Why Strength Training Should Be Part of Your Weight Loss Plan (Especially After 40)

If you're trying to lose weight after 40, I have a question for you.

How much time have you spent thinking about what you're eating?

Probably a lot.

How much time have you spent thinking about how many calories you're burning?

I'm guessing a decent amount there, too.

But here's a question you might not have thought much about:

How much time have you spent thinking about the muscle you want to KEEP while you're losing weight?

Because when most women think about weight loss, they think about eating less, moving more, and watching the number on the scale go down.

And for years, moving more usually meant doing more cardio.

More walking. More running. More cycling. More time on the elliptical. Whatever helped burn those extra calories.

And listen, I'm not here to bash cardio. I've completed three half Ironmans and multiple marathons. I've spent a ridiculous amount of time doing cardio myself. 😂

Cardio is great for your heart, and I absolutely want you to keep doing it.

But if you're a woman over 40 who's trying to lose weight, I want you to start thinking differently about exercise.

Strength training shouldn't be something you plan to do AFTER you lose the weight. It should be part of how you lose it.

Let me explain why.

When You Lose Weight, Are You Losing Fat or Muscle?

Let's say you want to lose 20 pounds.

What exactly do you want to lose?

I'm guessing body fat.

You're probably not thinking, "You know what? I'd really love to lose some of this muscle I've worked so hard to build."

But here's the thing.

When you lose weight, you don't automatically lose only fat.

You can lose muscle along with it.

I recently worked with a woman who had lost 100 pounds over the previous year. That's a significant amount of weight!

But when we looked at her body composition, her body fat percentage was still around 40%.

Her weight alone didn't tell us the whole story.

And it brought up an important conversation about how much muscle she may have lost along the way.

This is something we don't talk about enough when it comes to weight loss, especially for women in their 40s and 50s.

We spend so much time focused on getting the scale to go down that we forget to ask what's actually going down with it.

And as we get older, that question becomes even more important.

Why Maintaining Muscle Matters More After 40

As we age, we become more susceptible to losing muscle, especially when we're not doing anything to challenge it.

Add weight loss to the equation, particularly aggressive calorie restriction without strength training, and you may end up losing more muscle than you intended.

And here's why that matters.

Muscle isn't just about having nice-looking arms in a tank top.

Although I'm certainly not opposed to that either. 😂

Muscle helps you:

• Carry groceries without struggling.

• Pick up your kids or grandkids.

• Get up off the floor.

• Climb stairs.

• Move furniture.

• Travel, hike, and enjoy the activities you love.

And eventually, it helps you continue doing those things as you get older.

I think something happens when we reach our 40s.

We start noticing our parents and older family members aging. We see people struggling with mobility, losing independence, or no longer being able to do things they once enjoyed.

And suddenly, exercise starts to mean something different.

It's not just about fitting into a smaller pair of jeans.

It's about being able to keep doing the things we love for as long as possible.

We don't just want to live longer. We want to be capable of enjoying those years.

So instead of only asking, "How much weight can I lose?"

I want you to start asking:

"How can I lose body fat while keeping the muscle I'm going to need for the rest of my life?"

That's a very different way to approach weight loss.

How Strength Training Helps Preserve Muscle During Weight Loss

When you're trying to lose weight, you're typically eating fewer calories than your body uses.

That's called a calorie deficit.

But when you're in a calorie deficit, some of the weight you lose can come from muscle.

This is where strength training becomes so important.

When you lift weights, you're giving your muscles a reason to stick around.

You're essentially telling your body, "Hey, we're still using these. Let's hang on to them!"

Okay, that's not exactly the technical explanation of what's happening inside your body, but you get the idea.

Resistance training helps preserve muscle during weight loss.

And when you combine strength training with adequate protein and a reasonable approach to losing weight, you're putting yourself in a much better position to maintain that muscle.

This is also why I don't want you judging your strength workouts by how many calories you burned.

Because I know how easy that is.

You finish a workout, look down at your watch, and immediately check the calories.

And if the number isn't very impressive, you start wondering whether the workout was even worth doing.

But the value of strength training isn't just what happens during those 30 or 40 minutes.

You're building strength.

You're helping protect your muscle.

You're investing in what your body will be able to do 10, 20, and 30 years from now.

I'd say that's a pretty good return on your time.

Can You Lose Fat and Build Muscle at the Same Time?

Here's where things get interesting.

You might be wondering, "Okay, Michelle, I understand that strength training helps me keep muscle. But can I actually build muscle while I'm trying to lose weight?"

The answer is yes!

It's possible to lose body fat while building muscle.

This is called body recomposition.

Fancy term, pretty simple concept.

Your body composition is changing because you're losing fat while gaining muscle.

And this can be especially possible for women who are new to strength training or who are returning to lifting after some time away.

Now, that doesn't mean everyone who starts lifting weights is automatically going to build muscle and lose fat at the same time.

Several things affect how much muscle you can build, including your training, nutrition, recovery, and where you're starting.

And if you've been strength training consistently for years, building additional muscle while eating in a calorie deficit can be more challenging.

But here's what I want you to understand.

You don't necessarily have to choose between wanting to lose fat and wanting to get stronger.

Those two goals can work together.

Unfortunately, there's one little thing that can make the process frustrating.

Our good friend, the bathroom scale.

Why the Scale Might Not Move When You Start Strength Training

Let's say you've finally decided to start lifting weights.

You're doing two or three strength workouts each week.

You're paying attention to your nutrition.

You're feeling pretty good about yourself.

And then you step on the scale.

Nothing.

Or worse, it's UP two pounds.

Seriously?!

You're actually doing the things you're supposed to be doing, and the scale has the nerve to go UP?

I get it.

Especially if you've spent years using the scale as your main way of determining whether your efforts are working.

But here's what I want you to remember.

The scale measures your total body weight. It doesn't tell you what that weight is made of.

It doesn't distinguish between fat, muscle, water, and everything else contributing to your weight.

Let's look at an example.

Imagine you lose four pounds of body fat and gain one pound of muscle over time.

The scale would show a three-pound weight loss.

You might be happy with that number, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

You actually lost four pounds of fat.

Or imagine you lose two pounds of fat and gain two pounds of muscle.

The scale wouldn't change at all.

Yet your body composition would be different.

Now, these are just examples to help explain the concept. I'm not saying that's exactly what will happen when you start lifting.

But can you see why relying only on the scale might cause you to overlook your progress?

And there's something else we need to talk about.

Water Weight and Strength Training

When you begin strength training, especially if it's new to you, your muscles need time to recover and adapt.

Part of that process can involve temporarily retaining more water.

Your muscles also store glycogen, a form of stored carbohydrate, along with water.

So changes in your workouts and nutrition can affect your weight before you've even had much time to change your body composition.

And if you're dealing with perimenopause?

Well, let's add hormonal fluctuations, sleep disruptions, and stress to the mix.

Because apparently we needed a few more things to think about. 😂

All of these can contribute to fluctuations in your weight.

So if you start lifting weights and the scale goes up a pound or two, don't immediately assume you've gained body fat.

But there's another side to this.

No, You Didn't Gain Five Pounds of Muscle in Two Weeks

I've heard women say, "Well, I started lifting weights and the scale went up, so it must be muscle!"

And listen, I've wanted to believe that myself.

But building muscle takes time.

A lot more time than most people realize.

You don't complete three strength workouts and suddenly wake up with five additional pounds of muscle.

I wish!

I've spent years lifting weights, and I can promise you that building muscle requires consistent effort.

You need to challenge your muscles over time, get adequate nutrition, and allow your body to recover.

When you're new to strength training, you may notice that you're getting stronger relatively quickly.

But some of those early strength gains happen because your nervous system is learning to perform the movements more efficiently.

Your body is getting better at what you're asking it to do.

That's fantastic progress!

But noticeable muscle growth generally takes longer. Think months of consistent training rather than a couple of weeks.

And for anyone who's been avoiding strength training because you're afraid of getting bulky?

I promise you, picking up a pair of 15-pound dumbbells isn't suddenly going to turn you into a bodybuilder.

Some of us have been working really hard to build the muscle we have. If it happened that easily, we'd all be thrilled!

So don't let that fear keep you from getting started.

How to Measure Strength Training Progress Beyond the Scale

If the scale doesn't tell us everything, how do we know whether our workouts are working?

First, I'm not saying you have to throw away your scale.

If weight loss is one of your goals, it can still be a useful tool.

But I encourage you to look at trends over time rather than letting one weigh-in determine whether you're succeeding or failing.

And I want you to start paying attention to other signs of progress.

Are your clothes fitting differently?

Are the dumbbells you started with feeling easier?

Can you complete more repetitions with good form?

Are you feeling more confident walking into the gym?

Because those things matter.

Imagine you've been strength training consistently for eight weeks.

The scale has barely changed.

But when you started, you were doing goblet squats with a 10-pound dumbbell.

Now you're using 25 pounds.

Or maybe you couldn't do a push-up when you started, and now you can do several.

Are we really going to say nothing has happened because the scale hasn't moved?

Absolutely not.

You've gotten stronger.

And that's worth celebrating.

Now, if fat loss is your goal and your weight and other measurements aren't changing over time, that may be a reason to look more closely at your nutrition and overall plan.

We don't want to automatically assume that every time the scale stays the same, it's because we're gaining muscle.

But we also don't want to overlook genuine progress simply because it doesn't show up as a smaller number.

Especially if you've spent years believing that exercise only counts when it helps you lose weight.

Should You Lose Weight Before Starting Strength Training?

I hear this one a lot.

"I want to lose some weight before I start lifting."

Or:

"I need to get in better shape before I start strength training."

Nope.

You don't need to lose 20 pounds first.

You don't need to get better at cardio first.

And you don't need to wait until you're more comfortable in your body.

You can start strength training right where you are.

In fact, if losing weight is something you're working toward, I'd much rather see you start lifting as part of that process instead of waiting until you've reached your goal weight.

Because remember, we're not just trying to lose weight.

We're trying to preserve muscle, build strength, and create a body that's capable of doing the things we want it to do now and as we get older.

And you don't have to spend an hour at the gym five days a week to get started.

Two manageable strength workouts each week can be a great starting point.

You can build from there.

Two Things I Want You to Do This Week

Before you leave, I have two things I want you to think about.

First, if you're currently trying to lose weight, ask yourself:

"Am I doing anything to help preserve my muscle while I'm losing weight?"

If the answer is no, consider adding strength training to your routine.

Start small. You don't need to have everything figured out.

Second, if you're already strength training, pay attention to one measure of progress that has nothing to do with the scale.

Maybe it's how much weight you're lifting.

Maybe it's how many repetitions you can complete.

Or maybe it's that you're finally comfortable walking over to the free weights instead of avoiding that entire section of the gym.

Whatever it is, write it down.

Because I want you to have something to look back on when you're tempted to think nothing is happening.

The Goal Isn't Just to Get Smaller. It's to Get Stronger.

Here's what I really hope you take away from this.

If weight loss is your goal, don't just focus on the weight you want to lose.

Think about the muscle you want to keep.

Because the goal isn't simply to make your body smaller.

It's to help your body become stronger and more capable.

And that's something that's going to matter long after you've reached whatever number you were hoping to see on the scale.

So if you've been putting off strength training until after you lose weight, consider this your invitation to stop waiting.

You can work toward both goals.

And you don't have to have it all figured out before you start.