Coates Christian - Soulmate food fitness gourmet : deliciouse recipes for peak performance at any level

fitness
gourmet

Photography by Yuki Sugiura

fitness gourmet

Christian Coates

Contents

Call it a eureka moment, but it suddenly became apparent to me how generic and misleading most off-the-shelf diets are. When people follow set plans from a newspaper or in traditional diet books, they are asked to follow a one size fits all approach. These ineffective plans may start well but they are completely unrealistic and, therefore, unsustainable. Users of such plans often fail as they see results plateauing due to lack of variety or not being able to adapt to fit in with their day-to-day life. Through my own experience, if some days I wasnt able to exercise or I had been travelling, the plan would recommend me to eat certain quantities for that day, regardless of what I was doing. Ultimately, the lack of flexibility meant I would overeat and not get the desired results. Failure was inevitable.

This realisation was the driving force behind the formation of Soulmatefood. I wanted to offer bespoke, tailored nutrition and hassle-free meals direct to the door. Not just strictly aimed at traditional weight loss, but also to fulfil other areas, such as vitality, sports performance, energy and appearance, while utilising top-quality ingredients and vibrant gourmet recipes. Any eating plan needs to be sustainable and this can only be underpinned through education with regard to how and what someone eats Im talking portion control, meal frequency, learning which carbs are good, which foods are high in protein, which fats are best and choosing foods that are potent nutritional ingredients.

After working with clients who vary from complete nutritional novices to top-level professional athletes, it became apparent that I needed to design a concept that could deliver a nutritional ethos that worked for all levels. One that could be incredibly simple and basic to follow, or as bespoke (or precise) as you need for specific physical results. Hence Fitness Gourmet was born.

The recipes in this book are put together to banish the misconception that healthy food has to be mundane, tasteless and bland. The Soulmatefood team and I are realistic; we arent the type of people who havent eaten a carb since the age of 16. We are passionate about flavours, tastes and colours and enjoy creating ber-healthy spins on meals that are traditionally seen as indulgent or bad for you. Every dish in this book serves a purpose and this is half the battle, especially getting the carb/protein levels right to fit into each of the three categories! This book has been put together by leading nutritionists and top chefs who we have been fortunate enough to work with. I am delighted to be able to bring such a high level of nutritional knowledge and high standard of recipes into your home.

So, wave goodbye to the days of obsessing about numbers and calorie counting, our ethos is based around portion control, quality of ingredients and ratios of proteins to carbohydrates. The plan is simple to follow and meals can be enjoyed on your own, with a partner (who may have a completely different goal), your family and even the whole office, sports team or group of friends.

I hope you enjoy creating your own specific diet code to stick to, there are plenty of examples in the book to give you inspiration. Not only that, Im sure you will be motivated to get in the kitchen and start experimenting with ingredients, cooking techniques and tastes and flavours not normally associated with being on a diet.

The diet code is a simple and straightforward way to achieve your goals for nutrition and fitness. It can be tailored to any goal and any level of fitness and training, from complete beginner to professional athlete. There are three basic levels Burn, Balance and Build each with its own symbol.

No decoding needed

The diet code is an at-a-glance way of choosing dishes that do you good, while coordinating with your chosen exercise and level of activity. Every meal has a variation that is shown with the symbols for Burn, Balance and Build. So, if you want to cook, for example, Steak with chicory slaw and salsify chips (see ), just look for the relevant symbol on the page and thats the meal youre cooking. With this example, the Balance meal is just as described; the Burn option replaces the salsify chips with celeriac chips; and the Build variation has a steamed corn on the cob as an extra side. It really is that simple.

The easiest and simplest way to reach the goals set out opposite is to follow your chosen symbol for every meal time. Choose this approach if you want simplicity but also great results.

Intermediate and amateur sportspeople can implement a mixed solution: varying their intake by choosing differently coded dishes in line with training or active days. So, for instance, if you know youve got an exercise class on a Tuesday, switch to Build dishes on a Monday to fuel up and get the most out of your active period the next day. Thus, you can customise your menu by the day.

For serious athletes and dedicated sports/gym goers, the concept can be modified by the meal. Maximise performance by fuelling ahead of activities and feeding your body to aid recovery. Switch variations for incredible, tailored results.

Which diet code is for you?

To discover which variation of the diet code is right for you, look at the lists below and see which tallies most with your goals.

I want to:

	lose body fat but maintain lean muscle
	burn more fat
	reduce health issues associated with excess weight and obesity
	tone up.

I want to:

	maintain current body weight
	eat a sustainable, healthy diet