Wrong.

The time commitment asked of the women above?

Only a few hours a week.

30 minute home workouts.

Dinners with the family built in.

You’ve been conditioned to believe a lie.

You don’t have to slave away in the gym, barely looking any different from one year to the next.

In fact, less is more when it comes to exercise.

After all, the goal is to look lean and toned, not chase a number on the scale, right?

First I must ask you, what does toned look like to you?

For the most part, if I'm to assume you're in the majority, the responses are usually "I want to get rid of the bat wing arms and tone and tighten my saggy butt and midsection."

As a coach, I know this means you want to look like you lift weights because that’s what it takes to achieve those goals.

But hidden under these words is a fear you’ll get too bulky.

And instead of lifting weights, many diet at a really low calorie count and spend hour upon hour doing cardio.

Or they go to classes where they lift light weights at a fast pace and work up a sweat and feel accomplished.

All of these things help with weight loss, don’t get me wrong, but ‘toning’ is driven by progressively getting stronger.

That means challenging yourself with more weight and/or reps over time. Nothing crazy. You probably pictured a big bodybuilder when I said that, but that's not reality here.

I have to be blunt and honest and say you’ll probably need to lift some weights and fuel your body with quality food.

Rarely is one’s ideal physique achievable through weight loss alone. It usually requires five to 10 pounds of well-placed lean muscle, too.

If you want that goal physique — the one you imagine you want in your mind that looks toned and healthy — you’re not going accomplish it through cardio and calorie counting alone.

You can accomplish this at home with a few pairs of dumbbells, so don’t think it only gets done in a commercial gym with fancy equipment.

Of course, we try to do it in a fun way with the folks I work with via virtual classes and just enough variety so they’ll stick to it.

But before trying another new and cutting-edge approach, consider the goal you’re after. Make sure you match it up with the plan most likely to get you there.

It saddens me to see so many women lose 10 to 20 pounds, only to look exactly the same as when they started the process.

Starving themselves down to a slightly skinner, softer version.

If you want to drop two sizes and look toned when you're finished, we've got the solution for you...