text: what's the best way to tone up in a short period of time? someone i know has to lose a few pounds (i'm guessing 15, just around his midsection) and gain some muscle for an acting role. i'd like to think that he could get set up with a personal trainer, but money's an issue. he's also pretty strong already so i doubt lifting some dinky little dumbbells would suffice. the really tricky thing is that he only has a month or so.... suggestions? a "little tricky" is putting it mildly, try a little impossible!  losing 15 lbs in a month is totally crazy (a few pounds!!??).   funny how he waited until the last minute to decide on this.  a pound of fat contains 3500 calories, so if you lost 1/2 a pound a day you would need to use 1750 calories a day, or the equivalent of running 20 miles.   that also assumes you don't take in more than your basal metabolic rate (very lttle food).  a goal of 5 lbs might be more reasonable.  anyway, try aerobic exercise (running, biking) to burn the calories and some weight work to put on some muscle.  oh...and yoga for losing weight and putting on muscle.  not likely!