I hear this word a lot, and it makes me cringe every time I hear it. Toned. “I want to be toned”, “I want to look toned”, “I just need to tone up”, “I used to be so toned”. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? I am not sure where this word came into play, or who even thought they would start the trend, but I am here to tell you exactly what being “toned” means and the truth behind it!
Difference between losing weight and losing fat
I want to start off by talking about the difference between losing weight, and losing fat. This body fat guide will help you distinguish. In this day and age, everyone is obsessed with being smaller. They want to take up less space, they want to fit into smaller clothes, they want to weigh less, they want to BE less; this is the case for women especially! Well, the truth is, that LOSS you want to see isn’t always going to be a good thing. Losing weight (in terms of a smaller number on the scale) is going to mean a number of things. It could be the loss of muscle mass, bone density, water, or even fat. Which, if you are following here, is not a good thing. We want that hard earned muscle to stay put, so why would we want the number on the scale to go down? I think what we want, in general, is to lose fat. This means we might stay the same weight (while replacing fat with muscle) or the scale might even go up! But have no fear, because that shift from fat to muscle will make you smaller! Muscle does not WEIGH more than fat, but it is denser. Which means 1lb of fat is much LARGER visually than 1lb of muscle. So moral of this part, lets not focus on losing weight, but rather losing fat. Which brings me to that lovely “toned” word…
Body toning means losing fat
Being toned is a real thing, but it is usually used incorrectly. You cannot “tone up” or “be toned” but you can have toned arms or legs. All this means is….the muscles are showing. This means that you have a low enough body fat percentage that the underlying muscles are “popping” and giving you the look of toned arms/legs. This means, you cannot just “tone up” because that simply just means losing body fat.
So, the uncovered truth about “being toned” is just losing body fat. Which also uncovers the truth that we don’t want to lose weight, we want to lose fat! LEANING out is a better way of saying things, rather than ‘toning up”. During this process you must also remember that you cannot spot treat. You cannot “tone up” our arms by doing a bunch of upper body workouts. You have to decrease your overall body fat in order to see the muscles underneath! I have written a full list of beginner bodyweight workouts on my blog to help with at home workouts.
So, less “toned” and more “lean.” Less “lose weight” and more “lose fat”. Just keeping it real with you and shedding light on a few popular phrases in the fitness industry!
