Understanding Abdominals

Abdominals! One of the muscles in your body that has several names. Some say abs, 6 or 8 pack, and even core. Whatever you may know them as, they are responsible for holding your upper body and lower body together. You have to admit, that are great set of them will set you apart from those who fail to get theirs to show. The best way to get your abdominals to show is to best understand how they operate. So, here's a little education that will open your eyes and hopefully start you on a new strategy. There's actually 4 different sections that make up your entire abdominals and they are as follow: transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis, external oblique muscles, and internal oblique muscles. The definition and its functions are located in the diagram below:

Transverse abdomininis: Located under the obliques, it is the deepest of the abdominal muscles and wraps around your spine for protection and stability.

Rectus abdominis: Located along the front of the abdomen, this is the most well-known abdominal. Often referred to as the "six pack."

External abdominal oblique: Located on the side and front of the abdomen.


Internal abdominal oblique: Located under the external obliques, running in the opposite direction.


Getting your abdominal to show is challenging and is one of the most researched topic when it comes to fitness. They're are at least a hundred reasons why this is difficult because of the way our food is processed today and your knowledge level on how they operate. Plus, there's a lot of supplements and fat loss pills that have failed in their promises and it kind of discourages those who may have tried them. I hope that you haven't lost faith because I have a video that will give you hope and possibly motivation. 


Click on the video below to get a visual presentation on understanding abdominals.







Ladies and Gentlemen, I truly believe that once you understand how your abdominal operate, you'll find the most effective way to get to your desired results. Remember, that this process is not overnight and it will take some time. Use what I've provided you through this post and video and share your testimony afterwards.

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Your Guide to Gaining Weight and Staying Toned

Gaining weight and staying toned is just as challenging as losing weight and toning up. One of the most important things you have to do first is figure out what your calorie maintenance level is. You may or may not have heard that term refer to it as "caloric intake" or whatever else name someone decided to use. Nevertheless, it simply means is finding out the amount of calories it will take to maintain your current weight. That's important because in order to gain weight, you will have to exceed your calorie maintenance level and it's vice versa when it comes to losing weight. For the sake of this topic, I'm going to focus on gaining weight. 


Obviously, there's a few ways in which you can find out what your calorie maintenance level is. You can search online and find an online calculator that can assist, visit your doctor or any nutritionist, or you manually calculate your calories. I can tell you from experience that performing it manually takes time and discipline and will pretty much be more accurate than any other option. You will have to write down all the calories you consume on a daily basis (both eating and drinking). You will have to be truly honest with yourself and if you fail to record every calorie, then it will be all on you.



So, if you don't have patience to do it manually and want to start right away, then click on the following link to get an estimate: https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutcal.htm

Be sure to select the muscle gainz option under the "Goal" section and fill out the rest of the requirements. Once completed, you will have an estimate calorie maintenance level and starting point. 


If you choose the manual route, this is what you will have to consistently 
do. 

1. Eat the same number of calories each day for 3 weeks.

2. Weigh yourself at the end of the week (7 days) on an empty

stomach. For example, if you start on a Monday, then weigh yourself on 

the following Monday. If it's a Thursday, then weigh yourself on the

following Thursday. 

3. Write down your weight at the end of the week in your journal. Compare

your weight and monitor your results.

4. Adjust accordingly if needed.

If you found that your weight stayed the same, then you've found your

calorie maintenance level. All you will have to do is increase your calorie
intake from that number. For example, let's say that you weigh 160lbs and you found that your caloric intake was 2700 calories per day. What that's saying is that in order for you to maintain 160lbs, you will have to consume 2700 calories. For gaining weight, you would have to exceed 2700 calories per day. How much your body will gain depends on your physical activity. You would have to exceed that number and monitor and record your results. I would recommend
increasing your calorie intake between 250 - 500 extra calories a day and record your weight after 3 weeks. So, instead of 2,700 calories a day, your new caloric intake will be between 2,950 and 3,200 calories.



As far as numbers, gaining weight shouldn't be too much of an issue once you know what your caloric intake is. The challenge will be to do it in such a way to keep toned at the same time.



That will require a more in depth post which will come at a later date. For now, I'll provide you with an overall basic guideline to follow.

Consume foods that are high in protein

Foods that are high in protein support muscle growth and are important to help

you reach that toned or lean level. 

Focus on consuming lean proteins such as fish,

turkey, skinless chicken, flank steak, lean ground beef or turkey for example.

 Beans are very high in protein as well along with dairy

products. 

Avoid foods that are very high in saturated fat. 

If unable to get enough calories from food, look for a weight gainer protein that's low in sugar and fat. 

If you've found this information helpful, feel free to share it on your social
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Carbohydrates: Understanding how to choose between the Good ones and Bad ones

Carbohydrates -  are fibers, starches, and sugars naturally found in fruits, milk products, grains, and vegetables. It's also known as your body's "main source for energy"! 

You've probably heard a lot of people mentioned "good and bad carbs" without even elaborating on them, right? Well, don't feel alone because this post does not fall into that category. I'll try my best to go in depth just enough for you to get the understanding because carbohydrates can broken down in so many ways. So, let's get right to the difference.

The major difference between good and bad carbs relates to if they have been processed or not. Most foods that have been processed have ingredients listed on the back of food labels and the non-processed foods have not and are referred to as "Whole" foods.  

So, we will have to do our due diligence and take the time to read the back of food labels because there's a few ingredients that's a key give away that a food has been processed. Those ingredients are enriched, hydrogenated, hydrogenation, preservatives, refined, sodium benzoate, sugar alcohols, and the word "added". I'm pretty sure that they are several more ingredients, but those are just the main known ones.


Examples of whole foods are vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, poultry, fish, and meat. Remember that whole foods doesn't contain no extra ingredients. It's just the whole food itself. 

Just like carbs, the word "processed" is another confusing term and hasn't been legally defined but for the purpose of understanding carbohydrates, I will translate what it means.

One meaning of the term relates to companies taking foods, removing the impurities from them, and then infusing the nutrients back that was removed in the process. Another way can be as simple as you drying, freezing, baking, pasteurising, and canning foods to preserve the nutrients in them. So, according to that 2nd definition, you're probably eating more processed food than you thought.

Who's right and wrong can definitely be up for debate but that's another topic for another day. 

When it comes to working out, you definitely will need an adequate amount of energy to finish your workouts. Carbohydrates are crucial and you want to ensure that you're consuming the right amount of good carbs for eating and exercising.

Hopefully, this post help clarify some of the confusion when it comes to carbohydrates. So, I know there are some people out there who are using a no carb diet and I would say to reconsider that approach unless you have been directed by a doctor. I wouldn't recommend that you cut them out completely. If you're targeting the low carb route, please consume the good carbs. 

The FDA recommends that adults should aim at consuming 45 - 65% percent of carbs for your total calorie intake, which translates to about 130 grams a day. If you're pregnant, then you should consume about 175.


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Understanding Fat Will Help You Eliminate The Unnecessary Fat

A lot of people fail when it comes to eliminating fat around their midsection and I believe it's because many really don't understand how fat works within your body! To be honest with you, you probably won't be able to completely eliminate fat because it's our backup source for energy. Your body's primary fuel source comes from carbohydrates and when your body uses up all the carbs, it reaches out to the stored fat for more energy. So, your body will always have fat. How much of it will depend on how much you consume through eating and drinking. Also, here's something that you may or may not know: When you eat an excess amount of carbohydrates, your body would store the rest as "fat". So, you definitely want to be sure that you eat the recommended amount of good carbs versus the bad carbs. You can find a more in depth view of carbohydrates in my other post here http://thetruthfulblog101.blogspot.com/2017/05/carbohydrates-understanding-how-to.html. But for now, the focus will be on understanding how to eliminate unnecessary body fat.

Here's some facts about Fats that you need to know:

Fat contains more energy than any nutrient 

Fat provides 9 calories per gram

There are 4 different types of fat (Saturated, Transfat, Polyunsaturated, Monounsaturated)

Mono & Polyunsaturated fats are the healthier fats

Saturated and Transfat are the bad fats

To eliminate most of the belly fat around your midsection, you will have to cut down on the saturated and transfats. Now, for those who are thinking about just cutting out fats period; Hold that thought! That route will be like a suicide mission & you don't want to starve your body of fats. Here's why that's not a wise choice. Our bodies was perfectly made to protect us in the event that you can't eat at regular intervals. In the case that you don't eat, your body will hold on to the stored fat and slowly feed the main organs of the body to help keep you alive until you can replenish it with the nutrients it needs. People may see some results starving themselves, but as soon as they start back eating regularly, their weight returns. So, I will urge to stay away from starving yourself and eat quality food that contains the healthier fats so they can provide nutrients for your body.

So, you're probably wondering how much fat should you eat on a daily basis, right? That's a great question and I've came across many different answers and I'd like the recommendation that the American Heart Association (AHA) has. They recommend that adults should consume around 5% to 6% of calories from saturated fats. To put that in perspective, let's say that you're on a 2,000 calories a day plan. 5 to 6% of those calories equals to 100-120 calories a day. If you're on a different daily calorie intake, then use the following formula to come up with your recommended amount of calories.

5/100 = 0.05    0.05 x 2,000 =100
6/100 = 0.06    0.06 x 2,000 = 120

I converted 5% to decimal form by dividing it by 100 (5/100), which equals 0.05
Then, I took 0.05 and multiply it by the daily calorie intake, which is 2,000 (0.05 x 2,000) to come up with 100. If you follow the same format for 6%, it will give you 120 as your answer.

Even though saturated is one of the bad fats, you still need a little bit of them in your body. It's when we consume too much of the saturated fats, that causes the problems in our bodies.

So, the next time you eat something, take a look at the nutritional label (usually on the back of the product) and examine just how much saturated fat it has in it. You'll be surprised on how much some foods contains.

I will also be breaking down foods that are within the different 4 fat classes in the near future. So, comment, share, and like this blog and remember that I'm always open for feedback. If there's anything that you would like for me to talk about, request it.

If you're looking for an advanced way to reduce your belly fat and weight, grab a copy of my eBook below by clicking on the image! If the image click doesn't work, then click or enter the following url in your web browser. https://www.amazon.com/Liver-Detox-Role-Weight-Loss-ebook/dp/B010E8NFY0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1499087871&sr=8-2&keywords=troy+allen

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Why you must have a plan Inside and Outside of the Gym?

Sometimes, we have a habit of looking at another individual fitness results from the outside and automatically think that it came easy. I would like to pause for a few seconds to let you all know that I was definitely guilty in that regard. I was grateful enough to be able to speak to a few individuals that have achieved the results that I desired to have. Even though I was busting my behind doing a lot of high intensity workouts, I still wasn't getting my desired results. For the record, I was never huge or big in any type of way. I was real skinny but lack the tone and muscle definition that I wanted to have. That's when I was guided to studying and examining the back of food labels (Hence the outside plan my title is referring to). Once I've gained the discipline and the will to do so, I've gained clarity on a whole lot of things. So, my challenge to you is to go upon that same path. I want you to see how "understanding" the types of food you consume plays a major role of shaping your body.


Even though I can make you aware of some things, I can't make you want to do it. That's a decision you must make with yourself. I've met plenty of people who mentioned that they would like to learn about the effects of certain foods but look for me to just give them all the answers. Ladies and gents, that's the wrong concept to have plus I don't have all the answers. I'm too busy studying and focusing on a ton of new things that's coming out. I spend time researching them to see if it will benefit my body in anyway. Now, don't get me wrong; I have no problem discussing things with people, but just know that you have to be accountable and take some initiative yourself. Go ahead and conduct your own research, jot down things that don't make sense to you, and then we can talk about it. If you can take the time to do just that, then that tells me a lot about you.


Throughout my fitness journey, I've completed and attempted so many types of exercises. I've found that over time, your body will get used to a certain routine. There's debates out there about how long your body will get used to them. I'm not going to get into the debates, but just know that your body will. I believe you should switch up your workouts every now and then. It could be every 3 weeks, every 2 months, 6 months, whatever you may decide. Doing different types will only benefit your body.


Remember, keep doing different types of exercises and take the time to understand the types of foods that's entering your body. Once you make the decision to understanding the foods, the easier your plan will be to achieve your desire body.


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Commit To Be Fit

When it comes to fitness, there's one rule that I consistently abide by and that's commitment. sets the tone for everything else that follows. That rule is "COMMIT TO BE FIT"!!!! So, it didn't matter how long it took me, it didn't matter what I was going through, as long as I kept that commitment, I knew it was going to happen. Here's another thing that I want to point out: "BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN DO IT"

I've came across of lot of individuals throughout my fitness journey that just didn't had that belief. So, what did I do? Well, I believed in them until they believe for themselves! I'll admit that it takes time and everyone is not on the same level when they first make a commitment like that. Your mind is the one that needs to be convincing and then your body will follow. Motivation and Inspiration are 2 things that I've found to be very contagious and it will help others conquer their goals. So, to all of my people out there who are motivating and inspiring others, I salute to you all!!!

If you need any motivation, then don't be afraid to subscribe to my blog as I'll share some motivation time and time again. I know that I can't be around you physically, so hopefully the words in my blog will be motivating enough!!

In addition to your commitment and fitness goals, I would like to share with you to be smart about supplements that you may be using. I'd prefer supplements that are more of a natural state rather than those that are artificially created. The following supplement that I'm recommending is for those who are looking for alternative ways to help burn fat and decrease their belly size. Before I mentioned the supplement, I want you to remember this: "There's no magic pill or supplement that can help you get fit or lose belly fat ALONE" It's that combination of healthy eating and exercise that will ultimately get you to that level. So, to help you start get started to losing your belly fat; Click here!

You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking on the link below for videos about exercising, nutrition,  and fitness.


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Why is Obtaining 6 Pack Abs So Hard?

Why does it seem difficult to have visible 6 or 8 pack abs? I know this is one question that most have asked yourself or others and you've probably came across many different answers.Most of them may have been true and most of them may have been not. It can definitely get confusing, especially when what you're trying has been exposed or it just doesn't work at all.

I truly believe that the reason most people struggle points to the fact that you haven't been taught how to attack them from an eating perspective. Exercising, crunches, and core exercises are great to help strengthen your abs but they will not make them show. The way that you get them to show is to reduce the belly fat that lies over them. I can tell you from experience that it's definitely easier said than done. Getting to that level takes discipline ladies and gentlemen as well as education. It is not an overnight process. That last sentence is worth repeating. "IT IS NOT AN OVERNIGHT PROCESS!" Excuse me from using all caps, I just want to be sure you understand the statement. I don't want you to get discourage either because I'm here to educate and make sure you start on a more effective path. Take a look at the video below to get started.

I came across this quote and want to share it with you.

"There's A Difference Between Interest And Commitment. When You're Interested In Doing Something, You Do It Only When It's Convenient. When You're Committed To Something, You Accept No Excuses; Only Results." by Kenneth Blanchard



Remember, that it's all about education and here's the perfect solution to help you get started on reducing your belly fat. Click on the eBook image below to get your copy so you start turning excuses into results.

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