Top 5 Ways to Get Toned

1. Eat Less. Taking in less calories is the most important rule if you're looking to achieve a more toned appearance. If you're not toned, your body fat percentage is too high because you eat more calories than you burn. Any excess energy you don't use gets converted to fat for later use. The fat is stored in areas all around the body including the arms, thighs and stomach. Only when you reverse this process (eat less than you burn) can your body begin to use those fat stores for energy and over time, give you a more toned appearance.

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2. Exercise More. In addition to eating less, exercising more will help you create a larger calorie deficit which will result in faster and better improvements. Cardio will help you burn large amounts of calories which will push your body to begin using its fat stores for energy. Targeting certain problem areas (spot reducing) with exercises will not result in improvements to that area. Doing sit ups to get rid of fat around the midsection won't result in a six pack if your body fat percentage remains high. Fat is stored on top of the muscle so any muscle definition you have will be obscured by the fat.

3. Healthier Foods. The types of foods you eat can also have an impact on your body's fat stores. Eating foods that are digested quickly will leave you hungry and eating more throughout the day. Avoid foods high in simple carbs (sugars - fruit juices, soda, pastries, chips). Instead, eat foods that take longer to digest including those that are high in fiber (salads, vegetables, fruits, 100% whole wheat bread/pasta, brown rice, oats) and lean protein (chicken, poultry, low fat dairy, lean cuts of beef, fish). Foods that are digested slowly will leave you full for a longer period of time and help keep you from eating more. This will cut down on your daily calorie intake.

4. Increase Muscle Mass. When looking to burn fat, many people often ignore weightlifting and only engage in cardiovascular exercise. Cardio burns a large amount of calories but lifting weights will help you build muscle. Increasing your muscle mass will give you more definition once your body fat percentage is low enough. It will also speed up your metabolism. Muscle tissue continues to burn calories well after you stop exercising. The more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn throughout the day which will help you increase your calorie deficit.

5. Circuit Training. A great way of combining weightlifting with calorie burning cardio is to do circuit training. Pick a group of exercises that target different muscle groups and do them one after another with no rest. For example you can do squats, bench press, pull ups, bicep curls and shoulder press. Start off with a set of squats, then move to bench press, then pull ups and so on. By the end your workout, your heart will be pumping your muscles will be sore. This is also a good way to save time while exercising efficiently.