Racing Weight
Matt Fitzgerald

A diet book that isn’t a diet book. A straight forward, no bullshit, guide to getting your weight to a level at which you will perform optimally at endurance events. The diet advice here is not revolutionary (eat whole foods, avoid bad shit as much as you can, don’t over eat, but don’t starve yourself, etc) but there’s other aspects which I found helpful..

If the book is worth reading (and arguably it isn’t for any but the most obsessive) its because of the sections on why you should calculate your racing weight, and how to go about doing it. For me, the calculations are a revelation. With two kids under three, and very sporadic training right now, I know I’m a bit overweight. But how overweight for peak performance is shocking. If Fitzgerald is to be believed, bodyfat (mine’s fucking 25%!!!) is the most important aspect of getting to race weight. But at my current weight (182), I’d need to probably lose almost thirty pounds, and drop about 18% of my body fat, to hit my ideal race weight.

That’s a lot. More than I’ll ever actually do. But for someone like me, trying to figure out what exactly it would mean to be in race shape, having the information is immensely helpful. To others, less concerned about these things, the book would be a waste of time.

The classic recommended for the enthusiast.