I Achieve My Ideal Body With These 16 Simple Steps Anyone Can Follow

Feeling overwhelmed by conflicting fitness advice? You're not alone. Sarah Mackay, a fitness coach and psychology student from Edinburgh, understands the struggle. Once a gym-avoider battling an eating disorder, Sarah transformed her life through fitness. Now, she's here to share her journey and help you achieve your dream body without confusion. Ready to cut through the noise and get real results? Let's dive into Sarah's no-nonsense guide, supplemented with expert insights from Mark Edwards, Precision Nutrition Certified Level 1 Coach and CrossFit Level 2 Trainer.

Redefine Your "Dream Body"

In her post, Sarah says that a dream body isn't just about aesthetics. "Having a dream body shouldn't just be about achieving a certain physical look," she says. "What's even better is having a body that feels good and improves your overall quality of life." Focus on health, strength, and personal goals rather than conforming to beauty standards. This mindset shift will help you make sustainable changes and avoid restrictive fad diets.

Set SMART Goals

Edwards underlines the importance of setting clear, achievable goals: "In my coaching practice, SMART Nutrition is simply this: whatever we do must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Nothing is random. Nothing is left to chance." By applying these principles to your fitness journey, you'll create a structured and effective plan for achieving your dream body.

Ditch the Treadmill, Embrace Strength Training

If you want to shape your body, cardio alone won't cut it. Sarah learned this the hard way: "It wasn't until I started hitting the gym consistently and following a structured workout routine that I was actually starting to see some sort of results." Don't fear weights – they won't make you bulky overnight. Instead, they'll help you build the muscle foundation needed for that toned look.

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Apply Progressive Overload

To see real changes, challenge your muscles consistently. Sarah explains, "Each and every single time you enter that gym, you need to increase the reps that you're doing on each exercise or increase the weight you're doing." This progressive overload principle is key to muscle growth and overall body transformation.

Choose a Sustainable Workout Split

There's no one-size-fits-all workout plan. Sarah advises, "Don't overcomplicate it. There is no perfect split. Just workout splits that align more with your goals and ones that you can sustainably stick to consistently over time." Whether you prefer a lower-body focus, upper-body emphasis, or full-body workouts, consistency is key. Aim to hit each muscle group twice per week.

Practice Mindful Eating

Before diving into specific dietary changes, Edwards underlines the importance of how we eat: "Commit to mindful eating practices like chewing food slowly and eating without distractions. No smartphone at lunch or dinner. No TV while you're eating." This simple practice can lead to better digestion, increased satiety, and, ultimately, weight loss.

Fix Your Diet

Exercise alone won't transform your body if your diet isn't on point. Sarah stresses the importance of aligning your eating habits with your goals: "If you have a higher body fat percentage and you want to lean down, you need to be eating at maintenance or in a slight deficit. And if you are the opposite, if you are starting out leaner and want to build muscle, you need to be eating at maintenance or in a slight surplus."

Prioritize Whole Foods

While calorie counting has its place, food quality matters, too. Sarah learned this through experience: "Prioritizing whole foods is the key to reaching your fitness goals." Focus on ingredients like fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. These nutrient-dense foods will fuel your workouts, aid recovery, and improve your overall health.

Increase Vegetable Intake

Edwards recommends gradually increasing your vegetable intake: "Try to gradually increase your vegetable intake to around five servings per day (about two servings per meal). This practice will increase your fiber intake, which is important not only for gut health but also to decrease post-meal hunger signals." This simple change can support fat loss and improve overall health.

Get Enough Protein

To build and maintain muscle, adequate protein intake is crucial. Sarah recommends "1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight." For simplicity, aim for 30-40 grams of protein per meal, spread across 3-5 meals daily.

Edwards adds: "Set a specific goal for daily protein intake. Depending on your body weight and activity level, around 1.6 grams per kg of body weight per day is a reasonable starting point (about 0.8 grams per pound of body weight). That's your minimum."

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Balance Your Macronutrients

Edwards underlines the importance of macronutrient balance: "We need to design your daily meals to hit specific macronutrient ratios depending on your physique goals and dietary preferences." He suggests starting with a balanced approach of 30% protein, 35% carbs, and 35% fats, adjusting as needed based on your goals and progress.

Stay Hydrated

Proper hydration is often overlooked but crucial for body transformation. Edwards advises: "Set a hydration GOAL to make this measurable. Set your measurable goal conservatively and track it." He suggests drinking a full glass of water upon waking and before each meal and snack to increase your water intake naturally.

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Incorporate Smart Cardio

While not the main focus, cardio still has its place. Sarah suggests aiming for "8,000 to 10,000 steps a day" to burn extra calories and improve overall health. This low-impact approach complements your strength training without risking burnout.

Reduce Added Sugars

Edwards highlights the importance of limiting added sugars: "Aim to limit added sugar consumption to less than 25 grams per day (about 6 teaspoons)." He suggests gradually reducing intake and replacing sugary beverages with sugar-free alternatives or water.

Prioritize Rest and Recovery

Don't fall into the trap of overtraining. Sarah warns, "If you don't give your body enough time to rest, you're setting yourself up for burnout, injury, and exhaustion." Schedule 1-2 rest days weekly, and aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. Proper recovery is essential for both physical progress and mental well-being.

Edwards adds: "Better sleep not only supports hormone balance and muscle recovery but also reduces hunger the following day."

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Monitor Progress and Adjust

Edwards underlines the importance of tracking your progress: "Set regular check-ins (e.g., every 2 weeks) that include measuring weight, body fat, and girth measurements (basic ones: waist, chest, thighs) to assess your progress towards your physique goals and adjust your nutrition plan accordingly."

In conclusion, Sarah reminds us that "getting a body that not only looks good, but feels good, takes time, consistency and a lot of effort, but that's what makes the journey so rewarding." By following these principles and staying committed, you're well on your way to building your dream body – one that's strong, healthy, and uniquely yours.

Edwards adds a final word of wisdom: "By applying the SMART framework to these nutrition strategies, you can gradually create a structured and effective plan for achieving that Dream Body. Every one of these strategies might seem to be utterly simple, but as both Steve Jobs and Leonardo DaVinci said so well, 'Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.'" And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 31 Fitness Tips Every Beginner Needs to Look Sexy, According to Coaches.

Shyann Walker (@lifeOfShy) is a YouTuber and social media influencer who regularly shares about weight and fat loss. In a recent viral video, she reveals her strategy for getting her dream body in just a month. “If you're like me and you have been very inconsistent, especially with your fitness,” she says. I know I wasn't the only one who set my own personal fitness goals, and I feel like I dropped the ball. I'm going to share with you exactly what needs to be done in order to get back on track and reach your goals in 30 days,” she says. “I'm gonna be sharing with you the three simple, small, teeny, tiny, tiny, tiny little things that I'm gonna be doing in order to get my dream body. Your dream body may look different from my dream body,” she says, admitting she has been every shape and size. “Right, no, I am 150 pounds. My smallest was 130 or 135.”

At Her Smallest, She Wasn’t Happy

She says that when she was at her smallest, she still wasn’t happy. “I wanted to be lean. I wanted a flat stomach, but I was not happy. The mistake that I made was I was overworking my body and not eating enough,” she says. “Right now, my ultimate goal is just to keep as much muscle as I can and lose fat, especially in my midsection. But my lower body is perfect for me. Like my butt.”

Get in Alignment with Your Goals

She starts sharing “what you need to do to lose fat and either build or keep as much muscle as possible” before getting started with the first tip. “You have to get in alignment with your specific goals. Whatever that looks like for you, your nutrition needs to align with your goals. That is the bottom line.”

Step 1: Make Nutrition Your Top Priority

She admits that she is “a foodie” and loves to eat. “I love to cook, and I just love good food and a good meal. But to me, when my goal was to lose fat, I was eating less. Obviously, if you want to lose fat, you have to eat less or move your body more. There's no getting around that. And I was doing both. I was eating less, and I was moving so much. I think I was averaging about 15,000 steps a day, but my protein was not there. For example, I would only eat once or twice a day. I would skip meals because I just wanted to get there so, so, so quickly. Right now, nutrition trumps everything. Like nutrition is my number one priority right now, and I'm kind of shaking myself out of this eating every single day.”

Write Down What Your Goal Is and What You Are Eating to Get There

The first thing that you're gonna do is write down exactly what your goal is and what you're going to be eating to get there. Since her goal is “to keep as much muscle as possible and lose fat,” she explains that she needs to get 140 grams of protein every single day, regardless. “My protein trumps everything,” she says.

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Make Protein a Priority, But Allow Yourself to Eat Carbs

She starts the day with a protein shake with two scoops of protein powder, “a huge, huge, huge salad with my choice of protein” topped with 25 grams of protein. “For dinner, my meal of choice, I love carbs. I'm not going to get rid of carbs,” she says. However, she knows she will end up binge eating. “For breakfast and lunch, I don't have to do carbs because that gives me something to look forward to towards dinner, and this is what works for me. I love potato fries,” she says. “I love it, and I'm not gonna deprive myself of that.” Other carbs she likes are sweet potatoes and bread. “That last meal will have my carbs and that way, I'm not setting myself up to be so restrictive to the point where I hate my life, I hate my diet, and I just hate the process.”

Step 2: Train Intentionally

Step number two is training intentionally. “I feel like it's so obvious, but I think that people overcomplicate it to the point where it doesn't work,” she says. “It really did help me because I was training my lower body so hard and so heavy that I was taking two to three rest days in between. That helps with glute growth. But that doesn't help me if I want to lose fat. Not working out for that period of time is really hurtful to my progress. But it helped in the sense that my legs got so much bigger, my butt got so much bigger.”

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To Lose Weight, She Needed to Amp Up Her Cardio

For her specific goals of weight loss, “I need to put my cardio on the same level as my strength training. For strength training, I think I can get away with four times a week. Cardio, I need to get my cardio every single day.” What works best for her “is to get a step goal,” she says. “My step goal is 12,000 steps. I always try to go a little bit over what the minimum is. That way I know that I'm doing more than what's required. And then on the days where I only get 10,000, I'm still doing what's required of me.”

Make It Work for Your Lifestyle

“You have to make it ideal for your lifestyle. I will never give up weight training or weightlifting unless I have to. I love lifting weights, and I love building muscle. I love how it makes me look so cardio, and that is gonna go hand in hand. If I'm doing 30 minutes of cardio, it'll be 30 minutes of weight training. And that won’t be the StairMaster for me because getting my steps in is easier. I can literally do that walking at work,” she says.

Stay Consistent

Most importantly, “stay consistent with it and make it a priority,’ she says. It's a non-negotiable. I was not doing that a couple of weeks ago. It was just like, you know if I can make it, I can make it. I got too much going on. No, my health is my number one priority,” she says. “Therefore, master your plate and your nutrition, and every single day, move your body at least seven days straight.”

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Step 3: Do Not Spend Rest Days on the Couch

Number three? “This was a game changer for me, and I'm a hundred percent sure it will be a game changer this time around. My rest and recovery days will not be spent on the couch laying slumping the day away,” she says. “That is where so many people don't take into consideration active recovery when you have these specific and huge goals.” Instead of laying on the couch, go for a walk, “even if it's just a 15 to 20-minute walk,” or a bike ride. “I don't know if I was the only person who was taking my rest days a little too literally and meaning like I can't move my body, but that was not good for me.” And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.