Ready foods Body-sculpting bikni

Getty Images-Sculpting a physique that is ready to be shown off in public is all about burning off fat while
building lean muscle. Fitness trainer and nutritionist Marek Doyle says: 'To tighten and tone, you must achieve two things; the first is to sculpt muscle fibres, the second is to burn fat around them. The one class of food that supports both these endeavours is protein, which boosts the metabolic rate. Consuming protein early in the day and then at three-hour intervals is your best bet to support the maintenance of muscle and destruction of fat. A typical 60kg woman should aim for at least 100g of protein per day.

Getty Images-Eating all the protein in the world won't help, however, if you lard it up on the sofa all day. Exercise is vital too, says Doyle. 'Weight training is best suited to body sculpting', he says. 'It aims to overload the muscle fibres, causing a surge of metabolic activity, which results in the repair of these fibres. While one result of this is stronger muscles, your metabolic rate is increased for the entire repair process. This will typically last three days, so your body will burn more fat during this time. 'The combination of muscular development and increased fat burning makes resistance training by far and away the most efficient form of exercise. Such exercises include press-ups, lunges, squats, chins, lateral pull-downs and the like.' How many calories should you be eating per day? Doyle says: 'Calorific requirements depend entirely on lean mass - the weight of the body not including fat, and how much activity you do. Thus, a small woman who does nothing may need to eat as little as 1,200 calories, while a taller, heavier woman, who has an active job will need closer to 2,000 just to maintain her weight. However, the balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates is so much more important than the calories.' Want to sculpt the perfect body? Here is a list of the best foods to help you do it.

Getty Images-A staple of body-sculpting diets, chicken is ideal because of its low-fat, high-protein content. Chicken is around 23% protein, making it easy for you to reach your target of consuming around 20g of protein with every meal. A 100g serving of grilled chicken breast (avoid frying and make sure you remove the skin) with roast vegetables or salad and 'good' carbohydrates like wholegrain bread is a perfect post-workout meal. Turkey, too, is lean and full of protein, so consider swapping that in to add some variety to your diet.

Getty Images-Forget the negative comments about eggs - they're a great source of protein that will promote lean muscle growth and, because they're also low in fat, they'll help you to lose weight. And remember - the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn, so make sure eggs (which contain around 6g of protein) are a regular part of your diet. Poached, scrambled, or boiled are best - again you should avoid frying as this only ups the fat content.

Getty Images-While probably not something you could stomach every day, oysters are another fantastic source of lean, high-quality protein. A three-ounce serving of oysters contains around 10 grams of protein, as well as very little fat. Oysters are also rich in calcium, zinc and iron (which we need to produce collagen). Just go easy on the Champagne, okay?

Getty Images-Meat! Again, you shouldn't eat too much of it, but if you are careful to choose lean cuts and limit yourself to around 500g a week, then red meat is one of the most adept body-shaping foods on supermarket shelves. Go for lean sirloin or fillet, which contains around 25g of protein and just 3g of fat per 100g.

Getty Images-No meat does not mean no body-sculpting protein. Tofu is a fantastic source of soy protein; just four ounces provides 9.2g of protein, almost 20% of your daily requirement. Tofu is also practically void of saturated fat and is low in calories. It's also a good source of those omega-3 fatty acids which also help us to burn fat.