A must read for exercise lovers, this much anticipated sequel to The Need to Know Guide to Nutrition and Healthy Eating, takes a closer look at the role food and drink can play in optimising your athletic performance. Published by Central YMCA, the UK's leading activity for health charity and written by Tim Shaw, an experienced health and fitness instructor and nutrition specialist, this essential guide will help you to: . Keep track of what you eat . Calculate your energy requirements . Understand the role that different foods play in performance . Establish a balance of foods that works for you . Monitor your hydration levels . Choose what supplements are worth investing in . Establish the perfect weight training diet . Establish the perfect diet for CV exercise Simple to use and packed with trustworthy and proven techniques to measure, monitor and adapt every aspect of your daily diet, this is an enlightening book for anyone who has ever wondered about the effect that food and drink can have on their energy levels and performance when exercising. Central YMCA Guides: Trustworthy advice from those in the know

First things first, this isn't a diet book; it's a simple guide to healthy eating. In other words, the following pages will not advise you to follow any radical changes in your eating habits. Instead, you will learn the basics of good nutrition and the many benefits that can result. Indeed, there is now a wealth of irrefutable evidence to suggest that good diet has a range of positive health consequences. Furthermore, there is also reasonable consensus amongst nutritionists as to what a 'good diet' for most people actually is. This book will therefore introduce you to some simple guidelines which, if you decide to follow them and commit to a positive new eating habit, will help you to: control your body weight and lose excess fat without dieting have more energy, better mood and concentration have a stronger immune system to fight infection keep your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels within healthy ranges have a healthier heart and circulatory system with less chance of a heart attack or stroke reduce your risk of getting certain forms of cancer have a better sex life and improved fertility live longer and lead a more active life. There are lots more benefits, but that's a long enough list for now. The advice you're about to read is designed to be practical more than theoretical. Useful information has been condensed and divided into easy bite size form, so you can dip in and out when convenient, or use it for quick reference when shopping or buying your lunch. Expect a long-term healthy eating plan, not a short-term fix. Also, expect to contribute a little time and discipline yourself. There are many diet fads you can follow that will promise quick weight loss, but they all involve major dietary changes and can create a range of health problems as a result, including low energy levels, depression, unhealthy changes to hormone levels, reduced vitamin and mineral status, lowered metabolism, and so on. Unless the change in your eating habit is sustainable, you will, at some point, return to your old ways and your original problems of poor health and weight gain will return. So, while we won't be telling you to radically change what you eat, you will need to commit to eating healthily in the long term. Read on to find out how.