Wanting a lean, toned ‘pilates‘ body? eating & training for body composition is your roadmap
When you are looking for weight loss, most of the time you envision a lean body, with a little visible muscle tone & a feminine, defined shape…aka the ‘pilates body‘.
Social media & slick marketing would have you believe that if you get your steps (or some form of cardio), do pilates (for muscle tone) & eat clean, the results should take care of themselves. If they don’t, then it must be your hormones or metabolism, and there’s plenty of powders, apple cider vinegar & capsules for that.
You may enjoy a loosening of clothing indicating some initial results, then, after a period of time, feel deflated.
“Where’s my ab definition?”
“Where did my butt go?”
“I’ve done everything right, but I still don’t feel or look toned“
So you give up.
Before you give up, consider the possibility that trending ‘pilates body‘, ‘metabolism boosting‘, ‘specific foods for your hormones‘ fads are all hype & marketing…it’s not you, it’s the false or partial ‘truths’ you’ve been sold.
So now what?
The concept of body composition, aka your levels of lean muscle vs body fat.
The thing that all ‘pilates bodies‘ have in common is a good amount of lean muscle that is semi visible beneath lower levels of body fat; they lie nicely between:
Skinny to ‘skinny-fat‘ = someone who is slim and has higher body fat : lean muscle ratio, meaning they may look slim, but have little shape & may carry more body fat than you would think at first glance. Sometimes these are just naturally slim individuals & sometimes this body composition can come as a result of numerous rounds of yo-yo dieting (along with ageing) which has led to progressive lean muscle loss
Body building & bikini model = someone who has worked incredibly hard to build as much lean muscle as possible while holding as little body fat as possible.
As a side note: many of those with a toned ‘pilates body‘ have either been genetically blessed OR they began in a different area of fitness, such as weight lifting, before moving on to pilates (or they incorporate both); therefore, pilates didn’t lead to the physique, the physique was there to begin with or was the by-product of other forms of training along with targeted nutrition.
So, how to get a lean, toned physique?
If you are close to your target / healthy body weight and are easily maintaining your weight but would like to build some curvy tone? you have great potential to improve body composition with the simple addition of weight training, making sure to get enough protein for muscle tissue synthesis. Your overall weight may stay the same, or may increase slightly, but you will look very different.
If you have a little more weight & body fat to lose (ie. you hate to be able to do it, but you can literally grab onto handfuls, I get you, this was me for most of the last 3 decades), then the combination of weight training with an appropriate (not unnecessarily aggressive) calorie deficit & a good protein target will get you off to a brilliant start. With this approach, you will be utilising body tissue (a mix of fat & lean muscle) to fill the energy deficit, while using weight training & a good protein target will help spare maximum lean muscle while prioritising fat loss as much as possible. You will look different & likely weigh less; but you will also likely be much heavier than you imagined you would be in a body that is now lean, toned & enjoying a new wardrobe a few sizes smaller…lean muscle & fat issue weigh the same kg for kg, but lean muscle is much more dense & compact, therefore same weight, different look.
And the best part of all, for both scenarios?
If you are new to weight training, your most impressive lean muscle gains will happen within the first few months, so lock in & make the most of it. AND, a lean toned body that weighs more than you would have initially imagined, has a higher overall metabolic rate; you literally have to feed your muscle to keep it! A big difference to the requirement of declining calories needed to maintain a small body that has lost lean muscle mass…aka ‘the trap‘.
So if you are looking to lose weight, pause before jumping onto the next quick fix, no matter how promising it sounds; you may enjoy some initial weight loss (any approach that causes a calorie deficit will achieve this), however initial wins will likely come with some muscle loss & less chance of you achieving the lean, toned look you are after.
Get a good plan, be patient, trust the process.