[.ca] Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook (ISBN 073604602X)

A good addition to your nutrition library, but...:
This book is great for endurance athletes. I run about 15-20 miles per week and it was helpful for me to learn about the importance of carbo loading and glycogen stores. The book also has many useful tables and facts. Nancy Clark addresses all the major topics on sports nutrition. Having said that, she sticks a bit too closely to the FDA food pyramid, suggesting that just 15% of your daily calories come from protein. This seems awfully low to me (perhaps I've been tainted by the Adkins Diet craze?). She also cites many "studies" but most of them were done on just seven male athletes. It was hard for me to buy into all the results. I do appreciate supporting evidence, but such a small group of test subjects made me question her assertions. She talks about vitamins and minerals as the "spark plugs" of a good diet, but suggests sticking crackers in your gym bag, which have absolutely no nutritional value. She also doesn't recommend taking vitamin supplements. As a woman, I can't see the harm in making sure I have enough calcium, iron and folic acid in my diet (most women don't). Most of the recipes are great, like the banana bread. However, she shot herself in the foot by supplying the percentages of carbs, protein and fat in each dish. In the rest of the book, she suggests getting 60-70% of your calories from carbohydrates, but very few of her recipes have such a high percentage of carbs - even the pasta dishes. One other surprise: the recipe for the pasta with spinach and pine nuts suggests adding "3-4 tablespoons" of oil! Sounds more like oil loading. I am glad I read the book, but I think I will be looking for another book with other points of view to balance Nancy's suggestions.

My food bible!!:
Wow!! I am more than amazed at the wealth of information that is in this book! It answers all of the food choice questions you ever had, as well as tons you didn't know you had. All issues are addressed. What should I eat for breakfast, what is are some good snacks, what foods will fill me up, give me energy, and so-on. You come away totally eduacated and ready for any situation when it comes to eating and nutrition. You don't have to be an athlete. I go to the gym 4 times a week and wanted to find out how to energise myself. This is THE eating bible. If you have any questions about what to eat, when to eat it and why, buy this book!!

Great book if you want to improve your performance:
I just read my title and probably should clarify that I am talking about your sports performance!!! I am currently training for a marathon and have used the information in this book to improve my nutrition to optimal levels for the extended running levels of marathon training. It has gotten me through well. I have been able to keep my weight stable and my energy levels up. Highly readable, it provides accurate and useable information on sports nutrition. I also recommend the "Food Guide for Marathoners" from the same author, which is more specific to the marathon runner.

Extremely helpful:
I loved the easy to understand language of this book and the "common sense" approach to sports nutrition. Nancy Clark makes eating well for your sport easy to do, and easy to maintain. I'd recommend this book to anyone, whether you're an athlete or not. Very good information!

Excellent wisdom for nutrition:
I can't wait to get the book on just reading 10 pages I want more, it was truth in a different way that rang true to me. And I want it!