Transform Your Body in 90 Days: A Fat Loss Training Program for Women

Updated May 12, 2023

I’ve helped transform the bodies of over one hundred female professionals working at tech companies such as Lyft, Uber, and Salesforce.

The most common goal they have is to lose weight and body fat to look more toned overall.

Here’s how I design a sustainable plan that fits their lifestyle and goals.

In this mega guide to losing fat I'm going to talk about:

The best way to measure fat lose
How you ACTUALLY lose fat
Designing your own training program (scaled for beginners)

What’s the difference between weight loss and fat loss?

When it comes to weight loss and fat loss there is a subtle difference. To create an effective plan you must set the right goal and understand this difference.

Weight loss is measured by the scale and it measures your overall body weight.

Fat loss is a change in your body composition and there are various ways to measure your body fat. The most comprehensive way is by a DEXA scan, which uses an X-ray beam to give you a snapshot of your body composition.

Below is an image of a DEXA scan illustrating the reduction in body fat, which is yellow, and the gain in muscle mass in red.

**DEXA Scan. Credit:** **choice.com.au**

In general, your body fat percentage is more telling of your overall general health versus your scale weight.

How do we lose body fat?

You can reduce body fat in two ways depending on where you’re starting at.

Method #1

Reduce body fat while putting on muscle mass so that your ratio of body fat to muscle mass is reduced.

Method #2

Reducing body fat and muscle mass so that your overall body fat percentage is reduced.

The method you choose depends on different factors such as how much weight you need to or want to lose and the training program you’re on.

If you have a lot of weight to lose you will inevitably also lose muscle mass along with body fat to bring down your overall weight.

Why it’s important to combine proper nutrition with your training plan

You want to be healthier and stronger after your body transformations but this will not always be the case.

Most women who go through multiple rounds of diets or extreme diets, and even though they have lost weight, end up with more body fat than when they first started making them less healthy.

To avoid that we must be mindful of our nutrition as our bodies are going through these changes.

How do I eat to start losing body fat?

There are many different calorie calculators out there to help you figure out how much to eat and start reducing body fat.

My favorite and the one I’ve used for years is called Calorie Calculator. I use this to get an idea of how many calories to put my clients on for a caloric deficit.

**Calorie Calculator. Credit:** **Calculator.net**

Unless you have more than 15 lbs to lose you want to be cautious about making too big of a calorie reduction because you will lose muscle mass if you’re not strength training and your macros are set improperly.

A good starting point is around a 10 – 15% calorie reduction from your maintenance calories. Then take measurements and make minor adjustments from that point so that you keep making progress.

What do I eat to lose body fat?

The best way to correlate diet with weight and body fat can be summarized in these two sentences,

1. Your weight is determined by the quantity of food.

2. Your body fat level is determined by the quality of your diet.

When trying to lose body fat you want to maximize your calories to be full and satiated. The best predictor of people who will fail their diets and fall off the wagon is if they are always hungry and they feel deprived.

So if you’re cutting calories how can you feel full and satiated with your meals?

Here are two guidelines I recommend following,

#1 – Prioritize Protein Intake

The first thing is to make sure that around 40% of your calories are dedicated to lean protein. Protein has multiple benefits and plays a huge role in both weight and fat loss.

The digestion of protein requires a lot of energy to digest and because of that, it means it will keep you fuller for longer.

If you want to avoid hunger your best bet is to space out your protein requirements evenly throughout the day.

Great lean protein choices include,

· Lean meats, like 90% ground beef, chicken breast, ground turkey, bison

· Seafood, like salmon, tuna, sardines, shrimp

· Dairy, including milk, cheese, Greek yogurt

· Tofu

· Nuts, grains, and seeds like nut butter and quinoa

· Legumes, like lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas

#2 – Eat mainly nutrient-dense, whole minimally processed foods

There are an endless number of reasons why this is a good guideline to follow even if you’re not trying to lose body fat.

Whole foods are lower in calories, healthier for you, and more filling. You can always make better choices at the grocery store by shopping around the perimeter and avoiding the packaged food aisles.

Gradually improve the quality of your diet by starting with one meal or with one ingredient.

For instance, if you’re eating a piece of toast with coffee for breakfast you can swap it out for a piece of whole-grain toast instead. Or add an egg with it or a cup of Greek yogurt to boost your protein intake.

If you’re buying white rice for your grain make a swap to brown rice or try out legumes and beans as alternative carb sources.

**Different types of protein based on their food quality.**

How to measure your progress

There are plenty of tools on the market to measure your body fat. Here I recommend three tools and one tool to stay away from.

Body fat calipers

Calipers measure the thickness of the folds of skin at different sites on your body. The accuracy is dependent on the user and how consistent they are with measuring the exact same area every time.

Measurement tape

It doesn’t give you a percentage but if your weight is holding steady and your waistline is shrinking it’s a good indicator that you’re losing body fat. You want to measure at the same reference point every time so either at the belly button level or the narrowest part of your midsection.

DEXA scan

If you have access to a DEXA scan this is the preferred method but it’s not necessary to measure often. Once every three months or so is more than enough. I would use the other two methods to measure more regularly to help you make adjustments for calories.

Handheld and/or digital bathroom scale

I do not recommend using these devices to measure body fat. The reason is that they are highly variable based on your hydration level and aren’t accurate at measuring body fat. Their measurements can deviate by up to 5%.

To give you an idea of how long it’ll take you to achieve a specific level of body fat you can refer to the chart below,

**Estimated fat loss chart based on where you’re starting at.**

Fat loss like weight loss is never linear. If you’re using an app to track your progress and give you a projection of where you’ll be in the future you can disregard its predictions. Your body is not a machine and it won’t predictably lose a specific amount of weight or body fat every week.

Your progress will look more like a rollercoaster than a straight line.

Designing your training plan

A proper training plan paired up with the correct diet will help you optimize your results and get to your goals more efficiently.

One thing to keep in mind when choosing a training plan is the result you want.

If you want to be a smaller version of your current physique then cardio is a great option that will get you there.

On the other hand, if you want to be a smaller, stronger, more toned version of your current physique then combining cardio and strength training will be the way to go.

Benefits of Cardio

You lose body fat by eating fewer calories or burning more calories than you’re eating.

Cardio is a great way to help you burn those calories. The more you exercise the more calories you’ll burn.

The recommended amount of physical activity for adults by the American Diabetes Association is 150 minutes per week.

But what’s recommended, what’s optimal, and what’s sustainable for your lifestyle will differ.

If you’re just starting out doing cardio 3 days a week for 20 to 30 minutes is a good starting point. Some type of cardio is better than no cardio and as you get used to regular cardio you can increase the minutes and increase the number of days till you’ve hit your limit.

However, if you want to get stronger and leaner cardio should be your 3rd priority after strength training and diet. Doing lots of cardio feels productive and gives you a great workout leaving you feeling amazing but has diminishing returns.

Drawbacks of Cardio

Excessive cardio without the proper diet can lead to muscle wastage which reduces your overall metabolism especially if you’re not strength training.

A limitation of cardio is time. Even though more cardio translates to burning more calories up to a certain point you simply cannot devote more time to doing cardio if you still have more body fat to lose. This is why you need to focus on boosting your metabolism and building muscle.

Another limitation is your body will adapt, reducing your overall caloric burn with cardio. You will burn fewer calories than when you first started because your body became more efficient.

Types of Cardio

The best types of cardio and the ones that burn the highest number of calories typically involve the lower body muscle group or the entire body.

Here are the top calorie burners,

Rowing

A rowing workout is a total body workout that torches calories, is low impact, and builds both power and endurance. You hit all major muscle groups and get a cardio and strength workout at the same time. And it’s good for people of all fitness levels.

According to the Calorie Control Council, a person who weighs 150 lbs can burn up to 250 calories over a 30-minute workout.

Stairmaster

The Stairmaster is another low-impact form of cardio that torches calories. It gives a high-intensity workout that builds strength in your lower body.

This exercise will also make walking or hiking more enjoyable as you develop lower body strength and muscle endurance.

To keep the Stairmaster workouts interesting you can do interval training and vary the intensities during the workout.

Here’s an example workout to keep you on your toes,

A 150 lb person can burn an average of 200 calories per 30 minutes on the Stairmaster.

Kettlebell Swings

Kettlebell swings are another cardio workout that combines building endurance and strength. It’s not just a cardio workout but it also builds muscles too.

A 150 lb person can burn an average of 350 calories per 30 minutes with kettlebell swings.

Here are different interval training workouts you can do,

Set a timer for 20 minutes. Do 10 two-handed swings at the top of every minute till the 20 minutes are up.
Do two-handed swings for 20 seconds. Rest for 20 seconds. Repeat 8 to 10 times.
Do one-handed swings for 20 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds. Repeat 6 to 8 times.

**Examples of high calorie burning cardio workouts.**

Benefits of Strength Training

Strength training increases muscular strength making it easier to perform everyday tasks such as carrying groceries or moving boxes. It’s the type of exercise that builds you up both mentally and physically.

Here are the additional benefits,

You burn calories more efficiently

Strength training builds muscle mass which burns more calories than fat. This means at rest you’ll have an elevated metabolism compared to someone who is at the same weight but with less muscle mass.

You’ll also be burning additional calories up to 72 hours after your workout compared to cardio or HIIT training. This is because additional calories are needed for muscle and tissue repair after a strength workout.

You’ll appear leaner

Pound-for-pound muscle takes up less space than fat because it’s denser. Therefore, you may be getting leaner and lose inches but you won’t notice a change in the scale weight.

And as lose body fat and build muscle, you’ll create more definition and look more toned.

You’ll boost your self-esteem

Lifting weights makes you a better version of yourself and builds up your self-confidence.

Over time you build resilience and discipline to overcome challenges. You develop a stronger mindset to help you get through any challenge because you challenged yourself in the weight room. The act of strength training boosts your self-belief that you’re able to succeed at any task and at life, boosting your self-confidence.

Drawbacks of Strength Training

Gymtimidation is a popular term used to describe the experience of people who are new to weightlifting. The environment of the free weights area and squat racks aren’t exactly friendly to beginners.

There is a steeper learning curve compared to cardio and increased chances of injury.

And just like with weight loss advice there is an endless amount of advice on what training plans to choose from making it confusing on where to start with strength training, how many days of the week, what types of exercises, and what reps and sets are better.

How To Get Started With Strength Training

No matter where you’re starting from here are 3 principles to follow to help you successfully lose body fat and build muscle mass.

Principle #1 – Progressive Overload

This is the easiest principle to follow in the gym. It means to gradually lift heavier weights over time.

If you’re not lifting heavier you’re not challenging your muscles to get stronger and grow. What is considered heavy is all relative to what exercise you’re doing and how familiar you are with it. A weight that is heavy for a shoulder exercise is considered fairly light for a leg exercise.

The way to evaluate whether it’s the right weight for you for that exercise and whether it’s appropriately challenging is by aiming for a 7 or an 8 on the Rate of Perceived Effort scale.

**Rate of Perceived Exertion scale. Credit** **MDPI**.

If you’re completing all your reps and sets easily you need to bump up the weight. You can bump up the weight at any time during your set to figure that out.

For a new strength training program, sometimes you’ll have to do the same workout twice to figure out what is a good starting weight for you.

Principle #2 – Focus On Compound Movements

Compound movements are exercises that recruit multiple big muscle groups like the squat, deadlift, pull-up, and push-up.

The reason you should choose strength training programs that are built around compound movements is that you’re using the biggest and most dominant muscles in your body. This automatically means you’re burning more calories for the exercise, for recovery, and to get faster results.

These bigger movement exercises also trigger more testosterone production for muscle growth so you’ll see faster changes in your appearance.

What are the movements that trigger these bigger muscle groups? These movements are the squat, a hip hinge, a push, pull, and a loaded carry.

Individual exercises that make up a strength program do not matter as much as the movements.

Principle #3 – Use Proper Form

It’s easy not to see results even if you feel like you’ve been consistently getting a good workout with strength training by lifting heavier weights and doing higher reps. And when we get lazy about skipping proper form is when we pull a muscle and get hurt.

When we’re lazy about good form, we tend to cheat ourselves out of it to lift heavier weights to say we’re getting stronger. But this creates poor habits and we get rewarded with no results.

Intentionally engaging proper form means taking each exercise to its full range of motion to strengthen the entire length of the muscle and the supporting tissues. This extra stress makes your muscles grow to meet the demand.

Using an improper technique not only leads to injuries but reduces the effectiveness of the exercise.

Fat burning strength workouts

Here are two workouts written for a beginner lifter.

The moderately high reps are good for practicing form and getting your heart rate up.

Here's an example of a standard week of workouts for women whose goal is fat loss.

**Example of full body workouts that burn fat and build strength.**

You can switch the workouts around to your liking and add more or less cardio but make sure that you’re recovering properly and your diet is a caloric deficit to get the best results.

Sunday – Moderate Intensity Cardio
Monday – Workout A
Tuesday – Moderate Intensity Cardio
Wednesday – Workout B
Thursday – OFF
Friday – Workout A
Saturday – OFF

Transform Your Body in 90 Days: A Fat Loss Training Program for Women

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