The Foods You Should be Eating

Q: Jay said...

       "I hear everyone always saying that I should be eating right but no one ever really says what foods are considered the "right" foods. What foods do you recommend?"

A: AP FIT says...

       Hi Jay! I'm super excited you brought up this question! Nutrition is one of my favorite things to speak about specially since 80% of the fitness equation is nutrition. Everyone wants a rad set of abs but little do they know that the way to abs-ville is nutrition road.

To be truthful there is no single person in the world that has an exact replica out there, not even identical twins are the same. This is true for bodies as well. Not all diets work for everyone and not all workouts work for everyone. In order to identify what you need to eat you need to identify your goals. However, I'm going to keep this as barebones and general as I can since I do not know your specifics.

First, let me explain the diet fads and how they do more harm than good. The first thing you think of dieting is, weight loss immediately followed by extreme limitations and to a degree you're right. In order to maintain healthy weight loss you must use restrain but the problem with all these mainstream diets is that they force you to eat their products all the time. Yes, I'm talking about you Atkins diet, south beach diet and the new line from special K advertising high protein. IT'S ALL A BUSINESS! Whatever you do, don't go to the store and force yourself into these media hypes.

The best thing you can do when "dieting" is scratch all that nonsense and hype you see in magazines and tv ads and stick to what you enjoy eating. If you enjoy eating rice then eat rice but instead make a healthier choice. Instead of eating white rice or white pasta, eat whole wheat products. They also make tofu pasta which is delicious if cooked well. It's not about dieting and restrictions it's about making healthier choices for life. With that being said you want to eat carbohydrates, proteins and fats in the majority of meals. FATS YOU SAY? Yes, fats! There's a big difference between healthy fats and bad fats (ummm...donuts). You must also eat at least six times a day to infuse your metabolism with fat burning super powers.

Set a meal plan that looks like this, eating every two to three hours:

1. Breakfast
2. Snack
3. Lunch
4. Snack
5. Dinner
6. Snack

• Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner must contain Proteins, Carbohydrates and Vegetables.
• Your snacks must contain Proteins and carbohydrates.
• Healthy fats can be incorporated throughout your meals but preferably in the morning time when your metabolism will be at its most active unless you workout at night.

Now here is a sample list of foods in each bracket, use it wisely.

Proteins

• Frozen, skinless chicken breasts
• Low-fat sliced chicken or turkey deli meat
• Eye of round beef steak
• Turkey burgers
• Canned tuna packed in water
• Salmon filet
• Trout
• Haddock
• Low-fat cottage cheese
• Fresh eggs
• Egg substitute
• Low-Carb Protein Shakes

Carbohydrates

• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Apples
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Pears
• Celery
• Water chestnuts
• Scallions
• Low sodium dill pickles
• Spinach leaves
• Fresh tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Carrots
• Romaine lettuce
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Sweet potatoes
• White potatoes
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Canned whole tomatoes
• Fresh mushrooms
• Canned kidney beans
• Old-fashioned oatmeal
• Whole-wheat tortillas
• Low-fat whole-wheat frozen waffles
• Whole-wheat English muffins
• Whole-wheat pita bread
• Whole-wheat bread
• Whole-wheat hamburger buns
• Whole-wheat spaghetti
• Whole-wheat flour
• Brown rice

Healthy Fats

• Almonds/slivered almonds
• All-natural peanut butter/Almond Butter
• Almond Milk
• Sodium-Free Mixed nuts
• Avocado

Hope this helps you out Jay and thank you for being a reader!

Stay Strong. Stay Focused.