Amazon.com: The Paleo Diet for Athletes: A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance: Loren Cordain, Joe Friel: Books

Product Description

Loren Cordain, Ph.D., follows his success of The Paleo Diet with the first book ever to detail the exercise-enhancing effects of a diet similar to that of our Stone Age ancestors.

When The Paleo Diet was published, advocating a return to the diet of our ancestors (high protein, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables), the book received brilliant reviews from the medical and nutritional communities. Jennie Brand-Miller, coauthor of the bestselling Glucose Revolution, called it "without a doubt the most nutritious diet on the planet." Doctors Michael and Mary Dan Eades, authors of Protein Power, said, "We can't recommend The Paleo Diet highly enough."

Now Dr. Cordain joins with USA triathlon and cycling elite coach Joe Friel to adapt the Paleo Diet to the needs of athletes. The authors show:
o Why the typical athletic diet (top-heavy with grains, starches, and refined sugars) is detrimental to recovery, performance, and health
o How the glycemic load and acid-base balance impact performance
o Why consumption of starches and simple sugars is only beneficial in the immediate post-exercise period

At every level of competition, The Paleo Diet for Athletes can maximize performance in a range of endurance sports.

About the Author

LOREN CORDAIN, PH.D., a world-renowned scientist and the leading expert on the Paleolithic diet, is a professor in the health and exercise science department at Colorado State University. He is a member of the American Institute of Nutrition and the American Heart Association, among other organizations. His work has been featured on Dateline and the Wall Street Journal. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

JOE FRIEL, M.S., is founder and president of Ultrafit Associates, LLC, an association of elite endurance coaches. His books include The Cyclist's Training Bible and The Triathlete's Training Bible. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Product Details

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Rodale Books (October 13, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1594860890
ISBN-13: 978-1594860898
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,479 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#3 in Books > Health, Mind & Body > Diets & Weight Loss > Special Conditions > High Protein Diet
#17 in Books > Sports > Training
#35 in Books > Sports > Coaching

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Books on low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets such as Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, Protein Power, The Zone, and The South Beach Diet have ruled the best-selling book lists for at least the past 5 years. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
postexercise window, recovery drink, healthful oils, fatty acid balance, training workload, high glycemic loads, percent max

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Paleo Diet, Stone Age, Paleo Recipes, United States, Food Pyramid, Flaxseed Oil Mayonnaise, The Paleolithic Athlete, The Training Table, Ethnographic Atlas, Granny Smith, Mother Nature, United Kingdom, Tour de France, Middle East

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 23 books:

The Diet Delusion: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Loss and Disease by Gary Taubes on page 1, and Back Matter
Clinical Nutrition by Keith B. Taylor in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Exercise Metabolism by Mark, Ph.D. Hargreaves in Back Matter
Home Economics by A.G. Geen in Back Matter
Exercise Physiology by Victor L. Katch in Back Matter

See all 23 books this book cites

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

The Cyclist's Training Bible by Joe Friel

Discusses:

Triathlete Magazine's Complete Triathlon Book by Matt Fitzgerald

Discusses:

The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain

Discusses:

Chris Carmichael's Food for Fitness by Chris Carmichael

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	82% buy the item featured on this page: The Paleo Diet for Athletes: A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance 3.8 out of 5 stars (24) $10.85
	13% buy The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat 4.0 out of 5 stars (80) $9.72
	3% buy Starting Strength (2nd edition) 5.0 out of 5 stars (156) $29.95
	2% buy Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes 4.6 out of 5 stars (34) $14.93

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews

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4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
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Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful, but not perfect, November 20, 2006

By	Dennis Pedersen - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book because my diet was already headed in the Paleo direction without anybody's book telling me to do so, but also because Joe Friel's web site recommended it. That made me curious about the details of why I should eat that way. I have slightly elevated blood pressure (pre-hypertension), and managed to bring it down from an average of about 129/84 to 124/81 or so just by eating low-sodium (I already was riding my bicycle 150-300 miles a week, so clearly more excercise wasn't needed). After having real trouble finding low-salt foods, I discovered that the produce section was my best friend, and the fresh meat/seafood section too; that was pretty close to Paleo already. But I was still eating lots of grains and beans, and this book convinced me to go full Paleo for non-sports reasons. Now I seem to be recovering much quicker and no longer have any of those rides where my legs are dog-tired. I've also gotten a bit leaner, though I was already at just 8% body fat. I then bought his first Paleo Diet book and read that. I now have pretty much gone completely Paleo, with some intentional lapses, and I don't really follow this second book so much. I follow his first book with its non-athlete orientation primarily to maintain my health as I get older, but I find that I can eat a Paleo omelette for breakfast, and ride for three hours with no sports drinks or gels (though I do bring dried fruit for any ride over three hours, and sports drink for long races or very hard training rides). Leaves me wondering if this second book was really needed. I strongly recommend his first book, and this one only if you're in the Ironman Tri, RAAM, or something extreme like that.

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A natural diet with the athlete in mind, December 19, 2006

By	Johnson Cognito (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This book changed the way I look at nutrition. I have always been active and eaten a decent diet, but I knew I was too heavy on sugars and carbs in general. When I got into triathlons, I got Joe Friel's The Triathlete's Training Bible, and it turned me onto the Paleo Diet.

Since both authors have advanced degrees (Loren Cordain has a PhD in Exercise Physiology and Friel a M.S. in Exercise Science), it is heavy on science. The authors base their claims on numerous sources, and reference these sources throughout.

The basic premise is that the way we currently eat is contrary to how our bodies evolved over the millions of years prior to agriculture. Lean meat, fish, and fresh fruits and vegetables should be our staple, with a small twist. Paleolithic man could never have been a high level endurance athlete, as he just wouldn't have gotten enough carbohydrate to replenish his glycogen stores after a long or very intense workout.

This book, then, makes adjustments to the standard Paleo Diet to include certain types of foods normally not allowed during SPECIFIC periods of the pre and post-exercise window.

Post Script: Though I don't like to comment on others' reviews, I feel I must say that I don't agree with the assertion that the book doesn't place enough emphasis on when to eat the foods you eat. After the intro, the entire first few chapters are exactly that: What types of food to eat, and EXACTLY when to eat them.

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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paleo diet, with special attention on the "For Athletes" part, December 16, 2006

By	Alfred Racho (Manila) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Paleo Diet for Athletes

A lot of what Dr. Cordain says (The Paleo Diet) makes sense -- basically, from the time of humanity's existence, 10,000 years is a short time to make adaptations in the way our bodies have evolved. Agriculture and dairy products, for instance, just happened in the past 10,000 years.

I won't go into the details of the hunter-gatherer diet that Cordain mentions. I believe that there are also other diets out there are similar (in fact, probably identical) in both reasoning and implementation (i.e., Evolution Diet, and other hunter-gatherer diets out there).

The Paleo Diet part gets 4 stars, and the additional star goes for the "for Athletes" part.

What makes this book different is the "... for Athletes" part. (On a separate note, the title would have been more apt if they said "ENDURANCE Athletes" instead, as other non-endurance athletes could probably be recommended the regular Paleo Diet by Dr. Cordain, or the other similar ones by other authors.)

I have always watched endurance athletes take down gobs of pasta and carbohydrates. And with that, assumed that Joe Friel, a premier coach of endurance athletes (just check out his "Bible" series books and his website), I assumed that Joe Friel was another carb junkie. Apparently, he WAS. Note, "WAS" is the past tense.

Dr. Cordain introduced him to the Paleo diet, and though Joe was hooked, he did some modifications on the diet for endurance athletes. And that's where this book stands out from other hunter-gatherer diets out there. (If you want to know more about hunter-gatherer diets, do a search for similar books here in Amazon and read the reviews. And a bit of search 'round the internet wouldn't be a bad idea).

I particularly like Joe's modifications in what he calls various stages: what to eat before exercise (both a few hours before, and immediately before), during exercise (obviously only applicable to endurance athletes in multi-hour events), and after exercise (further broken down into the first half-hour after, the succeeding hours or so, and the long term recovery strategy via nutrition). And that's what makes this book worth it, especially for endurance athletes and those regular blokes who work out or exercise everyday (those who put in maybe an hour or more of exercise a day). By the way, this is good for "regular" endurance athletes as well, not necessarily marathoners and other ultra-distance racers, or ironmen triathletes (i.e., this book is still perfect for "sprint distance" triathletes as well... and also 5k and 10k fun-runners).

Friel is especially keen on making sure the nutrition strategy gives one optimum performance (for either an exercise session or a race), as well as the all-important recovery (so you can go hard again in your next training session -- IF that is what you have scheduled).

I find it amusing that I know what parts Friel wrote, and what parts Cordain wrote, simply by reading. Maybe it's because I have Friel's other books that I already know his writing style, but it was easy to see which parts were written by whom.

I cannot comment if the Paleo Diet is better than The Evolution Diet (but, truth be known, I don't have The Evolution Diet), but I assume they're similar to the point of being nearly identical, as are PROBABLY all other hunter-gatherer diets out there. I cannot comment either on who has written a better book, or a better explanation, or a better implementation of the hunter-gatherer type of diet. But it is only The Paleo Diet for Atheltes that has a collaboration with an "endurance athelete guru" (i.e., Joe Friel) that addresses the needs of athletes. If you fall into that category, you will surely like the part that Friel contributed, especially the various stages of pre- during, and post-exercise nutrition strategy.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars eat better....perform better!
to perform at our best eating right is key. this book shows exactly how to eat for performance AND long term health. highly recommended.

Published 14 days ago by Goncalo Souto

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to Read and Very Informative
It's true that this book seems tailored for the endurance athlete. I am a beginner cyclist with a few pounds to lose. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Maui Rock Hopper

3.0 out of 5 stars A little too much
Well written book, but I think it was written for the .00002% of the population competing in ultra-marathons and the like rather than your every day athelete. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Casey D. Bolick

2.0 out of 5 stars Joe Friel good Book - not so much
I respect Joe Friel, but this is a text heavy, dense tome - not nearly as practical as it needs to be for any reasonably experienced athlete. KISS.

Published 7 months ago by Charles A. Siu

4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting
I really enjoyed this book. Its actually 2 books kind of throw together -- one by the paleo author, and one by Joe Friel. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Ty A. Ketlinski

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful read for endurance athletes
I thought this book was very helpful and believeful and I started out as a total skeptic. I think think these principles are sound, although I find them hard to follow. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Amelia Kirkland

2.0 out of 5 stars different diets
I didn't think this book was an easy read. I think many other diet books flow better. I can't imagine eating salmon for breakfast every day!

Published 17 months ago by M. faraci

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful information for low-carb endurance athletes
I have followed a low-carb diet for about 3 years now, and in the last year have gradually become an avid runner. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Gary Dempster

2.0 out of 5 stars Cordain sold out his diet to Joe Friel
Two stars for the Paleo Diet but Zero stars for the "modifications."

I was severely disappointed with this book. Read more

Published 22 months ago by Charles Washington

5.0 out of 5 stars "A great diet and exercise book not just for paleolithic
Highly informative for all athletes and people wanting to exercise on a regular basis.

Basically it teaches you what, when and how to eat your food so that you get... Read more

Published 23 months ago by Ariel C. Araos

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