Priorities…

If you want to lose fat and be “toned” there is a hierarchy of effort you should follow.

1st place is a calorie deficit

I don’t care what other things you do if u are not in a deficit you will not lose fat

2nd protein intake.

Most people in pursuit of losing weight don’t eat enough protein.  Protein is quite literally the raw materials u need to keep and build muscle.  If In pursuit of losing weight u lose muscle…guess what happens?  Body fat percentage goes up!  Ever heard of “skinny fat”?  That’s not being “toned”.

3rd STRENGTH TRAIN

So many people get this wrong.  They think cardio burns fat and lifting does not.  WRONG!  You get all the benefits that come with cardio and the added benefit of creating lean muscle.  By the way, that’s called getting “toned”.  When your muscle is visible, that is tone.  So we have to prioritize keeping our muscle while dieting.

****Ladies…u will NOT get bulky from muscle.  If you build muscle and DO NOT lose fat u may appear bulkier that’s why you have to honor rule #1 when in pursuit of fat loss and increasing tone!

#4 NEAT (non exercise thermogenesis)

Here’s the facts, u burn more cals through NEAT than u ever could through a workout.  This is all things that aren’t exercise.  Including walking.  Raising your NEAT through more walking is the cheat code to fat loss.  10k steps is a standard most can meet!

#5 Cardio….

Surprised?  Most people think cardio is how you lose fat.  WRONG!  This is why MOST (not all) people who use running as their main fitness modality don’t look very toned.  I’m not saying cardio is bad but when it comes to a hierarchy of fat loss it’s the least important.  To be clear I do 20-40min of low intensity cardio every day.  But It does not carry any super power over fat loss!

That’s the facts folks!

– Andy McCloy