The Best Foods To Eat and Tone Up

Before I get started with this post, I have a confession to make! Finding the best foods to eat for toning can be challenging. One of the main reasons why is steered towards those of biased opinions. You will come across a lot of false information and false promises that will delay your process in finding the right foods. Even though I just made you aware, do not get discouraged as I will try and be as transparent as I can. We can all agree that our food industry is constantly changing. Prices have skyrocketed on certain foods and it is more expensive to get the best, fresh, and healthier foods.


One question you must ask yourself is, "How important is my health?" If you feel that it's one of your top priorities in life, then you will make no excuses in doing whatever is possible to achieve that. We all have that one thing in life that we're going to do no matter what. If you can somehow treat your health like that, then you will definitely progress.


I will reveal to you the most basic guideline you can follow when it comes to deciding what foods to consume for toning. Keep in mind that this is just basic and if you will like a more extensive guide, then you can grab a copy of my eBook from Amazon at the bottom of this blog post.

Basic Guideline

1. Eat foods that are high and have a good source of protein. Consuming more than 100 grams of protein a day is the range that you want to aim for. 20% or higher of your calorie intake should be from proteins as well. Here are some great examples of foods that are high in protein. Salmon, eggs, almonds, chicken breasts, turkey, oats, greek yogurt, tuna, and lean beef. There are plenty more of course, but I'm just keeping it at a basic level.

2. Eat more vegetables aka (veggies). As cliche as that may sound, it's hard to get to that toned level without them. I'm pretty sure you may run into that 1 individual who may have gotten lean without them. But for the majority of us, you will need them so please don't avoid them. All greens are great for toning and here are the best options. Spinach, celery, cabbage, collards, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, turnips, squash, and cucumbers. 

3. Fruits! You definitely cannot go wrong with fruits. Now, you do have to worry about the natural sugars that fruits produce but it's a better trade-off than foods with added sugars. So, stay away from fruits or any foods that have added sugar in them. Here are some great choices for fruit selection.
Watermelon, grapefruits, papaya, bananas, apples, and all berries ( strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, etc).

4.  Limit the amount of processed foods you consume. Choose whole foods instead that are very low in sodium and high in fiber. Low sodium range should be less than 500 mg a day. To put that in perspective, 1 teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 mg of sodium. High fiber range for men should be anything over 38 grams a day. Women will be anything over 25 grams per day. This process will help to reduce bloating and water retention which hides your lean muscle. High fiber examples are vegetables, whole grain breads, nuts, any type of seeds, potatoes, and fruits. One thing to add to your memory bank, "Whole foods doesn't need ingredients listed on its nutritional content." That's one main difference when it comes to comparing it to processed foods. Processed foods means that ingredients were added to it.


5. If you consume alcoholic beverages, you really have to cut back on them. So, instead of
turning up, you need to do the opposite and turn down. Not necessarily cut them out entirely but for the sake of becoming lean, stay away from them until you're lean. Alcohol has a lot of uncounted calories and can quickly add up before your realize it. I can honestly say that when I cut out alcohol, I was able to really speed up my results.  I do from time to time have a beer or two or an occasional mixed drink, but I promise you it's not a weekly or monthly thing.


6. Until you get to your lean status, you should plan to eat at the same time every day. I know that can be challenging because we have to deal with life as anything can happen that can throw you off course. Aim for 3 weeks when you first start to see if it's something that you can commit to.


7. Be active and perform some type of exercise. Preferably high intensity exercises if your body can handle it. It's very rare to become toned and fit without exercise. How many people do you know have been blessed with that ability?


As much as I would like to give you more, this is just a basic guideline that you can follow to get on the right track. This process will be challenging but you're strong enough to overcome anything once you commit to it mentally. Now, you have the tools for you to get started. It's all up to you! Much success on your lean journey!

If you've found this information helpful, feel free to share it with your family, friends, and on your social media sites. Leave a comment or post your questions if you have any in the comment box below.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and I hope it blesses you in so many ways!

Follow and SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel by clicking on the link
below for relevant videos about workouts, nutrition, and fitness.

https://youtu.be/cVoKxTm8Ij8

How To Read Food Labels

Reading food labels has finally reach the radar for most individuals and I always wonder why it took so long. Anyway, just like anything else in life, this topic can get confusing when you don't truly understand what you're reading. Lucky for you, I will take some time to dive into the important factors that you want to pay attention to. Take a look at the image below to get a visual of how most food labels appear on a product.

The first thing you want to focus on is the "serving size & servings per container" because it sets the tone for everything else. Let's look at how this come into play when you're focusing on just the amount of calories. So, for all of my people who tracking calories, you especially want to pay close attention to this segment. If you look at the picture above, the amount of calories is listed as 90 and 30 of those calories come from fat. Most people will assume that this food only contains 90 calories. Remember the serving size and servings per container I was referring to. Well, 90 calories is not the correct amount of calories in this case. Look at the servings per container! It's listed as 3 so the amount of calories you will consume if you eat this entire package is 270. You will have to multiply the calories times the servings per container. 

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.

If you've found this information helpful, feel free to share it with your family, friends, and on your social media sites. Leave a comment or post your questions below in the comment box.  

Follow and SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel by clicking on the link below for relevant videos about nutrition and fitness.

https://youtu.be/rS_DWJMmT24

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
media sites. Leave a comment or post your questions if you have any. 

You can also follow and SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel by clicking on the link below for relevant videos about nutrition and fitness.

https://youtu.be/rS_DWJMmT24

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.


Like what you've read? Feel free to share on Face Book or Twitter using 
the super-easy share buttons below.. Leave a comment or post your questions if you have any. 

You can also follow and SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel by clicking on the link 
below for relevant videos about workouts, nutrition, and fitness.


https://youtu.be/rS_DWJMmT24

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

Like what you've read? Feel free to share with your family, friends, and on your favorite social media sites. Leave a comment or post your questions in the comment box below.

Follow and SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel by clicking on the link
below for relevant videos about workouts, nutrition, and fitness.

https://youtu.be/rS_DWJMmT24

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.


If you feel that anyone can benefit from this blog, share it on your social media page. Like it and comment below!