This post contains 8 tips to help you lose fat and achieve a toned body.
Disclaimer: For the purpose of this post, when I refer to ‘toning up’ (or anything of the equivalent) I mean building muscle while simultaneously losing fat to achieve a desired appearance.
Let’s face it, dieting and working out can be a miserable experience, especially toward the beginning of the journey.
Often, we try out a “fad diet” for a few weeks, see a little progress, and then find this method to be extremely unsustainable and revert to our old ways. This is commonly referred to as “yo-yo dieting”.
This can be a frustrating cycle but don’t worry, this post is here to help!
We will look at sustainable and *scientifically proven* strategies that can help make weight loss a breeze!
Even better? NONE of these weight loss tips include restricting or avoiding carbs in your diet. I simply could not promote that because for me, carbs = happiness.
We’re simply focusing on creating lasting habits and a sustainable change in our lifestyle. This will help us to better maintain these results while also reaping the additional health benefits!
NONE of these weight loss tips include restricting or avoiding carbs in your diet.
Beware of misleading information!
‘Toned’ vs ‘bulky’
The term ‘tone up’ has been thrown around for many decades by health and fitness professionals as well as the general population. However, few are unaware of its misleading connotations.
‘Toning up’ encourages the idea of ‘tightening the muscles’ to achieve a more ‘athletic appearance’.
Many workout programs use this kind of language to appeal to women since it steers away from scarier terms such as ‘building muscle’ which many women may believe will result in a ‘bulky’ appearance instead.
So let’s clear one thing up before we begin… to look ‘toned’ you HAVE to build muscle while losing body fat.
What fitness professionals refer to as a ‘muscle toning workout’, is actually a ‘muscle building workout’. And Yes! The results will be the exact same because it is the exact same process.
I’ve included this little bit of information with the hope of informing more men and women about the body while dismissing misleading information.
Don’t be fooled into purchasing a specific program that promises to ‘tone’ instead of creating a ‘bulky’ body. These are just marketing ploys used to make more money from a less informed audience!
To look ‘toned’ you HAVE to build muscle while losing body fat.
Even if men and women performed the exact same workouts, it is extremely difficult for a woman to become ‘bulky’. Women naturally gave much lower levels of the muscle-building hormone testosterone, making it very difficult for them to gain muscle mass in the same way.
Bottom line, women don’t be afraid of gaining muscle! If you’ve been performing ‘toning’ workouts, you’ve already been doing it anyway!
Reducing belly fat
I’ll keep this short. You cannot ‘spot reduce’ body fat.
You HAVE to lose fat from your entire body if you’re trying to reduce belly fat (or fat from any other area of the body).
If an exercise programme promises you to reduce solely your belly fat, it is lying to you! Please make informed decisions and purchase from professionals who are not just simply trying to take your money.
Okay, now my mini rant is over, let’s take a look at some techniques to achieve a ‘toned’ body.
Fat Loss Tips To Get A ‘Toned’ Body
Each of these methods focuses on encouraging the body to build muscle, lose fat, or both to achieve a desired ‘toned’ look.
Eating low GI
Just to prove to you how serious I am about continuing to eat carbs, I’ll begin with this weight loss (more specifically fat loss) tip.
For a long time, carbs have been considered the enemy of the health and fitness world.
But what if I told you that not all carbs are created equal AND you can even continue eating all carbs with a few genius tricks?
GI stands for ‘Glycemic Index‘. This is a scale that indicates how much certain foods spike your blood sugar levels. The higher the number on the scale, the greater your blood sugar will spike when the food is digesting.
Higher blood sugar levels, cause the hormone insulin to encourage this excess glucose (or energy) to be stored as body fat. This demonstrates the importance of maintaining stable blood sugars.
Higher blood sugar levels, cause the hormone insulin to encourage this excess glucose (or energy) in the blood to be stored as body fat.
Foods that take longer to digest, such as items high in protein, fats, and/or fibre, are lower on the glycemic index. Therefore we should make a great effort to include these nutrients in our diet.
Now you understand what GI is, it’s easy to understand why carbohydrates are viewed as the ‘enemy’.
Simple carbohydrates (refined carbs that are higher in sugar and low in fibre) digest extremely quickly, causing blood sugars to spike rapidly.
However, there is a way to avoid such a high rise in our blood glucose levels!
We can lower this spike by combining these foods with low-GI options. The higher fat, protein, and fibre in these low GI foods, help to reduce spikes in blood sugar when paired with high GI foods. How cool is that?!
To learn more about how blood sugar levels can be affecting your health, I recommend reading the incredible book ‘Glucose Revolution’ by Jessie Inchauspe (aka The Glucose Goddess).
Increase NEAT
NEAT is another acronym I’ll introduce you to.
This stands for ‘non-exercise activity thermogenesis’ which essentially refers to the energy (or calories) burned when performing daily tasks that are not sleeping, digesting, or exercise-related.
Examples of NEAT include:
- cleaning
- taking the stairs
- steps
- shopping
- fidgeting!
Studies have proven that increasing your NEAT can help weight loss efforts since it can help achieve or widen an individual’s calorie deficit.
Therefore, use the stairs instead of an escalator if possible. Or choose to walk to the corner shop instead of driving.
These small changes will make all the difference!
Besides, what better excuse for going shopping than to boost your NEAT?!
Steps
This tip is a continuation of the principle of NEAT that we discussed in the previous weight loss strategy since steps are considered a form of ‘NEAT’.
Tracking daily steps has become a recent trend in the fitness community.
This is because increasing your steps will help your body use more energy, maintain a calorie deficit, and encourage weight loss!
Top tip: Many people use fitness watches to track their daily steps however many smartphones include this feature for free! For example, if you have an iPhone, the ‘Health’ App will provide you with a good estimation of how many steps you’ve taken that day.
“But how many steps should I do?”
Although there is no magic number for the amount of steps to do for weight loss, aiming for at least 8,000 is a great and realistic starting goal.
Resistance Training First!
As I said in the introduction, building muscle is key to looking ‘toned’. This is what changes your body composition and makes the muscles more prominent or ‘pop‘.
However, many people still believe that cardio is the best way to lose fat and often avoid the weight section completely.
If this is you, then listen up!
Resistance training is crucial for achieving the toned physique you’re searching for.
It is undeniable that cardio is great for burning calories, but when it comes to building muscle, it is less impressive.
This is important for weight loss since the more muscle you have, the more energy (calories) your body uses when resting.
Therefore, train smarter by using resistance training to increase your calorie expenditure even when you’re not at the gym!
In summary, despite cardio being a great tool to use for weight loss, I’d advise using this as a supplement to your resistance training programme to achieve the best results.
Protein is your best friend
We all know that adequate protein intake is required to build muscle, but did you know that it facilitates fat loss too?
This makes protein your best friend when trying to achieve your desired ‘toned’ physique.
This doesn’t mean you have to knock back protein shakes like there’s no tomorrow. There are other clever ways of increasing your protein intake like combining animal and plant proteins in one meal.
Start increasing your protein intake and reap the benefits such as remaining ‘fuller’ for longer and reduced blood sugar crashes throughout the day!
Recommended: 9 Smart Yet Easy Ways To Eat More Protein Daily
Chill out
High levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) can also promote fat storage in the body.
Therefore, it is a good idea to start including various cortisol-lowering activities such as meditation in your daily routine.
Not only will this improve your quality of life, but it is also a great last option for those who have “seriously tried everything”. Why not give it a go?
Stay hydrated
Remaining well hydrated over the course of the day is crucial for maintaining a ‘toned’ physique.
In general, drinking enough water will help your body be less bloated and puffy, have more energy, and keep you regular (if you know what I mean).
However, when it comes to weight loss, water is also the magic ingredient. This is because lipolysis (the process of metabolising fat) cannot take place without adequate hydration.
Additionally, water has also been shown to suppress the appetite and even increase calorie burning!
Top tip: If you or a loved one struggles to drink enough water throughout the day, then why not purchase a water bottle with time markings? This can be very motivating and means you can sip away without manually tracking how much you’re drinking!
Patience and consistency
It can be hard to hear but a ‘toned’ body cannot and will not be achieved overnight.
However, with consistency and patience (plus these super handy tricks), you’ll be guaranteed to achieve your goal!
With these lifestyle changes, you’ll develop solid daily habits that will ensure you can maintain a healthy body over time too.
Trust me- the results will be worth it. Just stick to your plan and believe that you’ve got this!
This post provides useful strategies that are scientifically backed to help achieve a ‘toned’ body. Don’t forget to save or share this post for later!
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