Stacy T. Sims PhDROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life

Great read for every female athlete. I do not compete in triathlons, or any long distance races of any kind. I do consider myself an athlete though, as I always played sports growing up and still at 33 I enjoy lifting weights, hike, backpack, and do Backcountry hunting, which is an extreme endurance sport in it's own right. I think every woman will take away at least one thing they can apply to their life and training. I personally found several as I have always gone by what the fitness industry recommends. After reading this I now why working out in heat or the week leading up to my cycle sucks and feels so hard, I know why I actually gained fat while intermittent fasting and doing fasted morning cardio, I know why I out hike my husband at high altitude, and why the Paleo diet felt great for a few months, then felt like crap (I knew I needed more carbs), plus much more.Those who gave a poor rating for the book not being great for people over 50 or experiencing menopause are silly. The book doesn't claim to be written for that audience only, plus the book covers some information on menopause. And the negative reviews about the birth control are inaccurate as well. The author recommended speaking to your doctor before making any changes and she does acknowledge some women need birth control for various health problems.I thought it was well written, everything is well explained, and it's very eye opening. I'm now no longer skipping breakfast and eat within 30 minutes of waking up, I've added more protein to my diet, I now do heavy lifting during my low hormone phase, and lighter weight, high rep functional training during my high phase and I'm seeing and feeling results.I think all women concerned about their health and anyone who even regularly exercise should read this. Even men who train women should read it.

This book is excellent, I had been doing fasting and KETO and while I was losing weight I was not feeling well. I was struggling during my workout and feeling exhausted during recovery. I also started missing my period which I thought was because I was premenopausal. I had full bloodwork done and all came back normal, I am not premenopausal yet. I couldn't understand why I was missing my period and always feeling so tired. After listening to this in audiobook format I stopped fasting and started eating clean. What a difference! I also started using the OSMO products. The pre-workout hydration tastes NASTY but it works. The during and post aren't delicious but I've noticed A HUGE difference in my strength and endurance during heavy workouts. After seeing such positive results I bought the paperback to figure out my diet. I'm now trying to adjust the way I eat. I'm not good at figuring out grams so I wish that advise was a bit more user friendly, like just tell me what to eat each day, lol. I know I'll figure it out it's just more time consuming but I appreciate how much better I understand my body. I had always wondered why popular hydration drinks made my stomach feel so strange. The chapter about the gut bacteria makes total sense and I’m no longer using artificial sweeteners which makes me feel so much better. It has been so eye opening for me to understand that we are not men. Our bodies are different and require different nutrition. We don't have to just settle, we can work at our full potential if we fuel our body properly. Lastly, I was also amazed at how brave she was to talk openly about the negative side effects of birth control. I know she is most likely to receive criticism for that but I'm glad she is willing to speak the truth to help women. I wish more doctors and healthcare professionals were willing to speak up, anyone can see the harmful effects but it gets so political people hardly want to mess with that. All in all this is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to stay fit and nurture their body. I highly recommend it and I will continue to use it to maximize my fitness potential.

This book is easy to read -- a lot of recent, applicable science distilled into clear, entertaining writing. Before I go on, I should say that I don't know what the complaints above are talking about -- if you read this book carefully, literally all of the information they're asking for is in there.I tried the nutrition strategies in this book as soon as I'd read it. Over the next several days, I saw immediate and pretty dramatic results in my power and endurance workouts. Recovery is so much better. I also feel better -- better moods, less bloat, less tiredness -- AND this was all during my "weak week."Sims is a fan of real food and real life; her suggestions aren't hard to implement. I've been participating in endurance and power sports for over 25 years (I'm 38) and I wish I'd known all this - or been willing to pay attention to it! - much earlier. I've always been a "healthy eater," but not optimizing at all for the activities I've been doing. This book is gonna stay on my shelf for a long, long time. Girl knows her stuff.