The Ultimate Guide on How to Get a Lean Body as a Female

Achieving a lean physique for women involves adopting strategies men use to attain lean bodies.

Pursuing a lean body has evolved beyond merely aiming for lower numbers on the scale. Nowadays, many women focus on toning their bodies to enhance their appearance and well-being while carefully avoiding excessive bulkiness, except when desired. But how do you get a lean body as a female? 

Achieving a lean physique is somewhat individualistic, yet there are universally effective strategies that can benefit every woman. The crucial strategy involves closely listening to your body as you implement these tips. This attentiveness will guide you in adjusting your focus and efforts where necessary. Below, discover scientifically supported tips for achieving a lean, toned body tailored for women.

Pay Attention to Calories

Your relationship with calories has to be more than just starving yourself to lose weight and look smaller. There’s a host of side effects that come with that, including a possible eating disorder and an inability to sustain whatever results you get. Additionally, the lean look with some definition in the abs and arms is more aesthetically pleasing.

You want to eat fewer calories to create a slight caloric deficit necessary for fat loss. Still, undereating will make building muscle challenging, impact your metabolism, and hinder workout performance, affecting your long-term fitness goals. The general guideline for calories is eating your body weight multiplied by 10-12. That means if you weigh 200 lbs, your calorie intake should be around 2000-2400 calories (1). 

Watch Your Carbs

How much carbs do you consume daily? While carbs are necessary for a balanced diet, you should watch how much you drink. Also, the carbs that majorly cause weight issues are sugars in most people’s daily diets: cakes, pies, potatoes, pasta, and fruit. 

To stay lean, your carb consumption should start around 25-30% of your diet. You can’t hit these numbers if you don’t track them in the first place. Also, go for more complex carbs, as they give your body more nutrients, digest slower, and contain more fiber, making them more filling and energizing. 

Eat More Protein

Protein helps you maintain lean muscle mass, which increases your metabolism. An increased metabolism is critical to burning fat and getting a lean body. Proteins are also more filling as they take longer to digest, which can help curb excessive eating, leading to more weight loss (2). 

A good number for protein intake is around 40% of your total diet. You can eat beef, turkey, fish, and chicken to get this. Don’t pay too much attention to lean cuts for your protein, either. Your body needs those natural saturated animal fats and liquid oils. Research shows conjugated linoleic acid, a substance found in those, has anti-cancer properties and promotes weight loss (3). 

Dial Down the Cardio

Exercising is healthier and great for weight loss (4). However, when it comes to getting a lean and toned body, there’s such a thing as too much cardio. You’re doing too much if you hit 30-plus minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or 45 minutes of steady-state cardio too often. 

At this point, your body enters a catatonic state. This is where it starts to break down muscle for energy instead of recent food consumed or fat. As a result, you’ll lose lean muscle mass, lowering your overall metabolism.  

Do More Resistance Training

Cardio will help you lose weight but must include strength training for a toned body. When many ladies hear this, they think following it will make them look bulky like bodybuilders. No need to worry, though, because the average woman’s body doesn’t produce enough testosterone to support this (5). You may put on a little lean muscle mass and get toned, but you won’t get those sleeve-busting biceps. 

Don’t get us wrong; we aren’t saying that women can’t build solid mass and size; there are female bodybuilders, after all. However, those women are doing resistance training almost every day for hours, doing lots of volume, and following an extreme diet. Moreover, many are on performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). A simple three days of training that prioritizes compound exercises like deadlifts, bent-over rows, barbell lunges, and planks won’t get you there. 

This study shows that resistance training helps with weight loss (6). It boosts metabolism, increases mobility, and can reduce lower back pain. It can also prevent and control conditions like heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes. 

Wrapping Up

Achieving a lean body as a female requires a multifaceted approach that includes regular exercise, mindful eating, and a balanced lifestyle. Cardiovascular activities, resistance training, and a nutritious diet are foundational elements that work synergistically. Effectively balancing these aspects is crucial for optimal results.

While these recommendations provide a solid starting point for those aiming to achieve a lean body as a female, it’s important to remember that sustainable, healthy outcomes demand a holistic approach. Focusing too much on one area while neglecting others can hinder progress.

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References

1. Osilla EV, Safadi AO, Sharma S. Calories. [Updated 2022 Sep 12]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499909/
2. Halton, T. L., & Hu, F. B. (2004). The effects of high protein diets on thermogenesis, satiety and weight loss: a critical review. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 23(5), 373–385. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2004.10719381 
3. den Hartigh L. J. (2019). Conjugated Linoleic Acid Effects on Cancer, Obesity, and Atherosclerosis: A Review of Pre-Clinical and Human Trials with Current Perspectives. Nutrients, 11(2), 370. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11020370 
4. Slentz, C. A., Houmard, J. A., & Kraus, W. E. (2009). Exercise, abdominal obesity, skeletal muscle, and metabolic risk: evidence for a dose response. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 17 Suppl 3(0 3), S27–S33. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2009.385
5. Handelsman, D. J., Hirschberg, A. L., & Bermon, S. (2018). Circulating Testosterone as the Hormonal Basis of Sex Differences in Athletic Performance. Endocrine reviews, 39(5), 803–829. https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2018-00020
6. Westcott W. L. (2012). Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current sports medicine reports, 11(4), 209–216. https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0b013e31825dabb8