So, You Want To Be More "Toned"...

There is one word in the fitness world that drives me batty.  Ironically, it's the word I hear most when I'm talking health and fitness with my friends.  Toned.  Yes, toned.  For the love of all that is holy, what on earth do people mean when they say, "I want to be more toned?"  It bothers me because I don't think there's any one universal idea of what it means to be toned.  It kind of means something different to everyone.  I've heard people say, "I don't want to have more muscle, I just want to be more toned."  I've also heard people say, "I don't really want to loose weight, I want to tone up."  Now, this might be kind of a long shot here, but what I think people mean when they say that they want to be "toned", is that they want to be lean.  I mean, regardless of how much muscle you want on your body, everyone wants to be lean, right?  So let's talk about how lean works.

You have your bones.  Then you have muscles that cover your bones.  Then you have fat that covers your muscle (some of which is essential by the way).  THEN you have your skin that covers the layer of fat.  I do realize that there are about seven zillion other things inside your body, but let's keep this simple.  Okay.  So, when you workout, you're strengthening and hopefully building the amount of muscle you have on your body because you want to be strong, and you want to be able show off those muscles, right?  Right.  Problem is, you'll never be able to see those amazing muscles if you don't decrease the amount of fat on your body (this is why diet is by FAR the more important factor).  Here's the thing, everyone has muscle.  Even if they don't strength train.  All humans have muscle.  If your body fat is low enough, that muscle can be seen beneath your skin.  If not, it cant.  However, muscle and fat are totally different and not at ALL interchangeable.  You can't trade one for the other or turn one into the other, meaning you can't turn muscle into fat or fat into muscle.  They are as different as oil and vinegar.  Here's an example: right now, I weigh more than I ever have (not counting during pregnancy).  BUT, I'm also leaner than I've ever been.  Why?  Because I increased the amount of lean mass in my body (making my muscles larger and heavier) and decreased the amount of fat in my body (making my muscles more visible).  I gained more weight in muscle than I lost in fat, so the scale says that I weigh more, which I do (my number on a BMI chart actually says I'm overweight).  But, what my BMI and my scale don't take into consideration is my body fat/lean mass ratio.  I weigh more because I added muscle.  If I had added body fat, then yes, I would technically be considered "over weight."  Is it possible to gain lean mass and not get more lean?  Yes.  Absolutely.  You can gain muscle without losing body fat.  Bodybuilders do it in the off season.  It's called bulking.  They build muscle mass very quickly by strength training, but they also eat a MASSIVE amount of calories, which causes them to gain body fat as well (they shed the gained fat before competition - that's called cutting).  Is it possible to lose fat and not look more lean?  Yes and No.  If you're over weight to start with, losing body fat will definitely make you look more lean, but only to a certain point, especially if you're cardio-ing yourself to death.  At that point, you'll be losing fat but you'll also be losing a significant amount of muscle, IF you're not strength training.  

I think one thing that happens to a lot of women is that they can get within about 10 lbs of where they want to be, but then they plateau.  How many times have you said, "if I could just lose 10 pounds..."  I know.  It's aggravating.  But that's where HIIT and weights come into play.  The formula to change your body gets more complicated than just calories in vs. calories out as you get closer to where you want to be (which is where I feel the show Biggest Loser does everyone a huge disservice).  In fact, for a lot of people, the more they cut calories, the more their body clings to the last bit of stubborn fat.  You don't want to get stuck in the cycle of cutting more and more calories.  It's not sustainable and it will KILL your metabolism in the end.  I promise.  It will.  But you also don't want to get stuck in the cardio cardio and more cardio cycle.  Because ultimately you'll be burning your own lean tissue, and it can lead to...skinny-fat.  I know, I hate that word.  But it's the best way to describe what I mean.  Actually I googled "skinny-fat" images just to see what it would pull up.  Here's a good (kind of) example of what I'm talking about.

Okay.  Now, before you rail on me for using this picture, keep in mind that this is a fitness blog.  Is that body perfectly lovely and acceptable?  YES YES YES!  But it's not an athletic-looking body and we're talking about fitness here, specifically, muscle to fat ratios.  So, that is a good example of what I would imagine to be a person with low-ish body fat, but also low muscle mass.  Some people claim that this is totally genetic and unchangeable.  I beg to differ.  Genetics plays a very small part in your overall body composition.  VERY small.  Feel free to argue your case, but I'm here to tell you that your lifestyle dictates what your body looks like (unless you've got some sort of metabolic disorder).  Remember, own your baggage.  If you're body isn't what you want it to be, get real with yourself.  Pin point exactly what got you there and then you can begin to change it.

So, generally speaking, the two most important numbers with regards to body composition are body fat percentage and lean muscle mass percentage.  If your lean mass is in increasing or you're at least maintaining a decent percentage, and then you lower your body fat percentage, you get that lean athletic look.  But it's important to remember that specific numbers can look very different on different people.  My body fat percentage would be considered too low for someone who had more of an hourglass figure.  But when my body fat gets as high as an hourglass body's lowest, I'm actually over-fat.  Weird, I know, but that's how my body works.  Here's a good basic example I found online of what different body percentages look like.

This chart is not going to hold true for everyone.  I get that.  But it's a good general idea of what the female body looks like at different body fat percentages.  The only problem here is that it doesn't take lean mass percentages into consideration.  But hold that thought for just a sec.  Because this next picture is a perfect example of how the same percentage of body fat can look totally different on two different people.

The difference here (besides the tan), is that the gal in the blue suit has WAY more lean muscle tissue.  Her metabolism is also probably much higher as well.  That's not to say that the gal in the red suit is unhealthy.  I actually have no idea.  It's just interesting to see how different 15% body fat can look on two different people. So, there are these two extremes, but there's also everything in between.  That's what's so cool!  If you get your body fat to a good healthy level, you can use different kinds of workouts to create whatever look you want.  

My point in posting these pictures is to prove to you that you really do have a LOT of control over what your body looks like.

Once you understand how different exercises and different foods affect your fat/muscle ratio, you can look at your body as a clean slate that can eventually look however you want it to.  I don't know why but I think that's SO amazing.

I've mentioned before how important I think it is to have your body composition measured on a regular basis.  If you haven't done it, DO IT.  It's great to have a solid starting point.  Besides, it's super interesting.  However, once you have the initial analysis done, you should use the mirror and the way your clothes fit more than anything else (seriously, stay off the scale).  You'll start to see curves and indentations in places you've never had them before.  But remember, don't compare yourself to anyone else.  The only thing that matters is that YOU are becoming more lean, fit, and healthy (oh, okay...and toned).

I want to finish up here by telling you that this stuff can be tricky to talk about.  I'm not in ANY way telling people that they aren't absolutely wonderful just the way they are.  In terms of fitness and lifestyle, these are the things that I believe women wonder about, but because society has become so fragile, nobody dares to discuss them for fear of offending someone.  I'm blogging about these things under the assumption that the people who read this are people who are interested in it.  This is about health and fitness and re-shaping your body to look the way you want it to look.  It's not about telling women that they aren't good enough just the way they are.  Honestly, I realize that there is more to life than looking perfectly fit.  But I also know that when you feel good about how you look and you're living a healthy lifestyle, everything else just seems to work better.  I swearz I do more than workout and eat healthy.  They just happen to be things I'm interested in and deeply passionate about.  

Okay.  Sorry.  Just had to clarify.