Guide to How to Eat Properly When Practicing Diving

05 Mar 2021No Comments

We all, to a greater or lesser extent, perform some kind of physical activity. Ideally, we strive to practice a sport at least 3 times a week and stay away from sedentary lifestyles. The benefits of practicing a sport are immense because it increases the chances of having a long-lasting quality life. It is necessary, however, that we accompany this lifestyle with a good diet that provides us with the necessary nutrients to obtain energy.

Food groups that provide us with energy:

The main sources for getting the energy your body needs are fats, proteins and carbohydrates.   All these must be ingested without excess.

• Fats are the main form of energy stored in the body. They help us during exercise, cold or starvation. In addition, they protect our organs.
• Carbohydrates are the essential food for strength. They are and ideal food, as long as their consumption is not exceeded. Most athletes prefer them in the form of complex sugars (peas, whole grains, beans, vegetables) because they provide vitamins and minerals.
• Proteins are mainly obtained in meat, but they are also present in products such as dairy, eggs and legumes. As opposed to fats and carbohydrates, the body does not store protein, so it must be included daily in our diet.

 Water, a source of life:

Another essential element, which is also the most abundant component of the human body, is water. It constitutes approximately 50-70% of our total body weight. Water should be consumed regularly to ensure normal body function. It helps us maintain our body temperature and participates in the absorption and digestion of our food. It is also important to consume some sodium, which contributes to a quicker absorption of water.

How should we feed ourselves when we dive?

Even if it doesn’t look like it, there is physical wear and tear in diving. Those of us who practice diving undergo different conditions than those that practice other sports, because we move in a dense environment, breathe air from a tank, carry heavy diving equipment on our back, and, according to our activity and water temperature, we lose a certain amount of calories. In fact, we can lose up to 500 calories during an hour of diving. For this reason, we require a light diet, but one that gives us energy.

• Recommended food intake the day before diving:

Dinner the day before diving should contain carbohydrates such as pasta, brown rice or potato, fish for its contribution of omega 3; vegetables such as spinach due to its high magnesium content, and non-diuretic drinks (it is not advisable to drink tea, coffee, pipe water or alcohol). In addition, it’s better to avoid red meats because of its difficult digestion.

• Food for the diving day:

On the diving day you need to have a lot of protein in your breakfast, which will become energy. If you have gastrointestinal problems, it is better to take a light breakfast.  Fruits like bananas avoid cramps, apple is rich in fiber, egg also provides fiber. It is not advisable to consume citrus, except pineapple, as they cause reflux.

Ideally, you should eat complex carbohydrates because you will feel satiated while they will give you sugars that will maximize energy levels.  Also, it is important to maintain the good habit of ingesting 8 glasses of water daily because, apart from decreasing the possibility of a Bends, it helps to avoid cramps.

If you plan to dive in the afternoon, it is better to eat carbohydrates in small portions and quite a bit of non-diuretic liquid.

• Food for after diving:

After diving you must replenish the burnt energy. That’s why you’ll like a lunch, rich in vegetables, fiber, proteins and non-diuretic liquids.   Many people like to go out to dinner and share a beer after the day of diving. It is important not to do so if you plan to dive the next day, as liquor is a diuretic.

As we mentioned at the beginning, good eating habits give us a better quality of life. However, an extra benefit of a good diet is that it allows us to enjoy and perform better in our diving.

In this blog we have given you examples of the benefits of having a good diet.  If you do some research, you’ll realize that you can eat food with high nutritional values that, at the same time, satisfies you and allows you to have the necessary energy to dive as many times as you want.

If you have not yet entered this wonderful sport, we invite you to learn more about our  diving courses, here.