Book excerpt: Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes makes high-performance nutrition simple for running, cycling, triathlon, and swimming. Weighing in at 432 pages, this newly updated third edition is the most comprehensive resource on nutrition from the most experienced and highly qualified nutritionist in endurance sports. Ryan offers clear answers to the most fundamental questions in endurance sports nutrition--what should I eat, how much, and when--based on the latest research and experience from her 30-year career advising elite and age-group athletes and pro sports teams. She offers fine-tuning strategies for training and racing, optimal recovery, weight loss, and boosting strength-to-weight ratio. Citing rigorous and reputable studies, Ryan busts myths about ergogenic aids and supplements and offers a dose of reality to practices like fat loading and glycogen-depleted workouts. Since endurance sports are too different for a "one size fits all" food plan, Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes reveals how runners, cyclists, triathletes, and swimmers should fuel differently to gain real performance advantages in their sports. Even within each sport, optimal nutrition varies with the type and duration of events, so Ryan explains nutrition for short- and long-course triathlon; road, criterium, and mountain bike racing; 10K, half-marathon, and marathon; and sprint and distance swimming. This complete guide addresses a wide variety of special nutrition considerations for younger and older athletes, diabetics, vegetarians, pregnant women, and those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes also offers six appendixes of reference material including glycemic index, vitamin and mineral glossary, an up-to-date comparison of sports nutrition products, and sample menus. Smart nutrition can make the difference between a personal record and a lackluster season. Committed athletes and newcomers to endurance sports will both find Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes to be a comprehensive, easy-to-use guide to better performance in running, cycling, triathlon, and swimming.