From diet to training to crucial fat regain prevention tips, here's everything you need to know about how to get leaner — and stay lean forever.

This is the body fat distribution of 9,000 American men, measured by DEXA scans.

The average body fat was 27%.

But here’s the surprising part: only 2% of men are under 15% body fat. 

And less than 0.1% of men are under 12%. 

To put it in perspective, you're statistically more likely to become a millionaire than to get lean enough to start seeing your abs.

But don’t let this discourage you. 

This is me at 15.6% body fat, and this is me just 60 days later: 11.6% body fat, according to DEXA.

And based on ultrasound, I’ve also burned off almost 50% of my belly fat. 

The best part? 

The process was simple. It's not easy, but it's something anyone can do. If you follow my 3-part plan on how to get leaner — covering everything from diet and training, as well as the crucial steps I took afterward to prevent regaining fat — I guarantee you’ll master the art of how to get leaner faster and, more importantly, stay lean for good.

Disclaimer: The Difference Between 'How To Get Leaner' vs. 'How to Get Shredded'

But before we dive into the plan, there’s a key difference between 'leaning out' and 'getting shredded' that almost nobody talks about before it’s too late. 

So, you know how I clocked in at 11.6% body fat in my last DEXA scan?

Well, in the body fat analysis I shared earlier, the lowest recorded body fat out of 6,000 men was 11.7%.

And yet, when I scroll through Instagram, it seems like every fitness influencer is around 10% body fat or even lower. 

So, at 11.6%, I’m undeniably lean.

But comparing myself to those images, I could easily think I’m not lean enough. 

But the reality is, those crazy-shredded physiques often come at a cost — one that no one seems to talk about.

Your body naturally resists getting too lean by:

• Increasing hunger
• Depleting energy
• Slowing metabolism

Look at the Minnesota Starvation Experiment.

People forced to drop to single-digit body fat became so obsessed with food that they resorted to stealing and chewing over 40 packs of gum a day just to feel satisfied.

It’s why dropping below even just to 12-15% body fat can start making you feel terrible and why most people who get that lean struggle to stay there.

You can avoid this by setting a realistic goal before applying what you've learned about how to get leaner here. If you are:

• Just starting out or don't have much dieting experience: Aim for around 15-20%
• More experienced or have less fat to lose: Aim for 12-15%

Those levels of leanness are still impressive and look fantastic, especially if you’ve built muscle along the way. 

For example, Captain America’s iconic transformation scene had him at about 12.5% body fat. He looked incredible and didn’t need to get crazy lean. 

But now that you have a realistic goal, let’s dive into how to get leaner, starting with your diet. 

How To Get Leaner

Nutrition

So, based on some recent research, I experimented with a new dieting approach that worked extremely well. 

It’s counterintuitive, but rather than starting off easy with your diet and getting more aggressive as you get leaner, do the opposite. 

Think about it.

In the beginning, you have the most fat to lose, your hunger and energy levels are at its best, you have the lowest risk of losing muscle, and you’re also the most motivated.

This is when it’s easier to do the hard stuff.

Whereas if you make things harder later on when things feel more difficult, you’ll be less likely to stick to it. 

This is exactly what a study released just last year found.

A more aggressive approach early on led to better fat loss results.

So, how exactly did I apply this? 

Well, typically, during a diet, I’d eat around 2,300 calories, which, for me, is a standard calorie deficit to lose a pound a week.

This time, however, the very first week of my diet, I ate just 1,200 calories a day. Now I HIGHLY recommend against this. I did this for an article to see how much belly fat I could lose in just 1 week, which you could check out here if you enjoy seeing me suffer.

But, for the next 4 weeks after that, I still went aggressive. Eating just 1,900 calories a day. 

Surprisingly, it was easier than expected. 

30 days in and I was already down 6 lbs and looking much leaner than when I started. Everything was going perfectly. Until, on my 5th week …

My energy levels dipped, I started getting cravings for the first time, and the same meals that once kept me full were no longer enough. 

But, because I had started with such a steep deficit in the beginning, I was able to increase my daily calories by 300 to continue slowly losing fat without ever feeling like my diet was becoming unsustainable.

However, regardless of whether you start out more aggressive or not, ultimately, when it comes to how to get leaner, you’re going to have to eat fewer calories, and you’ll have to continue doing so for several weeks. 

And if you eat the wrong foods, there’s no way you’ll make it. 

Here’s exactly what I did to make my diet as easy and enjoyable as possible.

How To Get Leaner Diet Specifics

Protein

Let’s start with the most important macronutrient. Protein. 

If you’re not getting enough protein, your body will burn through your muscles instead. This is why so many people lose weight but end up looking flat or “skinny-fat.” 

You don't want that. Instead, here's how to get leaner and with muscle: eat protein every meal. And enough of it.

As a simple guide, open your hand. The protein portion in each meal should be at least the size of your palm. 

By the way, here's the BEST way to use protein for muscle gain.

But now, let’s talk about the big one when it comes to how to get leaner. Cutting calories. 

Make Smart Choices Or Swaps To Lower Calorie Intake

Here’s where most people go wrong: they cut out entire food groups, making their diet impossible to stick to.

You don’t have to eliminate carbs or fats entirely. 

Instead, it’s about modifying how much of them you eat. 

Fats are a great place to start because they’re the most calorie-dense and easiest to adjust. 

For example, think about your breakfast. Let’s say you usually have three eggs and toast.

Which would be easier, cutting out the toast (so no carbs) or keeping the toast and reducing the fat by replacing those three eggs with one whole egg and egg whites? 

I challenge you.

Take a look at what you’re currently eating and find just 2 or 3 opportunities to cut down on your fat sources. 

Case in point:

During my diet, instead of using a full avocado in my lunch wrap, I used half. Instead of beef for dinner, I swapped it for chicken or shrimp. 

But while adjusting your fats alone may be enough to get you in a deficit, chances are you’ll also have to tweak your carbs. 

But again, no need to cut out carbs entirely. Just make smart swaps. What worked really well for me was:

• Cutting my usual pre-workout oatmeal from a full cup to half
• Swapping my 300-calorie tortilla wrap for 2 pitas that added up to only 120 calories during lunch
• Having my usual serving of rice and loading up on extra veggies during dinner

Psst: here are a few more food swap ideas that'll help you lose fat faster (while eating twice as much!)

The best part? It didn’t feel like I really changed anything, yet the fat was quickly coming off. 

Incorporate 'Cheat Meals'

But let’s be real. The hardest part of any diet is the weekend.

Believe me, I’ve been there. You’re sticking to your plan all week, but social events come up. You want to relax, enjoy meals out with friends or family, but at the same time, you don’t want to undo all your hard work.

It can feel like a lose-lose situation.

But here’s how I made weekends work for me: a science-backed strategy called planned hedonic deviation (a fancy term for "treat meal”).

Every Saturday or Sunday, I’d boost my intake by 500 to 800 calories to enjoy a big meal guilt-free. Sure, it technically slowed my weekly progress by a day, but in the long run, it made sticking to the diet way more doable and gave me the boost I needed for the next week ahead.

Training

But, of course, when it comes to how to get leaner, it’s not enough to just focus on your diet.

Combining it with a proper training plan can not only get you leaner faster, but also plays a crucial role in keeping the fat off long-term.

Strength Training

And while lifting weights should be your major focus, a few tweaks can make all the difference, especially when it comes to your most stubborn muscle groups.

See, from my experience — and conversations with top coaches — the hardest muscles to grow also tend to be at the highest risk of loss during a diet. 

To counteract this, keep the volume high for those muscles. 

For me, my chest was always a weak point. So, during my diet, I kept my chest volume high while cutting 1-2 sets from stronger muscles like my back and arms. The result? 60 days later I lost 10 lbs of fat, but my chest actually got stronger and continued to grow.

But you shouldn’t completely neglect any muscle groups. 

A new study released just this year found that muscles that aren’t trained, in this case the inner thighs and calves, will likely be burned off for energy.

So, to lose more fat rather than muscle, you’d probably benefit by following a program that doesn’t neglect any major muscle groups, especially your calves. 

Cardio

But as great as lifting weights is, it has a downside. It doesn’t burn nearly as many calories as you might think. 

The fewer calories you burn everyday, the more you’ll have to cut from your diet, which makes sticking to it a lot harder. 

So what’s the solution? 

You might be thinking, "Cardio, obviously!!"

Well, yes, but here’s the twist: the “cardio” you need doesn’t have to involve running, jogging, or hours on the StairMaster. 

What if I told you cardio workouts not only burn fewer calories than you’d expect but can also make you compensate by burning less energy throughout the rest of your day? 

It’s probably why some of you have noticed that even after adding more cardio to your routine, your fat loss stalls. 

The real solution? 

Focus less on “cardio workouts” and just set a daily step goal.

Think about it: the average person burns around 120 calories per 2,000 steps. 

So if you go from walking 4,000 steps a day to 6,000, that’s an extra 120 calories burned.

It doesn’t sound like much, but that’s an extra pound of fat loss per month. And let’s be honest, you’re far more likely to go for a 15 minute daily walk than a daily run. 

But be realistic.

While 10,000 steps a day is often the recommendation, even for me that’s tough to fit into my schedule. So I aim for a more achievable 8,000 steps per day as my minimum. 

Some days, I hit it just through walking; while other days, I might add in some running, cardio, or sports.

It’s less about how you get there and more about increasing your daily activity in a way you can actually stick to.

My 'How To Get Leaner' Weekly Plan

So, with my nutrition, workouts, and steps in place, here’s what my weekly 'how to get leaner' plan looked like.

I dropped about 1.5 lbs a week during the first 4 weeks with the more aggressive approach. Then, as expected, my progress slowed to about 0.5-1 lb per week in the last 4 weeks to get me down to 11.6% body fat.

So, the plan definitely works.

But imagine this.

You get really lean, show your new body off to all your friends and family, and then a few weeks later, you have to explain to them why you’re right back to where you started.

The sad reality is that more than 80% of people end up gaining the fat right back after their diet is over.

It's Not Just About 'How To Get Leaner', But Also 'How To Stay Lean'

If you want to stay lean forever, there are 3 mistakes to avoid.

#1: Not Accounting For The Drop In Metabolism

The first has to do with your metabolism. 

This is me before and after the diet.

Who do you think burns more calories a day? You’d think it’d be the “ripped” version, right? Wrong. 

Believe it or not, before I implemented the 'how to get leaner' plan, I could get away with eating around 2,800 calories a day.

But now? Anything over 2,500, and I’d start gaining weight. 

And if I tried to get even leaner, say 10% body fat or below, I’d probably have to eat just 2,300 calories a day to maintain it, which I just wouldn’t be willing to do. 

As for why this happens, when you lose weight, your metabolism slows down.

Research suggests that for a 10% drop in body weight, your metabolism drops by 20-25%. So if you went from 180 to 160 lbs, you’ll now burn about 400 fewer calories each day.

This is exactly why, within our Built With Science programs, we’ve built a custom nutrition algorithm that tracks how your metabolism changes over time. So you know exactly how much to eat during and after the diet to keep the fat off for good.

#2: Not Adjusting Your Lifestyle For The Long Haul

But it’s not just your physiology working against you.

Right after your diet is also when you’ll have the highest hunger and cravings. You’ll be tempted to slip right back into your old eating habits, but just like that, your weight will come right back.

I’ve seen it happen countless times.

If you’re serious about maintaining your results from the 'how to get leaner' plan, you’ll need to make sacrifices and adjust your lifestyle for the long haul.

#3: Not Continuing To Stay Active

But keeping the fat off isn’t just about food.

Research shows that one of the biggest factors in long-term fat loss is how active you are after going through the 'how to get leaner' plan.

That’s why, for me, those 8,000 steps a day didn’t just stop once I got lean.

In fact, they became even more critical, especially with a slower metabolism. This is why setting a realistic step goal that you can stick to long-term before executing the 'how to get leaner' plan is crucial. 

TL;DR

• Getting shredded (<10% body fat) comes at a cost. TBH, just getting leaner (12% to 20%) is impressive and will still look fantastic, especially if you’ve built muscle.
• Ultimately, when it comes to how to get leaner, you’ll have to eat fewer calories. Taking a more aggressive approach initially, eating enough protein, making smart swaps, and ‘cheat meals’ may help make your diet more enjoyable and sustainable.
• To avoid muscle loss while implementing the ‘how to get leaner’ plan, keep training volume high for your most ‘stubborn-to-grow’ muscle groups. But don’t completely neglect any muscle groups.
• Focus less on “cardio workouts” to burn calories. Instead, just set a daily step goal.
• It’s not just about ‘how to get leaner’, but also ‘how to stay lean forever’. So, avoid making these mistakes: not accounting for your metabolism drop, not making long-term lifestyle changes, and not continuing to stay active.

Need More Help With How To Get Leaner?

Now, while this 3 step process of how to get leaner is simple, you must execute it properly and make the right adjustments along the way.

And I get it if this all still sounds really overwhelming.

So if you’re looking for a done-for-you, all-in-one program that guides you every single week to the best shape of your life, then just take our quick, free analysis quiz below to discover the best Built With Science program for you and your body:

Click the button below to take my analysis quiz to discover the best program for you:

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But I highly recommend supplementing your 'how to get leaner' plan with these 2 abs exercises to help build your six-pack abs as you diet.

Hope you enjoyed this one, thanks for sticking to the end, and I’ll see ya next time!

By the way, here’s the article summed up into a YouTube video: