"I don't want to get bulky, I just want to look toned."

I hear this every single day. DMs, comments, coaching calls. Number one thing women tell me they want.

But nobody explains what that word actually means. It describes something very specific happening in your body, and once you understand it, you'll rethink how you spend your time working out or trying to acheive it.

On the menu today:

• What "toned" actually means

• Why most women are accidentally working against it

• The two things that create the look you want

• What to try this week

Let's get into it 👇

Toned = muscle + low enough body fat to see it 💡

Two ingredients. Muscle and leanness. You need both.

This is why some women lose a bunch of weight and still don't look toned. They lost fat but they lost muscle right along with it (usually from crash dieting/GLPs and too much cardio). There's nothing underneath to show. They're smaller but not defined 🤷‍♀️

And it's why some women work out all the time but never see definition. They might be building muscle but their nutrition isn't creating the conditions to reveal it. The muscle is there, just hiding.

Your workouts may be, working against you 🫠

If 80% of your workouts are cardio, you're spending most of your time on the thing that does the least for that toned look.

Cardio burns calories while you're doing it. But it doesn't build muscle. Without muscle, there's nothing to "tone." You're just getting smaller.

I spent YEARS in this 😅 Hours on the treadmill, spin classes, running on weekends. So much cardio and I looked... fine? But never toned. Never defined. Because I wasn't building anything underneath.

Strength training 3-4 times a week builds the muscle that creates definition. Dumbbells, bands, bodyweight, whatever actually challenges your muscles enough to grow.

And no, you won't get bulky. Women don't have the testosterone for it. What actually happens is your arms get more defined, your legs look more athletic, your shoulders get shape, and your waist looks smaller by comparison. That's the look everyone is asking me for 🔥 and exactly the type of workouts we do in my MOVE app.

Nutrition is where you reveal it 🍽️

You can build all the muscle you want, but if your body fat stays the same, you won't see any of it.

A sustainable calorie deficit (check out last week's FGE + my YT video on how to find yours 😏) combined with high protein is how you uncover the muscle you're building.

Protein does double duty. It builds and maintains muscle while you're eating less, AND it keeps you satisfied so the deficit doesn't feel miserable. Without enough protein, your body breaks down muscle for energy when you're in a deficit. That's the opposite of what we want.

Most women are getting 50-60g a day when they 100g+. That gap is the difference between just losing weight and actually changing how your body looks.

It takes time and thats OK

Weeks 1-4, you feel stronger. Workouts improve. Scale might not move much.

Weeks 4-8, hints of definition start showing. Clothes fit differently. People start saying something.

Weeks 8-12+, undeniable. Your body looks genuinely different.

The women who get there are the ones who keep going through the weeks where it doesn't seem like anything is changing. Because it is changing. It just takes a while to show up in the mirror.

2 things that make it a lot easier to get toned

TRY THE MOVE APP FREE FOR 7 DAYS

#2 - Creatine: Women need creatine more than men. It draws water into your muscles, which aids in that toned look. It also helps provide more energy in your workouts. Mix that with Betaine (one of the other major ingredients in my (her)FORM blend) and you supercharge both fat loss and lean muscle.

TRY (her)FORM CREATINE BLEND

p.s. we will be starting a fun 30 day (her)FORM challenge coming up in a few weeks. Grab yours to get ahead and be ready.

What to try this week...

🏋️‍♀️ Count your strength vs cardio this week. If 3+ of your workouts are pure cardio, try flipping it. 3 strength, 1 cardio. Four weeks of that and you'll feel a real difference.

🥤 How close are you to 100g protein? Track one day. If you're under 80g, a daily Plant Protein shake closes helps a ton. 20g per scoop (I use 2 daily) → SHOP PLANT PROTEIN