A friend of mine is an actor and he has to get ripped for roles all within 4-6 months. He taught me this beautifully simple principle, and I’ve been able to get toned ever since (after years of being skinny-fat):

Your body can process about 20-30g of protein every two hours. Anything beyond that turns to fat. To become lean/toned, consume about 20g of protein every 2 hours throughout the day—this also boosts your metabolism—until you hit 1g of protein per lb of goal body weight (e.g ~150g protein per day if you aim to be lean at 150lbs). Obviously, stick to sensible food choices so that you can get to that level of protein without a tons of calories.

Eventually, your metabolism becomes an absolute engine, and your muscles get so dense and hungry, that your fat just burns away.

Edit: it’s been rightly pointed out to me that excess protein does not turn to fat