 2014.

TeamUnify. What to eat as a swimmer? Teamunify.com. Accessed June 2021.

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