Eat to Climb: An evidence-based guide to climbing nutrition

by Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

Eat to Climb by Mina Leslie-Wujastyk is a comprehensive guide to nutrition for climbers. Whether you're a weekend warrior or a seasoned pro, this book will help you cut through the noise of nutrition fads and make informed, confident decisions about fuelling your body.

The book is split into two sections – principles and methods. Principles explores the foundations of energy intake, macronutrients, micronutrients, hydration and supplements. You'll gain a clear understanding of how protein, fat and carbohydrates support training, performance and recovery along with insight into key vitamins and minerals, fluid intake requirements and ergogenic aids.

The methods section shows you how to apply these principles in real life, with a focus on flexibility and autonomy. Specific chapters look at crag nutrition, injury recovery, weight loss, intuitive eating and the specific needs of female climbers.

Throughout, you'll find powerful insights from top climbers. From Shauna Coxsey's honest account of her struggles with food as a young athlete, to Molly Thompson-Smith's diligent approach to nutrition when injured, and Billy Ridal's tactics for eating when he freed the Nose on El Cap, their stories bring the science to life.

Today's climbers increasingly recognise that long-term performance isn't built on calorie restriction or the chronic search for lightness. And as a community we can all be healthier, stronger and get more from our climbing as we learn to eat to climb.

347 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2025

Reviews

[Arabella Woodrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well-planned, thoughtful and useful book to guide climbers on how to get maximum benefit from their nutrition. The author is both a climber and a qualified nutritionist. She tackles the main principles on how food is converted into the body: not an easy task if readers are not well versed in biological sciences, but the relevant sections are explained clearly.
The main thrust of the book is aimed at dispelling the long-held view that as climbing is a (body)weight sensitive sport, then the less you weigh the better. Instead it argues compellingly that an individual’s strength to weight ratio is more important than their weight per se, and that general good health also has a key role to play.
Each chapter has a quick reference summary showing key ‘takeaway’ points to remember, as suggestions for readers to think of useful things they can do to improve what they could try for each chapter.
As well as chapters outlining different types of fuel (protein, fat, carbohydrates), hydration etc, there are also practical tips on getting food and drink to the crag, and refuelling, as it is not practical to carry a lot of heavy kit while climbing.
The book is augmented by ‘first person’ stories and histories from a number of top climbers, and also the author herself (her tale of how she conquered a challenging climb by eating strawberry pencil sweets is most entertaining), which give interesting and useful insight into practical experience, as well as highlighting that everybody is built differently, and there is no ‘one size fits all’ in planning individual nutrition programmes.
This was an enjoyable and informative book, with advice that can be extrapolated usefully to other endurance sports.

[Lina Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful and comprehensive book which positions itself as an evidence-based rebuttal to the concept that "light is right" for performance climbing. The book features case studies from elite climbers, sharing their experience of nutrition and climbing performance, some of which serve as warnings against over-restriction and REDs.

The book is densely written, but each chapter features a handy reference box with the key takeaways and also some things, minor or more significant, that the reader might like to consider or to try. This approach is typical of the book, rather than dictating, Mina encourages the reader to take a more personalised approach, incorporating the key principles in a way that suits them and their goals best. Above all, she emphasises that everyone is different and that what works for others may not work for you. Sometimes you just need to eat more strawberry pencils!

Though aimed at climbers, this book frequently refers to studies in other sports (and highlights how much climbing-specific research remains to be done), and its pragmatic approach to analysing these will be of benefit to those in other endurance sports as well.

[Mike Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource that belongs on every climber's bookshelf. It provides the evidence-based knowledge necessary to treat nutrition with the same consideration and rigor as physical training. By blending science with personal experience, it is highly practical and serves as the ultimate guide for anyone looking to fuel smarter, climb stronger, and recover better, all while fostering a healthier relationship with food.
There is a comprehensive list of all the references in the back which may work better in an ebook (there are lots of them!)
If I had one minor complaint (and its common with books like this) is that the case studies are from elite athletes, it would be nice to haver heard about punters like me improving their performances with diet.
Maybe now is the time to ditch the energy drinks and fish suppers and look at how this book could contribute to your climbing successes!

[ANDREW JULIETTE · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very technical and detailed guide to nutrition for climbers written by an experienced climber and certified nutritionist. The book has three sections, in section one they cover the principles of nutrition, in section two methods are discussed and section three has some recipes to try. Throughout the book there are case studies featuring climbers, one of which is the author, describing their experiences of nutritional changes to improve their climbing performance. The book is well illustrated with colour pictures and each chapter has a summary listing ‘key takeaways’ and also areas for the reader to try relevant to the chapter. The book is generally well laid out and designed although the font is small and some sections printed on coloured backgrounds I found difficult to read. Whilst this book is focussed on climbers it incudes a range of advice and guidance to support many other activities and is therefore a useful aid to those following a healthy and active lifestyle.

[Mike Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Climbing, like a lot of sports, has changed hugely over the last few decades. Long gone are the days of a post-climb bag of chips and as many pints as possible before last orders (for most of us anyway!).

I enjoyed this book, it takes a friendly look at all the aspects of food and nutrition when applied to performance climbing. With well presented information backed up by scientific evidence & anecdotal advice from some of the world’s best climbers. It even contains some great recipes for nutritious crag treats & post climb refuelling.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in nutrition and sports performance.

[Spencer Thurgood · Rating 4 out of 5]

The interspersed climbers stories were a unique way to break up the book. Lots of useful perspectives and inclusive ways to cover everyone’s situations. The section on nutrition for women discussed a lot of areas I hadn’t considered before.