Algieri - Fighters Kitchen: 100 Muscle-Building, Fat Burning Recipes, with Meal Plans to Sculpt Your Warrior

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My interest in nutrition came from my years of competitive combat sports and needing to make weight for the majority of my life. Ive been ultracompetitive since an early age and Ive always wanted to possess every advantage possible when it comes to game time or fight time. Performance nutrition was the route I took to maximize my potential and give me an edge over my competition.

Ever since my tortured days of high school wrestling and making weight, I knew there had to be a better way to diet and train. This eventually led to my studying nutrition and how it applies to health, fitness, and human performance. I spent countless hours researching how nutrition can affect the way we look, feel, and perform.

My affinity for food and cooking began long before my entrance into competitive fighting. I come from two culturesItalian and Argentineanthat have deep-rooted traditions of culinary mastery. I spent many afternoons and weekends around my grandparents, learning the fine art of cooking and preparing delicious cuisine.

This book is a marriage of science and artfrom my studies and experiences to my innate passion for food, fitness, and performance. Not only are these recipes healthy and nutritious, but theyre also tried and true. Ive been using these recipes throughout my fighting career and theyve aided me in accomplishing my competitive and personal goals.

I wrote this book for all the people who have struggled to cook healthy meals for themselves in order to change their lifestyle. Performance isnt just for world-class competitive athletes. We all have to perform each day of our lives in whatever manner we choose to make our living. I approach life like I approach a bout: Its a competitionand I want to win. Whether youre an attorney in a courtroom, an accountant working in an office, or a weekend warrior triathlete, how you perform matters.

This book is meant for those who want to feel good, have tons of energy, and be mentally focused to wake up ready to attack their day. I dont care how driven you areif you dont feel good, motivation will be lacking. Wake up with vigor and be ready to achieve your goals. The recipes that follow can help you with your objectiveseven if and especially if you never compete in a cage or a ring. I hope you enjoy making and eating these meals. Theyre personal to me and I hope they can become personal to you. Buon appetito!

Chris Algieri

THE SCIENCE OF NUTRITION

Creating meals can feel like art, but how our bodies process foods is a science. Whether youre trying to eat better, youre a weekend warrior, or youre wanting to train to become a professional fighteror youre somewhere in betweenthis chapter explains how the macronutrients you digest can help you sculpt your warrior physique.

NUTRITION BASICS

No matter your livelihood, having a warriors mindset and a competitors attitude can help you take on any challenge you face. How you prepare to achieve mental and physical goalseven if you never jump into the cage or the ringis essential to success. But your training to look and feel like a fighter actually begins in the kitchen.

ENERGY

Every time you sit down at a table is a chance to improve how your body looks and feels. Every meal can potentially make you stronger and fitter, but without the proper nutritional balance, eating might make you feel slower and weaker. Developing a routine of meal frequency can help you make eating behavior changes as well as curb and control your appetite and cravings. Infrequent eating patterns can lead to sluggishness and difficulty in losing body fat. Your energy demands when working out are extremely high, and if you want to lose weight, finding the correct energy balance is key.

Small meals every 2 to 3 hours has been shown to be most effective for keeping sustained energy levels while also burning fat for fuel. Because time constraints can make eating large meals difficult, knowing what and when to eat can help ensure you get enough calories and macronutrients on any given day. Subsequent pages in this chapter discuss macronutrients and caloric needs as well as how the recipes in this bookput into weekly meal planscan help you meet your dietary and fitness goals.

METABOLISM

Metabolism is the process by which your body breaks down the foods you eat into energy. Any excess energy is stored in fat reserves for later use. This energy balance is directly connected to how active you are in relation to how much food you eat. If you burn more calories than you consume, then youll lose weight. (Conversely, if you consume more calories than you burn, youll gain weight.) When your metabolism is high, your body is efficient at breaking down food and using it for cellular processes. A high metabolism breaks down fat stores to help you maintain a steady energy source.

When youre working out, your metabolic demands are different when compared with times of inactivity. When youre exercising, youre moving continuously and constantly, seamlessly switching from one energy system to another. This makes it critical for you during these high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions to have properly fueled your body.

Your metabolism level depends on a number of factors, including age, genetics, activity level, and diet. The first two factors are out of your control. The last two, though, are highly variable, but you can manipulate them to increase your bodys fat-burning potential. High metabolism equals high fat-burning efficiency, leading to lean muscle mass and increased energyand a readiness to work toward reaching your personal and professional goals.

NUTRITION ESSENTIALS

Macronutrients have that name for a reason: Theyre the top-level building blocks you need for essential body processes. Without proper nutrition, all the physical movement in the world wont help you overcome a calorie surplus. Thus, frequently eating nutrient-rich foods throughout the day is key to a healthy and vigorous lifestyle, especially meals that combine healthy fats, nutritious carbohydrates, and lean proteins.