The Blog

How To Erase Belly Fat, Tone Without Gaining Muscle, And When To Hit The Gym

February 24, 2010
by Todd

Fitness Quest 10 Trainers answer frequently asked Health and Fitness questions for the San Diego News Network .

Below is the latest article featuring Jeff King.

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In this section, SDNN and a range of local experts answer your burning health and wellness questions – everything from exercise, diet and fitness to health and body issues. We’ll crack the myths, correct the contradictory information and put truth into the hearsay that is so often a part of the wellness world.

Want to know more about fish oil or how to sculpt your abs? Just ask.

What do you want to know? Get a professional’s opinion and send your questions to health and wellness editor,

Here to answer this week’s fitness questions is Jeff King, strength coach and Director of Basketball at Fitness Quest 10 in Scripps Ranch.

Q. How do I tone my arms and legs without gaining a lot of muscle?

A. Jeff says: Part of getting lean has nothing to do with touching weights. It comes down to what you eat. If you want to tone your body without getting a lot of unwanted muscle, you need to eat lean. Eating lean means eating less processed food and replacing it with good food like fruits, vegetables and lean meat – foods like chicken, grass-fed beef and nuts. These foods will provide you with good energy and allow you to maintain a good calorie intake count. Another good way to eat lean is to eat smaller meals throughout the day. This will keep your metabolism high, which helps your body to burn calories.

The second part of toning your arms and legs without gaining a lot of muscle is to do a moderate volume of reps. Cut down the amount of reps you do per exercise. If you are normally do 15 reps per exercise, cut it down to 10 reps.

The theme here is to work gradually. Slowly add better foods into your diet. If you do something in increments, you will get a more toned body and you will see the results you want. If you go from 0 to 60, you will not get results and become frustrated as a result. Instead, go from 0 to 20, then 20 to 40, then 40 to 60. You will get the results you desire and will not get discouraged.

Q. What is the best way to get rid of belly fat?

A. Jeff says:

To get rid of belly fat, look at the previous answer. It comes down to eating lean. The key points of eating lean are:

Cutting out processed food.

Replacing processed food with non-processed food, like lean meat, vegetables, and fruits.

Eating smaller portions but eating more meals. Ideally, you want to eat five small meals a day. Examples of small meals include nuts and fruit or meat and vegetables.

Make meals the night before and bring them into work. This way, you will not be tempted and cannot use the “I didn’t have any food so I had to drive through McDonalds” excuse.

Lastly, you must be disciplined. The people who really want to cut belly fat will stick to their lean diet. Cheat meals are going to happen – don’t dwell

Q. Does it matter what time of day I work out?

A. Jeff says: