Client Success Story: Body Composition Matters More Than Weight
Today’s client success story features my wonderful client Jess (42), who demonstrates that body composition matters more than weight! She has one of those unusual success stories that you don’t see very often in the mainstream health and fitness narrative. Since we have started working together, Jess has actually gained 15-20 pounds… but you’ll have to read the whole post to learn more about how this was the best thing that could have happened for her!
We have been working together for a long time now (since 2020), and I have perhaps never seen a client grow and transform more than Jess has. It’s not just about the tremendous muscle and strength that she has gained – it’s also about her mental strength. Her body image, her self-talk, and her empowerment have radically improved over the last four years, right along with her body composition.
When we first started working together in her late 30’s, Jess had just completed a very restrictive elimination diet with a dietitian. She was the lightest (on the scale) that she had ever been in her adult life, and yet she was still not completely satisfied with her body. She wasn’t consistently strength training at the time, and in her words, she felt “soft” and wanted to get leaner and more defined. Getting down to 105-110 pounds hadn’t eliminated the body fat that she thought it would, and her diet was incredibly limited. Although she was attached to her new low weight, she still wanted to make a change.
I’ll be honest – when I started working with her and introduced the concepts of strength training and a higher-protein (and ultimately, higher-calorie) diet, Jess started putting on weight and I think she had a lot of “uh-oh” moments in those first months. Seeing the scale go up was not fun. But the problem was that her previous diet had been so restrictive, there was nowhere to go but up. The truth was that she was not at her ideal weight on the hyper-restrictive diet, and any attempt to restore “balance” was naturally causing weight gain back to her body’s preferred level.
… Which was, of course, causing emotional distress.
Side note, this is why I do not like elimination diets that cause lower-than-ideal weight – the results are incredibly difficult to maintain, and then you can’t help but compare yourself with the lightest version of yourself forever.
But a year or two ago, I began to witness a quiet transformation. I could really see Jess internally processing the impact that toxic diet culture has had on her over the years – not only how it had created food restriction, but how it had created a mindset of perpetual dissatisfaction with her body. Last winter, for the first time, she embraced an intentional “bulk” – eating more calories in order to put on muscle.
Now, Jess is 15-20 pounds heavier than when we started, and I honestly believe that she is at her natural, ideal weight. She is able to eat more calories than she was ever able to eat before, she is leaner and more defined, and her performance is out of this world. She is rocking full chin-ups and pull-ups, deadlifts that are 150% of her bodyweight, and her knees (which used to bother her tremendously) no longer hurt even though she is doing barbell lunges and heavy squats.
But most importantly, in her early 40’s, she is happier in her body than she has ever been. She is an incredible example of what consistent and disciplined self-work can do for a person – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Ultimately, transformation isn’t just about the number on the scale. It’s so much more.
Here is Jess’s story in her own words…
“I felt like I was constantly in a battle with food…”
I started working with Rachel about four years ago. I had recently lost some weight, and while I was the lightest I’d been in my adult life, I was still feeling “soft” and unsatisfied with my body. I was tired of doing the same old thing and never getting the results I wanted, no matter how much effort I felt I was putting in. I was in my late thirties at the time and, while I wasn’t “overweight,” I have fluctuated up and down the same 15 pounds my whole adult life and felt like I was constantly in a battle with food – always “watching my weight.”
I was ready for a serious change.
“I felt and looked better, but seeing that number go up was hard…”
The beginning was a little hard mentally. I had incorporated strength training into my workouts over the years, but never very consistently and definitely not anything heavy. I enjoyed the workouts Rachel set up for me, but as soon as I started strength training consistently, I gained 10 pounds. I felt and looked better than when I started, but seeing that number on the scale go up was hard for me. I knew I was gaining muscle. But I was so used to the scale being my measure of progress, I had a difficult time shifting my mindset away from a “perfect number.”
Now, I’m almost 20 pounds heavier than when I started, and I feel better than ever! I’m not where I ultimately want to be yet, but I’m enjoying the process of getting stronger, hitting personal records, doing things I was intimidated to even attempt in the past.
“My routine keeps me motivated to show up…”
Most of my life, I had an “all or nothing” mindset around working out. I would set a goal of working out 5 or 6 days a week and if I missed a day, I would be disappointed in myself. And if I missed two days, well what’s even the point?? Also, I was usually doing some kind of intense cardio I didn’t like, which felt like torture, but I would do it for an hour just to burn the calories.
Now, I have a routine that is enjoyable to me and that keeps me motivated to show up. I lift weights 4 days a week and make sure I keep my body moving each day with a walk or two either outside or on a treadmill. I throw in an occasional kickboxing class, but that’s just for fun! I’ve found a routine that makes me appreciate what my body is capable of doing, and is easy for me to stick to.
“A goal that is not based on losing weight…”
Strength training allows me to set a goal that is not based on losing weight, which mentally has been the greatest gift. Being able to do chin ups or hitting a 200-pound deadlift feels ten times better than losing five pounds ever did. I still have aesthetic goals too, but shifting from always trying to lose the last five pounds to adding five pounds to my deadlift or bench press has been freeing. Also, my body composition has changed more through strength training than through all those hours of cardio I used to do.
Nutrition is probably the area that has changed the most for me and has taken the most mental adjustment. While I didn’t do a ton a fad diets, I definitely labeled foods as “good” or “bad” and would cut out those “bad” foods if I was trying to lose weight. Since I’ve shifted to building muscle, I eat less restrictively, and more in a way that fuels my body for workouts and building muscle. Overall, it is healthier and more balanced.
“Another reminder the scale doesn’t tell the whole story…”
The thing that’s changed the most for me is not being constantly concerned with the number on the scale. In the past, the scale has the power to make or break my mood for the day. It’s taken some time to shift that, and I still sometimes have that feeling creep up again, but now I can remind myself that while I’m “heaviest” I’ve been in 10 years, I’m also the fittest and strongest, too.
Recently, I found a picture of myself from 2020 and one from 2024, and I asked a friend what they thought the weight difference was between the two. He said it looks like I lost about ten pounds in the second, more recently picture, and was shocked to hear I was actually 15 pounds heavier. Another reminder the scale doesn’t tell the whole story. Now I’m happy with what my body can do in the gym and feel accomplished when I set a new personal record instead of being upset because the scale might have been up that day.
Rachel here: this is such a good example of the fact that body composition matters more than weight. We’ve been incredibly conditioned to pay attention to the scale more than anything else. But really, we should be paying attention to a variety of metrics, including mood, measurements, performance, photos, clothing fit, and more.
“Feeling strong and fit in your 40’s is the greatest gift…”
I highly recommend lifting heavy weights. Feeling strong and fit in your 40’s is the greatest gift you could give yourself. Not only will your body improve – so will your confidence . Keep showing up! Not every week or every workout will be perfect or better than the week before, which can be disappointing in the moment, but I always feel better for showing up and doing the best I can do that day. There’s always tomorrow (or next week). Patience is key. This is an area I continue to struggle with (as I’m sure Rachel can attest). Building muscle and changing your body will likely take longer than you think or you want it to and for those of us who want to see results quickly, it can be frustrating. I’ve had to take any kind of timeline off the table and just trust that if I’m consistent, change will come.
Rachel here again! I can also point out a few strategies (and mental reframes) that Jess has used over the years that have transformed her experience:
- She stopped doing exercise she hated. We cut out the hours of cardio that she simply didn’t enjoy. Previously, she had only been doing it for the calorie burn, but she really didn’t like it. Now, she only does strength training, walking, and the occasional HIIT class that she genuinely enjoys.
- She takes strength training seriously and lifts heavy. Jess went from occasionally strength training to hitting the gym four times a week (most weeks) and using “progressive overload” – increasing weights and demand over time. Now, she’s able to do chin-ups, pull-ups, heavy deadlifts, heavy squats, and more. Consistent and intense strength training encourages your body to build and keep muscle – which is often the most critical problem for women 40+.
- She gradually reincorporated foods that she had “eliminated.” She gently took herself off the elimination diet that she had been following initially, so that she could eat more protein, carbs, and variety. So many women are led to believe that if they cut out dairy or grains (or whatever) that they will lose weight. This simply isn’t true. Now, Jess still prefers a diet that skews toward higher-fat and lower-carb, but she uses carbs strategically to fuel her workouts and boost her fiber, and she isn’t afraid of them.
- She embraces balance. She goes on vacation, dines out with friends, and occasionally skips a workout when it would be more stressful to squeeze it in.
If you’re ready to reinvent yourself from the inside out like Jess, get in touch for a free 30-minute consultation! We can talk through your goals and make a plan for you.
