Over 70% of Americans are overweight or obese.
These statistics are staggering, to say the least. It’s no surprise, then, that most of us are looking for ways to lose weight and tone up fast!
Being overweight or obese increases our risk of multiple diseases and health complications. For example, obesity is a leading cause of diabetes, heart diseases, strokes, high blood pressure, and certain types of cancer.
Wouldn’t it be wise if we all got a little more fit?
Whether you’re after a tight, toned body or just a healthier life, keep reading if you want some answers!
Check out our top 11 tips on how to tone up fast!
How to Tone Up Fast and Maintain It
One of the most common incorrect assumptions in the fitness world is that results are going to happen overnight and with little effort.
Nothing in life is free, including health and fitness.
Anyone can get healthy, fit, and toned. The key to success lies in your mind, not your body. You must commit to changing your lifestyle.
If you can remain mentally disciplined and consistent, these 11 tips (especially when combined) can get you the results you want fast and help you keep them!
1. Cut Out Sugars
Learning how to tone up fast will take some sacrifices. One of the most important steps and sacrifices is cutting out sugars. However, to keep you off those sweets long term, it’s important to understand why.
Throughout the day, the food we eat provides energy for our bodies. When we indulge in high-sugar foods and drinks, however, it’s too much energy for us to handle at once.
When our bodies feel the high sugar content enter, it secretes insulin. This insulin causes extra energy (sugar) to be stored for later usage. Unfortunately, this is a long way of saying your body turns excess sugar into fat.
And since we don’t live in a place where we experience famines, the stored energy is never needed, so it just sits there and accumulates.
Depriving our body of these simple and processed sugars will give it a reason to call upon the fat stores for energy!
Cut out sodas, sports drinks, cookies, candy, ice cream, etc. Some people can drop up to 10 pounds in a matter of weeks just from cutting out sugar!
2. Be More Active
If you’re trying to figure out how to tone up fast, do it outside! Being active and moving our bodies burns more calories throughout the day than just sitting around.
The calories in versus calories out equation is the basic formula for weight loss. You want to consume fewer calories than you burn. This will put you in a caloric deficit every day, calling upon your fat stores to pick up the slack.
Park farther away from the door when going to work or the grocery store. Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. Choose a standing desk for your office or workspace so you aren’t sitting all day.
The more active you are, the more calories you’ll burn!
3. Lower Carb and Increase Protein
While carbs are not the enemy of weight loss, too many carbs can set you back.
Both complex and simple carbs are basically the same thing – sugar.
Don’t panic! We just told you to cut out sugar, but that doesn’t mean all carbs!
However, try to only eat complex carbs like brown rice, whole wheat bread or pasta, vegetables, beans, and lentils, etc. Complex carbs generally have more fiber, which means it takes more energy and time for your body to process them.
This will serve as a slower release of energy, rather than a quick load dumped in through a single drink.
Secondly, it’s important that you take in enough protein. Protein is very important for muscle growth. So if working out is part of your solution of how to tone up fast, protein is a must!
4. Drink More Water
Roughly 60% of our bodies are water. Therefore, it makes sense to consume plenty of it to keep our bodies running efficiently.
Most people don’t drink enough water. They choose coffee, energy drinks, sports drinks, or soda to drink at work. They think they need those drinks for energy.
However, by not hydrating appropriately, they are losing energy! Replacing those drinks with water can save you hundreds of calories a day and give you more energy!
How much water should you be drinking? Find out the answer here!
5. Lift Weights
Let’s just get this out of the way now. No, you won’t get bulky and huge by lifting weights.
Secondly, in order to have the toned look, there must be underlying muscle. Being skinny doesn’t equate to being fit or tone.
Lift weights. In fact, lift heavy weights. Challenge yourself to get stronger!
If you are completely opposed to pumping iron, however, there are ways to strength train without lifting weights.
Building muscle increases your metabolic rate, which makes you burn more calories throughout the day.
6. Try Interval Training
Aside from strength training, try incorporating a HIIT program into your routine. HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training.
This is a great way to get in a fast workout while keeping your heart rate up the entire time. HIIT workouts are a balanced mix of anaerobic exercise and strength training.
When learning how to tone up fast, interval training is a fantastic asset to have in your arsenal.
7. Carb Cycle
Again, carbs aren’t inherently bad. In fact, we need them, especially if we are exercising and staying active.
However, for those looking to tone up and drop some weight, consider carb-cycling throughout your day.
Carb-cycling focuses on picking the right time to eat your carbs (which are sugars). By eating your carbs for the day right before and immediately following your workout, your body will take those sugars and put them right where they’re needed – into the muscles for recovery.
Working out exhausts your muscles, priming them for energy intake! Then, throughout the rest of the day, it’s like a small and healthy carb-fast.
8. Intermittent Fasting
For those who are really want to answer the question of how to tone up fast, intermittent fasting may be the best solution!
Don’t get scared away, it’s not an extreme weight-loss method. In fact, you can eat regularly every day.
Intermittent fasting dictates eating all of your calories within an eight-hour window and fasting for the other 16 each day. This forces your body to slowly chip away at its fat stores!
9. Cut Out Processed Foods
Processed foods can be traced to many of America’s health problems. Depending on what circles you run in, you may even believe they are one of the top causes of cancer.
Processed foods are pumped full of chemicals, substitutes, preservatives, and synthetic hormones (in meat). None of these are natural substances we were meant to be consumed.
Additionally, processed foods generally have high levels of fat, sodium, and sugar in them as well. The food companies know what tastes good and keeps the masses coming back for more.
The problem is, it works. In fact, these foods have been proven to be addictive.
10. Create a MODERATE Calorie Deficit
As we stated earlier, the calories in versus calories out equation is the most basic and efficient formula for losing weight.
The key is creating enough of a calorie deficit to make a difference without overdoing it. Amusingly, cutting your calories too much will result in your body fighting you to lose weight. Sure, you’ll have great success for the first couple of weeks, then your body puts the brakes on.
It reacts as if it were in a famine and begins to slow your metabolism to hold on to as much stored energy (fat) as possible. Not good!
You should aim for a 15% calorie deficit. This will help you lose weight at a healthy and sustainable rate.
11. Avoid Dairy
Lastly, when deciding how to tone up fast, try to cut out dairy.
Many dairy products like cheese, yogurt, and ice cream have loads of fat content. Cutting out these unnecessary products from your diet can go a long way to reducing your caloric intake.
While it may seem like a huge sacrifice, there are many non-dairy products on the market to easily replace things like milk, ice cream, etc. However, you still need to be wary of the fat and sugar content of those items!
Before you ask, no, you don’t need milk for calcium. In fact, studies have actually shown that milk leeches calcium from your bones rather than strengthening them.
Additionally, from an evolutionary standpoint, isn’t it a little odd that humans drink what is basically breast milk from another species? Cows only produce milk when they’re pregnant and weaning their calves. That would be like having a pregnant woman feed her dog her breast milk.
Finally, cutting dairy has several other positive side effects. For example, a dairy-free diet can improve your skin and complexion and decrease bloating!
The Fighter Physique
Some of the fittest and tone people in the world are recreational and professional fighters.
For example, Muay Thai training will help you lose weight and get strong. It would be a great answer for those looking how to tone up fast. However, you also get the bonus of learning how to defend yourself and participate in an amazing traditional sport.
Check out our Boot Camp Fitness page for more workout and exercise articles!