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The Endurance Diet: Discover the 5 Core Habits of the World's Greatest Athletes to Look, Feel, and Perform Better
Sports Nutritionist Matt Fitzgerald has spent nearly twenty years studying the diets of top professional endurance athletes, who are among the fittest and healthiest people in the world. As a result, he has identified five core habits-most of which are contrary to what popular diets advise-that are essential to maximizing workout benefits. The Endurance Diet shares key strategies for optimal health and eat everything, eat quality, eat carbohydrate, eat enough, and eat individually. Whether you want to lose weight, win a race, or look a little more like an elite athlete, this plan is for you. "I am always amazed at how much I learn from Matt Fitzgerald's books." -- Shalane Flanagan, Olympic bronze medalist
291 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 8, 2025
320 people are currently reading
1178 people want to read
About the author
Matt Fitzgerald
84 books426 followersMatt Fitzgerald is the author of numerous books on sports history and endurance sports. He has enjoyed unprecedented access to professional endurance athletes over the course of his career. His best-sellers include Racing Weight and Brain Training for Runners. He has also written extensively for Triathlete, Men's Fitness, Men's Health, Outside, Runner's World, Bicycling, Competitor, and countless other sports and fitness publications.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
December 31, 2017
There are two types of runners in my experience — smart ones, who read Matt Fitzgerald's books, and runners who could be smarter by reading Matt Fitzgerald!
I owe a lot of my approach to competitive masters running, which I took up at age 51, to Matt's scientifically reasoned work. He's always on the lookout for new research and scientific explanations for what helps keep runners like me injury-free while getting the maximum out of our training.
What I really admire about Matt is his intellectual curiosity and his desire to tell a good story, not just unspool a bunch of facts. His books cover the gamut from personal stories of athletic heroism (Iron War, How Bad Do You Want It) to training methods he has developed, based on the methods of elite athletes he coaches and writes about (RW Guide to Cross Training, 80/20 Training).
But he always comes back to nutrition. During the PED crisis of the early 2000s, Matt argued that "performance nutrition" was a thing and if properly pursued, could help athletes achieve long-term performance gains without resorting to pharmaceutical quick-fixes.
I also like that Matt isn't afraid to change his advice he's written in previous books when the evidence is clearly bending in a new direction. For instance, in his Racing Weight guide, he created a Diet Quality Scale (DQS) that helps runners look at their plates not just in terms of calories but the quality of those calories.
Now, in The Endurance Diet, he drills down deeper on the latest findings about the nutrition habits that practically every elite athlete in the world has in common. And I noticed that he has changed his DQS to favor full-fat dairy over non-fat dairy. Why? Solid data from studies of athletes showing greater satiety when full-fat is consumed, resulting in feelings of fullness with fewer calories.
Matt also lists 20 superfoods that elite athletes are eating, and why science says they're a good idea to have in your diet. I was surprised how many of these aren't in mine!
Matt traveled the globe to collect these stories, and as I say, he's a great storytelling, making The Endurance Diet an excellent introduction to one of the running world's most respected and engaging writers.
I owe a lot of my approach to competitive masters running, which I took up at age 51, to Matt's scientifically reasoned work. He's always on the lookout for new research and scientific explanations for what helps keep runners like me injury-free while getting the maximum out of our training.
What I really admire about Matt is his intellectual curiosity and his desire to tell a good story, not just unspool a bunch of facts. His books cover the gamut from personal stories of athletic heroism (Iron War, How Bad Do You Want It) to training methods he has developed, based on the methods of elite athletes he coaches and writes about (RW Guide to Cross Training, 80/20 Training).
But he always comes back to nutrition. During the PED crisis of the early 2000s, Matt argued that "performance nutrition" was a thing and if properly pursued, could help athletes achieve long-term performance gains without resorting to pharmaceutical quick-fixes.
I also like that Matt isn't afraid to change his advice he's written in previous books when the evidence is clearly bending in a new direction. For instance, in his Racing Weight guide, he created a Diet Quality Scale (DQS) that helps runners look at their plates not just in terms of calories but the quality of those calories.
Now, in The Endurance Diet, he drills down deeper on the latest findings about the nutrition habits that practically every elite athlete in the world has in common. And I noticed that he has changed his DQS to favor full-fat dairy over non-fat dairy. Why? Solid data from studies of athletes showing greater satiety when full-fat is consumed, resulting in feelings of fullness with fewer calories.
Matt also lists 20 superfoods that elite athletes are eating, and why science says they're a good idea to have in your diet. I was surprised how many of these aren't in mine!
Matt traveled the globe to collect these stories, and as I say, he's a great storytelling, making The Endurance Diet an excellent introduction to one of the running world's most respected and engaging writers.
May 30, 2017
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.
As a three time marathoner, four time sprint triathlete and finisher of numerous half marys, 10Ks and 5Ks, I can testify that food is a major component of training. If you don't eat, you don't finish the race (as a middle of the packer, I can also say that my goal is usually to finish, not to win). For those speedy racers who place in their Age Group or even plan to win the whole thing, I would venture to say that a strategic diet is even more important. It's unlikely that "Carb Load Friday" the day before the race will cut it.
Thus, we have Matt Fitzgerald's new book, *The Endurance Diet.* This quote from the summary pretty much covers the bases: the book "shares key strategies for optimal health and performance: eat everything, eat quality, eat carbohydrate, eat enough, and eat individually." In other words, plan ahead and plan wisely. I wouldn't say that the book is composed of brand new scientific theories and quick fixes for all dietary issues. But Fitzgerald does a good job of putting a ton of information together in one user-friendly, well written book. It's definitely the best book out there for this audience.
As a three time marathoner, four time sprint triathlete and finisher of numerous half marys, 10Ks and 5Ks, I can testify that food is a major component of training. If you don't eat, you don't finish the race (as a middle of the packer, I can also say that my goal is usually to finish, not to win). For those speedy racers who place in their Age Group or even plan to win the whole thing, I would venture to say that a strategic diet is even more important. It's unlikely that "Carb Load Friday" the day before the race will cut it.
Thus, we have Matt Fitzgerald's new book, *The Endurance Diet.* This quote from the summary pretty much covers the bases: the book "shares key strategies for optimal health and performance: eat everything, eat quality, eat carbohydrate, eat enough, and eat individually." In other words, plan ahead and plan wisely. I wouldn't say that the book is composed of brand new scientific theories and quick fixes for all dietary issues. But Fitzgerald does a good job of putting a ton of information together in one user-friendly, well written book. It's definitely the best book out there for this audience.
February 5, 2021
The Endurance Diet is in many ways the antidote to the highly-structured, rigid calorie limited diets prevalent in endurance sports which often lead to disordered eating. I got a ton of value out of this, but I also had some substantial issues with the material. I can't recommend this completely, but I do think any endurance athletes or casual endurance exercisers would get a lot of value out of it, taking everything with a grain of salt.
I've struggled with disordered eating related to calorie restriction several times in the past, and because of that I approached this very carefully. As I've read this, I've slowly incorporated the guidelines into my eating and have been really happy to find that they're both doable, and resulting in healthy, safe eating habits.
One of the main themes of this book is a move away from processed foods toward more simple, unprocessed foods, especially when it comes to carbs. I'll admit I was pretty skeptical of this due to the "appeal to nature" feel to some of the arguments, but most things were backed up with research. The reason to use whole wheat and alternative grains like spelt and buckwheat is not just because they're "more natural", but because they provide more dietary fiber and micronutrients, and are less likely to lead to overeating because they're less calorie dense. I'm fully won over on this point, and have made this transition myself and found it to be doable and still tasty.
A large section in the middle is devoted to Fitzgerald's proprietary "Diet Quality Score"(DQS). While he does extensively stress that this is just a tool to be used for a high-level understanding, it feels like a lot of filler material, and many of the quality rankings are pretty arbitrary. For example, oatmeal with honey is fine, but adding sugar to your coffee makes the coffee "low quality" despite the fact that honey is mostly fructose and glucose, just like table sugar. Additionally, "processed meats" are considered low quality, but Fitzgerald includes uncured bacon and cold cuts in the "processed" category. Somehow sliced turkey for sandwiches is bad, but a turkey breast on rice is ok? Like I said, pretty arbitrary.
I got the feeling that much of the DQS stuff was just filler to get Fitzgerald's advice to fill up a 300ish page book. At the end of the day, that's ok. Yeah, this whole book could have been a slightly lengthy blog post, but then Fitzgerald wouldn't have made as much money off of it, so I can't exactly blame him for it, especially since he does extensively research and communicate with athletes. The same thing goes for his exercise advice at the end. It's not what we're reading for, and while dietary stuff can be applied across various sports, training is incredibly specific to each sport. It just gives a broad overview of periodization and the like, and also peddles the 80/20 rule, another of Fitzgerald's proprietary concepts.
The one major issue I had was with a short section in which he claims that "athletes on a caloric deficit often gain weight". He uses exclusively anecdotal evidence and cites one study that showed athletes on a caloric deficit had a decreased metabolic rate, but made no claims about weight gain. This is scientifically impossible, unless the weight gain is from increased water retention. He acknowledges in a previous section that athletes attempting to lose weight by calorie counting are more likely to binge on junk food for a "cheat meal", but that's not the claim he's making here.
All in all, I got a ton of value out of the general rules Fitzgerald puts forward for endurance athletes, and have already started to see improvements in my personal life, but I would recommend that any reader take his broader advice with a grain of salt. 3/5
I've struggled with disordered eating related to calorie restriction several times in the past, and because of that I approached this very carefully. As I've read this, I've slowly incorporated the guidelines into my eating and have been really happy to find that they're both doable, and resulting in healthy, safe eating habits.
One of the main themes of this book is a move away from processed foods toward more simple, unprocessed foods, especially when it comes to carbs. I'll admit I was pretty skeptical of this due to the "appeal to nature" feel to some of the arguments, but most things were backed up with research. The reason to use whole wheat and alternative grains like spelt and buckwheat is not just because they're "more natural", but because they provide more dietary fiber and micronutrients, and are less likely to lead to overeating because they're less calorie dense. I'm fully won over on this point, and have made this transition myself and found it to be doable and still tasty.
A large section in the middle is devoted to Fitzgerald's proprietary "Diet Quality Score"(DQS). While he does extensively stress that this is just a tool to be used for a high-level understanding, it feels like a lot of filler material, and many of the quality rankings are pretty arbitrary. For example, oatmeal with honey is fine, but adding sugar to your coffee makes the coffee "low quality" despite the fact that honey is mostly fructose and glucose, just like table sugar. Additionally, "processed meats" are considered low quality, but Fitzgerald includes uncured bacon and cold cuts in the "processed" category. Somehow sliced turkey for sandwiches is bad, but a turkey breast on rice is ok? Like I said, pretty arbitrary.
I got the feeling that much of the DQS stuff was just filler to get Fitzgerald's advice to fill up a 300ish page book. At the end of the day, that's ok. Yeah, this whole book could have been a slightly lengthy blog post, but then Fitzgerald wouldn't have made as much money off of it, so I can't exactly blame him for it, especially since he does extensively research and communicate with athletes. The same thing goes for his exercise advice at the end. It's not what we're reading for, and while dietary stuff can be applied across various sports, training is incredibly specific to each sport. It just gives a broad overview of periodization and the like, and also peddles the 80/20 rule, another of Fitzgerald's proprietary concepts.
The one major issue I had was with a short section in which he claims that "athletes on a caloric deficit often gain weight". He uses exclusively anecdotal evidence and cites one study that showed athletes on a caloric deficit had a decreased metabolic rate, but made no claims about weight gain. This is scientifically impossible, unless the weight gain is from increased water retention. He acknowledges in a previous section that athletes attempting to lose weight by calorie counting are more likely to binge on junk food for a "cheat meal", but that's not the claim he's making here.
All in all, I got a ton of value out of the general rules Fitzgerald puts forward for endurance athletes, and have already started to see improvements in my personal life, but I would recommend that any reader take his broader advice with a grain of salt. 3/5
January 20, 2017
Check out my review on my blog: http://www.takinglongwayhome.com/2017...
November 8, 2019
A book with very few valuable points and by most parts downright misleading. The American Dietetic Association has clearly stated on the website that correctly planned vegetarian and vegan diet are perfectly suited for sports people. Nancy Clark’s iconic book on Sports Nutrition has also clear about this topic- adequately planned vegan diet is safe and good for sports people. This book claims the opposite even this the author has no formal education in nutrition like RD.
March 6, 2018
Some really helpful insights, tips and even recipes in here. But my take away is: eat everything!
February 1, 2019
The only "diet" book anyone should ever read. He destroys the myths of fad diets and makes logical/scientific arguments for a sustainable high-quality diet for improved health and performance.
November 29, 2021
A lot of solid advice.
In generel the book promotes "intuitive eating" but with that being mindfull of the quality and variety of foods that you consume. This is done by categorising diffrent food groups and giving them a score. The score system is less strict than most scoresystems found in diet articles and focuses heavily on eating from all the groups and eating individually. The scoresystem is also not based on calories, as much as quality of food. The aim is also not to get a perfect score, but to improve the score somewhat as you go allong. Fitzgerald also points out that non endurance athletes probably wont be able to get as high of a score considering the professionals need to eat more to fuel their body through their workouts.
I also think it is interesting to read a book that focuses on endurance sports and training instead of strength based sports. Considering how lifting is very much the "it" sport at the moment, and with it has brought an obsession with high protein diets, and KETO and other high fat low carb diets being promoted left right and center, it is nice to see carbs finally get the credit they deserve. Carbs are our main source of energy, and should therefore be treated as an equal to the other macronutrients.
In generel the book promotes "intuitive eating" but with that being mindfull of the quality and variety of foods that you consume. This is done by categorising diffrent food groups and giving them a score. The score system is less strict than most scoresystems found in diet articles and focuses heavily on eating from all the groups and eating individually. The scoresystem is also not based on calories, as much as quality of food. The aim is also not to get a perfect score, but to improve the score somewhat as you go allong. Fitzgerald also points out that non endurance athletes probably wont be able to get as high of a score considering the professionals need to eat more to fuel their body through their workouts.
I also think it is interesting to read a book that focuses on endurance sports and training instead of strength based sports. Considering how lifting is very much the "it" sport at the moment, and with it has brought an obsession with high protein diets, and KETO and other high fat low carb diets being promoted left right and center, it is nice to see carbs finally get the credit they deserve. Carbs are our main source of energy, and should therefore be treated as an equal to the other macronutrients.
February 12, 2024
This book has a place, but it’s not with me. For one thing, I was so annoyed by its sheer length. The tips are solid but jeez this could have been a blog post. While the info is good for those looking to transition out of diets and towards more Intuitive Eating, make no mistake that this is not an IE book. There is an emphasis on diet quality (and an app to track/score 😑) that reminds me of the 2010s food documentaries. A tad disappointed (though not wildly surprised) by this one
January 10, 2021
This was a very good book with what seems to me to be great advice on nutrition and exercising. Where available, the author provided the scientific research / data to back up what he was saying and was clear about how he reached his conclusions when he did not have scientific data. The book includes information on keto diets and about using periodic low carb periods to improve the body's ability to burn fats during endurance activities. I learned a lot and highly recommend it.
August 27, 2023
Actually really good and helpful. It feels so good and sensory reading the detailed descriptions of professional athletes’ meals. And the book was focused on healthy eating to support your body’s needs, not disordered practices
February 17, 2024
Really good book explaining all the components of diet and making it easily applicable to your own life. Definitely recommend for anyone looking to improve their diet and even your to people who aren’t exactly “endurance athletes”
April 21, 2024
Gamechanger!
This book has transformed my approach to fitness and nutrition. It may seem obvious but how often do amateur athletes fight their body instead of fighting with it (as an ally!) Great book I'd recommend to anyone wanting to improve their diet and performance.
This book has transformed my approach to fitness and nutrition. It may seem obvious but how often do amateur athletes fight their body instead of fighting with it (as an ally!) Great book I'd recommend to anyone wanting to improve their diet and performance.
April 25, 2025
Overview of how elite endurance athletes around the world structure their diets, describing commonalities and providing a fantastic outline of how to structure a diet for yourself.
A summary, in my own words:
Habit 1) Eat Everything
Eat every food group. yes, the 'unhealthy' ones too, in moderation. Restrictive diets like keto or paleo or vegetarian are clearly and demonstrably outclassed at higher levels of competition.
Habit 2) Eat Quality
the vast majority of your diet should consist of high quality/"healthy" food
Habit 3) Eat Carb-Centered
carbs are good, actually! despite media demonization. elite endurance athletes get 70%+ of their calories from carbohydrates.
the key is eating whole-grain. whole, unprocessed grains are excellent. refined grains (white bread, white rice, etc) are meh at best and should be replaced by whole-grain counterparts.
Habit 4) Eat Enough
don't starve yourself. energy is vital for exercise. eat enough so you can put more energy into exercise and you'll be leaner and fitter than if you were being anorexic about it and not able to put effort into exercise.
Habit 5) Eat Individually
shape your upbringing and diet to match these guidelines. this is something where you evolve and modify your diet. there is a huge amount of variety within these 'restrictions', do what makes sense for you. pick foods you like.
---
these guidelines serve the purpose of maximizing endurance fitness.
effectively every elite endurance athlete in the past 40-50yrs has followed these guidelines. running, cycling, swimming, skiing, you name it. in any sufficiently mature endurance sport, this diet has proven itself to work most effectively, and any variations simply do not perform as well.
but i'm not an elite athlete! do these habits work well for casual exercisers? yes.
the author does provide a small chapter with separate guidelines for the goal of weightloss. basically "nix Trait 3 (carb centric) and Trait 4 (eat enough)."
weightloss ideal; daily calorie deficit of 300-500 calories. (more severe deficit results in higher% of muscle tissue loss compared to fat loss). do strength training. (endurance training is meh for weightloss.) you should get a higher proportion of calories from protein. 25-30%+ calories from protein is ideal.
A summary, in my own words:
Habit 1) Eat Everything
Eat every food group. yes, the 'unhealthy' ones too, in moderation. Restrictive diets like keto or paleo or vegetarian are clearly and demonstrably outclassed at higher levels of competition.
Habit 2) Eat Quality
the vast majority of your diet should consist of high quality/"healthy" food
Habit 3) Eat Carb-Centered
carbs are good, actually! despite media demonization. elite endurance athletes get 70%+ of their calories from carbohydrates.
the key is eating whole-grain. whole, unprocessed grains are excellent. refined grains (white bread, white rice, etc) are meh at best and should be replaced by whole-grain counterparts.
Habit 4) Eat Enough
don't starve yourself. energy is vital for exercise. eat enough so you can put more energy into exercise and you'll be leaner and fitter than if you were being anorexic about it and not able to put effort into exercise.
Habit 5) Eat Individually
shape your upbringing and diet to match these guidelines. this is something where you evolve and modify your diet. there is a huge amount of variety within these 'restrictions', do what makes sense for you. pick foods you like.
---
these guidelines serve the purpose of maximizing endurance fitness.
effectively every elite endurance athlete in the past 40-50yrs has followed these guidelines. running, cycling, swimming, skiing, you name it. in any sufficiently mature endurance sport, this diet has proven itself to work most effectively, and any variations simply do not perform as well.
but i'm not an elite athlete! do these habits work well for casual exercisers? yes.
the author does provide a small chapter with separate guidelines for the goal of weightloss. basically "nix Trait 3 (carb centric) and Trait 4 (eat enough)."
weightloss ideal; daily calorie deficit of 300-500 calories. (more severe deficit results in higher% of muscle tissue loss compared to fat loss). do strength training. (endurance training is meh for weightloss.) you should get a higher proportion of calories from protein. 25-30%+ calories from protein is ideal.
July 11, 2017
Одна из лучших книг о питании для всех спортсменов про и любителей, которые занимаются циклическими видами спорта. В принципе, все книги у Мэтта очень и очень хорошие, полезные и информативные.
Мэтт ездил по всему свету и интервьюировал самых разных спортсменов и выяснял их привычки питания для того, чтобы понять, насколько сильно еда влияет на наши показатели и как, в конце-концов, питаться, чтобы достигать хороших спортивных показателей. Оказывается, самые лучшие спорстмены не заморачиваются насчет калории, не придерживаются каких-то диких диет, не выдумывают какие-то системы. Они питаются как и все обычные люди, но с небольшим отличием: они едят высокачественную пищу.
Нужно больше употреблять: овощей, фруктов, цельнозерновых, натуральное мясо, молочные продукты
Избегать: жареной пищи, сладостей. Позволяется употреблять до 20% в недельном балансе.
Мэтт рекомендует придерживаться следующих правил:
Правило 1 - Ешьте все. В смысле, не надо жрать все подряд, а нужно употреблять широкий спектр продуктов от овощей до мяса и молока.
Правило 2 - Ешьте качественно. Ну ты понел.
Правило 3 - Ешьте больше углеводов. Для атлетов это топливо номер 1.
Правило 4 - Ешьте достаточно.
Правило 5 - Ешьте индивдуально.
Кстати, суперфуды для спортсменов это картофель, красное вино, свекла, арахисовое масло и многое другое. Скоро на эту книгу сделаю саммари.
Мэтт ездил по всему свету и интервьюировал самых разных спортсменов и выяснял их привычки питания для того, чтобы понять, насколько сильно еда влияет на наши показатели и как, в конце-концов, питаться, чтобы достигать хороших спортивных показателей. Оказывается, самые лучшие спорстмены не заморачиваются насчет калории, не придерживаются каких-то диких диет, не выдумывают какие-то системы. Они питаются как и все обычные люди, но с небольшим отличием: они едят высокачественную пищу.
Нужно больше употреблять: овощей, фруктов, цельнозерновых, натуральное мясо, молочные продукты
Избегать: жареной пищи, сладостей. Позволяется употреблять до 20% в недельном балансе.
Мэтт рекомендует придерживаться следующих правил:
Правило 1 - Ешьте все. В смысле, не надо жрать все подряд, а нужно употреблять широкий спектр продуктов от овощей до мяса и молока.
Правило 2 - Ешьте качественно. Ну ты понел.
Правило 3 - Ешьте больше углеводов. Для атлетов это топливо номер 1.
Правило 4 - Ешьте достаточно.
Правило 5 - Ешьте индивдуально.
Кстати, суперфуды для спортсменов это картофель, красное вино, свекла, арахисовое масло и многое другое. Скоро на эту книгу сделаю саммари.
February 18, 2025
To become as fit as you can be, all you have to do is eat like the world’s fittest people.
This book is a collection of accounts and diets of some of top athletes across the world collected by the author who is a certified sports nutritionist. It’s a short and straightforward read - the contents are exactly what is stated in the cover - 5 healthy habits of endurance athletes.
While I am not a serious athlete and this book is very focused on endurance fitness, I did not find this to be completely above my pay grade. The author is aware that not everyone might be a professional athlete and every recommendation may not make sense for everyone. The suggestions are not super scientific, he quotes researchers and publications here and there, but most recommendations are based on tried and tested methods adopted by pro athletes. The 5 habits - eat everything, eat quality, eat individually, eat carb centered and eat enough are generic and logical. I like that this wasn’t a rule book based on scales and metrics. Even the concept of DQS (Diet Quality Score) doesn’t expect us to measure food in calories or ounces. I like that the approach is casual (hence doable) and the methods suggested can be customized as per personal preference.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and hope to put some knowledge in practice to further my exercise journey. I would recommend it to anyone interested in fitness or trying to transition towards healthy eating in general.
This book is a collection of accounts and diets of some of top athletes across the world collected by the author who is a certified sports nutritionist. It’s a short and straightforward read - the contents are exactly what is stated in the cover - 5 healthy habits of endurance athletes.
While I am not a serious athlete and this book is very focused on endurance fitness, I did not find this to be completely above my pay grade. The author is aware that not everyone might be a professional athlete and every recommendation may not make sense for everyone. The suggestions are not super scientific, he quotes researchers and publications here and there, but most recommendations are based on tried and tested methods adopted by pro athletes. The 5 habits - eat everything, eat quality, eat individually, eat carb centered and eat enough are generic and logical. I like that this wasn’t a rule book based on scales and metrics. Even the concept of DQS (Diet Quality Score) doesn’t expect us to measure food in calories or ounces. I like that the approach is casual (hence doable) and the methods suggested can be customized as per personal preference.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and hope to put some knowledge in practice to further my exercise journey. I would recommend it to anyone interested in fitness or trying to transition towards healthy eating in general.
February 22, 2021
This is the second book I've read by Matt Fitzgerald, after "Racing Weight". The premise of the book is based on the survey responses of endurance athletes around the world and their eating habits. As in "Racing Weight", the author uses his own clients and experiences with elite athletes as anecdotal examples of the principles he lays out in the book.
The 5 habits are: eat everything, eat quality, eat carbohydrates, eat enough, and eat individually. The book goes into detail, with examples, of how elite athletes do all of these things - and the potential consequences of not practicing them.
If you've read "Racing Weight," don't expect any revelatory information in this book. Fitzgerald briefly reviews the Diet Quality Score system and some other key topics found in "Racing Weight". That said, if you enjoyed other books by this author, or just want to dive deeper into nutrition for endurance sports, I highly recommend this book. There is no talk about calories/macros, etc. It's a holistic approach that is based on trusting the cues from your own body.
The 5 habits are: eat everything, eat quality, eat carbohydrates, eat enough, and eat individually. The book goes into detail, with examples, of how elite athletes do all of these things - and the potential consequences of not practicing them.
If you've read "Racing Weight," don't expect any revelatory information in this book. Fitzgerald briefly reviews the Diet Quality Score system and some other key topics found in "Racing Weight". That said, if you enjoyed other books by this author, or just want to dive deeper into nutrition for endurance sports, I highly recommend this book. There is no talk about calories/macros, etc. It's a holistic approach that is based on trusting the cues from your own body.
July 11, 2021
This was good but I was slightly disappointed. At least for me there wasn't a ton of new information here. This seemed VERY similar to the only other diet book I've ever read The Abs Diet. However, I would say the Abs Diet throws a lot more science and fun facts about specific foods at you and I preferred it overall. There were some key differences between the books but Fitzgerald explains those (some things which are excellent for weight loss are suboptimal for peak endurance training). I appreciated that this reconfirmed my existing knowledge and diet approach. I also found a few nuggets based on new science where I'm planning to make adjustments in my diet and the book accomplished the goal of getting me to refocus on diet quality. All in all this is very solid but not my top pick for a Matt Fitzgerald book. I love everything I've read of his. You can't go wrong following the advice in this book. I also plan to check out some of the recipes which I didn't buy the book for but look surprisingly good.
July 10, 2020
I thought this book was one of the better books I've read about nutrition and putting eating habits in a way that is practical. Obviously this diet is set-up for endurance athletes, but there are alot of principles that can be applied for non-performance athletes. To me the best principle in this book is the diet quality score and I bought the app and started using it and it's easy, convenient way to improve on eating habits. This book dispels some of the eating myths that has developed in the last 10+ years especially about some types of carbs and makes it more comfortable to embrace carbs in your diet. I probably don't fully agree with his assessment of not counting calories because I think that is a tool that can be used especially early on when changing your eating habits and understanding the points when to eat and when to stop eating. I would've liked to have seen a little more scientific data in the analysis of these diet trends that were observed by the author. Overall this is a very solid book that I'm glad that I read the book.
September 21, 2024
This book established a new neural pathway in my brain. There are rare moments in my life where I read something and something physically clicks in my brain. Of course, reading this aligns with my recent practice in running so this couldn’t have come out of more perfect time. As I have started training and racing, I have come to view myself more and more as an athlete. This book takes that perspective into the next level and makes you operate like an athlete. It makes you stop counting calories and start focusing more on the quality of your diet. Since finishing this, I have been able to consistently cut out processed foods for the most part and establish healthy eating patterns that don’t require calorie, counting, or other fad diets. Now, I just focus on what I need to put in my body that will help me become a better athlete and performer. I eat more, I stress less, and I still lose weight. What’s better than that?
July 16, 2024
The best book on nutrition I’ve ever read! Granted, it may be the only one 😂
Fitzgerald is clearly incredibly knowledgeable and has excessive insight into diet beyond the fads and shows that the path to the high performing endurance diet is much easier than you’d think.
I have always loved competitive running and pushing myself, but it’s been hard for me to lock in on my diet.
Had I this information and 18 or 14, I can only imagine how much better my HS and collegiate careers would’ve been. Still, at 30, I am excited to have this knowledge and take care of my body as best I can!
PS, the DQS app is AWESOME! I’ve only used it for a few days and already, even if I never use it again, what I’ve internalized from it was easily worth the $2. How did I never realize just how bad refined foods are for us?!? 😱
Fitzgerald is clearly incredibly knowledgeable and has excessive insight into diet beyond the fads and shows that the path to the high performing endurance diet is much easier than you’d think.
I have always loved competitive running and pushing myself, but it’s been hard for me to lock in on my diet.
Had I this information and 18 or 14, I can only imagine how much better my HS and collegiate careers would’ve been. Still, at 30, I am excited to have this knowledge and take care of my body as best I can!
PS, the DQS app is AWESOME! I’ve only used it for a few days and already, even if I never use it again, what I’ve internalized from it was easily worth the $2. How did I never realize just how bad refined foods are for us?!? 😱
April 14, 2020
Simple and effective: not overcomplicating things
Nutrition is one of the most commonly butchered topics I know. A lot of people cherry-pick evidence to support one extreme diet, which simply does not work. Others go in great detail about particular micronutrients and completely lose track of the big picture, which does not work either - especially not for someone who isn't a certified nutritionist, like pretty much every self-coached athlete.
This book strikes the perfect balance: It boils all of this down to a few surprisingly simple rules which align with what the science is saying. This system is extremely easy to apply and helps making informed decisions in a way that is easy to apply for anyone.
Nutrition is one of the most commonly butchered topics I know. A lot of people cherry-pick evidence to support one extreme diet, which simply does not work. Others go in great detail about particular micronutrients and completely lose track of the big picture, which does not work either - especially not for someone who isn't a certified nutritionist, like pretty much every self-coached athlete.
This book strikes the perfect balance: It boils all of this down to a few surprisingly simple rules which align with what the science is saying. This system is extremely easy to apply and helps making informed decisions in a way that is easy to apply for anyone.
February 2, 2021
That is really inspiring book. Some of the books you don’t really need to read, and can get all information from the summary. But in this book a lot of information was hold inside. The five advises that were given in first part of the book were comprehensive explained in the following chapters.
For rules 1,2,4 I had got a lot of useful information and started to add the rules to my life.
Rule 3 is more about being as most of the people is normal and you do not have to worry about it.
Also I liked the part about 22 types of superfoods that gave me ability to adjust my menu.
Some of parts of the book were not so important for me, and it is ok.
I personally didn’t like to read about nutrition plans of the specific sportsmen.
For rules 1,2,4 I had got a lot of useful information and started to add the rules to my life.
Rule 3 is more about being as most of the people is normal and you do not have to worry about it.
Also I liked the part about 22 types of superfoods that gave me ability to adjust my menu.
Some of parts of the book were not so important for me, and it is ok.
I personally didn’t like to read about nutrition plans of the specific sportsmen.
May 17, 2023
It's a very good book, but also a completely unnecessary one. At least 3/4 of the content are just a rehash of his previous Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance, but it's missing the part about how to calculate your target weight. Instead, the intended audience is endurance athletes who train for around 2 hours per day and therefore tend to not have to worry about eating too much or losing weight. Instead, the focus is on improving the quality of their diet, replacing junkfood with nutritious ingredients.
May 17, 2020
I almost always get a lot out of Matt's books, and I think this is one of his best. He investigates the eating habits of elite endurance athletes (based on a combination of self-reporting, trainer interviews and observation). He then compares the results with the scientific literature and distils them into five principles that anyone can follow, including casual exercisers. The principles are sane and practical; they include a recommendation to listen to the body's satiety signals rather than counting calories or measuring quantities. Chapters also include an updated version of the Diet Quality Score from Racing Weight and eight training guidelines based on a similar empirical approach.
April 13, 2025
I enjoyed this book. I really like the approach the author takes in explaining the proper diet for endurance athletes. It is simple, concise and easy to understand. He provides lots of research to back up what he says and balances it off with real world examples. He also provides lots of advice on how to implement the 5 Core Habits. I have already improved my nutrition via small changes and I look forward to making more gains as I progressively implement The Endurance Diet. It is one of the few times I have completed a book on nutrition and not felt overwhelmed, confused, and / or discouraged. I actually feel empowered and optimistic about making true, long lasting gains.
March 10, 2020
Matt Fitzgerald has come to dominate the popular running books in the last decade or so. The Endurance Diet is a good contrarian read in a time when everyone is on the keto and paleo bandwagon (myself too to a large degree). I especially like his Diet Quality Score, which is an innovative way to keep track of daily nutrition. It's a kind of shorthand for counting calories with extra credit for healthy foods and punishments for unhealthy foods.
It's made me more open minded about high quality carbs and I will utilize a lot of the advice going forward.
It's made me more open minded about high quality carbs and I will utilize a lot of the advice going forward.
August 16, 2020
As someone who just recently went through a period of fat loss and then started training for a half marathon, I really found this book helpful. I knew what to eat to lose body fat but I quickly found out that it was not enough to support my harder workouts. The diet quality score seemed a bit too granular to me but overall, eating carb centered and eating enough where the two rules that really helped fuel me. I'll maybe get to the recipes he shared but it made me realize I was already eating most of the quality foods. I definitely recommend to any athlete.
January 6, 2024
This book was just not for me. Almost a polemic, the promoted 5 habits are thought-provoking but I didn't find the book as actionable as I'd hoped.
This is just personal but Fitzgerald's writing style doesn't work for me. (I've read several of this books, including the closely related Racing Weight.)
Final comment is on the commercial forces that force writers to convert what might be a long magazine article or a monograph into a full book. E.g. the chapter on habit forming was unnecessary—there are a lot of books for that.
This is just personal but Fitzgerald's writing style doesn't work for me. (I've read several of this books, including the closely related Racing Weight.)
Final comment is on the commercial forces that force writers to convert what might be a long magazine article or a monograph into a full book. E.g. the chapter on habit forming was unnecessary—there are a lot of books for that.
January 5, 2019
Solid recommendations but I found the writing style irritating, with a tendency towards unnecessary hyperbole. Must every example be the most extreme case you can think of? Similarly, I appreciate the concepts underpinning the Diet Quality Score process, but found its ambiguity hard to continue for more than a few days (plus the app is horrendous). On the plus side, I am putting the recommendations into practice for my January challenge and am enjoying more grains than I've had in years.
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