The scale can’t tell you if you’re strong, sculpted, or actually changing your body.

While everyone’s motivations for training are unique and made up of a web of complex and intertwined factors, when you boil it down, just about all of us are looking for some kind of body recomposition. Simply put – body recomposition means making intentional changes to the body’s existing composition and, in most cases, to the outward, visible appearance of the body’s ratio of muscle and fat percentages.

You may be motivated by some of the following factors,

Building a Stronger, More Capable Body – You want to feel powerful, not just in the gym but in everyday life—lifting groceries with ease, hiking without exhaustion, or simply moving through the world with more confidence.
Creating a More Balanced & Sculpted Physique – Maybe you feel like your body holds weight in certain areas more than others, and you want to shift how you carry muscle and fat for a more proportional look.
Having More Daily Energy – You want to wake up feeling refreshed, avoid mid-afternoon crashes, and have the stamina to get through your day without relying on caffeine or sugar.
Boosting Metabolism Naturally – More muscle means your body burns more calories at rest, helping to prevent sluggish metabolism and making it easier to maintain a healthy weight over time.
Improving Hormonal Balance – Exercise and proper nutrition can regulate stress hormones, improve insulin sensitivity, and support hormonal shifts (especially for women during different life stages).
Feeling Better in Clothes (or Without Them) – Whether it’s wanting jeans to fit better, filling out a dress differently, or feeling more confident in a swimsuit, body recomposition can help you achieve a shape that feels good to you.
Overcoming the "Skinny Fat" Feeling – You might not have much weight to lose, but you feel soft or lack muscle tone. Body recomposition can help you feel firmer, tighter, and more defined.
Aging with Strength & Grace – Keeping muscle as you age helps prevent frailty, supports joint health, and maintains a strong, mobile body for years to come. Body recomposition is an investment in your future self.
Lowering the Risk of Lifestyle-Related Diseases – Reducing excess fat while maintaining muscle can help prevent or manage conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
Reducing Chronic Pain & Discomfort – Strengthening muscles and improving body composition can help alleviate joint pain, backaches, and stiffness caused by poor posture or muscle imbalances.
Feeling Resilient & Adaptable – A well-trained body handles stress, illness, and injury better, making recovery from setbacks faster and easier.

Whatever your motivations are, seeking body re-composition should be a journey to feeling aligned with your body and honouring the functionality of it, while simultaneously working toward an outward, visible change.

As a Personal Trainer, it’s safe to say that all of my clients come to training with some kind of body re-composition goal. So in this series, ‘Body Recomposition 101’ I dive into the 3 core pillars responsible for producing such change: Fat Loss, Muscle Growth, and Fuel.

We’ll start off here with Fat Loss.

The Old Myth: “I Just Need Cardio to Lose Fat”

If you’re among the many who’ve said “I just need to run or do more cardio to lose weight,” you’re definitely not alone. We’ve been bombarded for years with the message that cardio is the be-all and end-all for shedding fat. Don’t get me wrong—cardio has legitimate benefits, from boosting cardiovascular health to burning a fair number of calories. It definitely has its place in a well-rounded training program. But if you’re focusing solely on the scale, you might be missing out on the bigger picture of body composition—the ratio of fat mass to lean mass (muscle, bone, organ tissues).

Body composition is where the real magic happens for a more defined, healthy, and energetic body. Pure cardio training can certainly reduce weight, but it may also lead to a higher proportion of the weight lost being muscle. Losing muscle is something we want to avoid, as muscle mass is metabolically active (meaning it burns more calories even at rest), supports joint health, and gives you the firm, sculpted look that’s commonly described as “toned.” If you’re losing muscle from all that cardio, you might notice that your metabolism feels slower, you’re not as strong, and you’re not seeing the shape you’d hoped for, even if the scale dips down a bit.

In short, you might be losing weight—but at the cost of losing muscle. And that’s a trade we don’t want, especially since the muscle you build can help keep your metabolic rate higher, maintain bone density, and enhance your overall functionality in daily life. When we talk about body recomposition, we’re really focusing on shedding fat while either preserving or increasing muscle. And this is exactly where resistance training shines.

Body Weight vs. Body Mass: Why the Scale Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

One of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to body recomposition is the idea that body weight is the most important measure of progress. It’s understandable—we’ve been conditioned to think that lower numbers on the scale automatically mean we’re getting leaner, healthier, and more fit. But the truth is, body weight and body mass are two very different things, and if we don’t understand that difference, we could end up training in a way that doesn’t actually align with our goals.

What’s the Difference?

Body Weight is the total mass of your body at any given time. This includes everything—muscle, fat, water, bone, organs, undigested food, and even the clothes you’re wearing when you step on the scale. It’s a general measurement that doesn’t tell you what’s actually changing in your body composition.
Body Mass refers more specifically to the individual components that make up your body weight, particularly lean mass (muscle, bone, water, and organs) and fat mass (body fat percentage). This distinction is crucial for body recomposition because the goal isn’t just to make the number on the scale go down—it’s to change the ratio of lean mass to fat mass in a way that supports your desired physique, strength, and health.

Why This Matters for Body Recomposition

If we only focus on body weight, we risk misinterpreting progress—or lack thereof—because weight fluctuates for many reasons that have nothing to do with fat loss or muscle gain. Here’s why understanding body mass matters more:

You Can Lose Weight Without Improving Body Composition
- Extreme dieting and excessive cardio can cause weight loss, but if you’re losing muscle along with fat, you’re not actually improving your body composition. You may even end up feeling softer, weaker, and more fatigued, even though the scale says you’re “lighter.”
You Can Gain Weight and Still Look Leaner
- If you’re strength training while keeping your fat levels in check, you may gain muscle while losing fat at the same time. Because muscle is denser than fat, your weight might stay the same—or even increase—but your body will look more defined, compact, and sculpted.
Weight Fluctuates Daily (and It’s Mostly Water)
- Many people panic when they see the scale go up a pound or two overnight, but most of the time, this is due to water retention, glycogen storage, sodium intake, or hormone fluctuations—not actual fat gain. Learning to track progress using more reliable markers (like measurements, progress photos, and strength improvements) helps you stay focused on what really matters.
Strength & Muscle Growth Matter for Long-Term Fat Loss
- Since muscle is metabolically active, having more lean mass means you burn more calories throughout the day—even at rest. If you focus only on dropping weight instead of building muscle, you could be slowing down your long-term fat loss potential.

The Science: Aerobic vs. Resistance vs. Combined

Now, to make sure we’re all on the same page, I want to briefly touch on what science says about different forms of exercise and their effects on body fat. Over the last decade, multiple research studies (ranging from randomized controlled trials to meta-analyses) have compared cardio-only workouts, strength-only workouts, and a combined approach where you do both in one training program. Here’s a brief overview:

Cardio-Only: Great for heart health and burning a fair amount of calories, especially in the short term. Studies show that cardio can indeed lower body fat percentage. However, if you do nothing but cardio, you risk losing more muscle mass along with the fat.
Resistance-Only: Fantastic for building strength, muscle definition, improving insulin sensitivity, and shaping your body. While some studies suggest it may not produce as large of a decrease in total body fat percentage as cardio does (over short durations), there is a crucial caveat: you’re preserving or adding muscle. In some cases, that can mean the scale doesn’t change much because you’re building lean tissue even as you drop some fat.
Combined: The results often show that combining both cardio and resistance training produces the best overall improvements in health markers and body composition. You get the cardiovascular benefits of aerobic exercise and the muscular improvements from strength work. Many studies actually rank combined exercise as the top method for not only dropping body fat but also improving muscle mass, bone density, and metabolic health.

But, if you’re aiming for an approach that supports your body’s transformation in a sustainable way, focusing heavily on resistance work (while adding targeted cardio) is often the winning formula. There’s a saying: “Muscle is the organ of longevity.” If your training center of gravity includes strength, you’re setting yourself up for a higher baseline of health as the years roll on.

What Resistance Training Does for You

So, why is resistance training so pivotal—especially for women—when we talk about fat loss, body recomposition, and overall health? Let’s dig deeper:

Greater Metabolic Impact

One of the most significant perks of incorporating weightlifting or resistance training is the long-term boost in metabolic rate. Muscle tissue burns more calories at rest compared to fat tissue. Though the exact numbers can vary, the key takeaway is that maintaining or building muscle can help you burn more calories around the clock, not just during your workouts. That means your body becomes a more efficient calorie-burning machine.

Shape and Definition

We all want that lean, sculpted silhouette—and that’s where resistance training stands out. When you lift weights (appropriately for your fitness level), you’re prompting the body to develop and reshape muscle tissue. Combine this with improved nutrition and sensible cardio, and you’ll start to see definition in your arms, legs, glutes, and everywhere else you’re working. You can’t achieve that “toned” appearance without some muscle in place.

Bone Density and Joint Health

Particularly for women, bone health is no small matter—especially as we approach menopause and the natural hormonal shifts that come with aging. Resistance training is incredibly beneficial for maintaining and even increasing bone density, helping to ward off osteoporosis. On top of that, it can strengthen connective tissues around joints, making you more resilient to everyday wear and tear.

Insulin Sensitivity and Hormonal Balance

Resistance work can help your body become more efficient at using glucose (sugar) for energy, thus improving insulin sensitivity. This can be a big deal for preventing or managing issues like type 2 diabetes. Additionally, while no single form of exercise can perfectly “balance hormones,” the positive effects on stress, inflammation, and blood sugar regulation can do wonders for overall hormonal health.

Confidence and Independence

There’s nothing quite like feeling stronger in your body. Whether it’s that sense of self-sufficiency when you can carry heavy groceries or rearrange furniture on your own, or the pride in setting and achieving strength goals in the gym—resistance training can stoke your self-confidence in a big way.

Strategies for Fat Loss Without Sabotaging Muscle

Don’t wage war against your muscle tissue while you’re losing fat. We want to maintain or even build that muscle if possible, not burn it as fuel. Here’s how you can do that:

Avoid Drastic Calorie Cuts

Crash diets might make the scale drop fast, but they can lead to a higher proportion of muscle lost. Aim instead for a moderate calorie deficit while prioritizing protein intake—roughly 0.7–1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight is a common guideline.

Protein and Strength Training

Protein is the building block of muscle. Resistance training signals your body to build and repair muscle fibers, and protein is the raw material. Think of these two as peanut butter and jelly: better together!

Intentional Cardio

Integrate cardio in a way that complements, rather than detracts from, muscle-building. Short, high-intensity interval sessions a couple of times a week can keep you from spending hours doing long, slow cardio that might spike your appetite and risk muscle breakdown if done excessively.

Enough Rest

Chronic stress (including overtraining) can raise cortisol levels, which might complicate your body’s ability to burn fat efficiently. Give yourself permission to rest—both mentally and physically—and watch your body respond more positively.

The Bigger Picture: Health Beyond Fat Loss

While this post is centered on fat loss and the role of resistance training, there’s a bigger picture here: building a strong, capable body that supports you not just in your twenties and thirties, but through every decade of life. Research consistently shows that maintaining muscle through strength training helps regulate blood sugar levels, enhances mobility, and lowers the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and osteoporosis. For women especially, lifting can be a game changer when it comes to self-esteem and independence.

When you make strength training the core of your fitness routine, supported by balanced nutrition and a dose of cardio, you’re investing in more than just the numbers on the scale. You’re investing in your energy, your posture, how you carry yourself, and how you show up in the world. You’re investing in a version of you who has the stamina to chase after kids, conquer hikes, or try new adventures without constant aches or fatigue. And you’re setting yourself up for success long-term, because building a stronger body is something that can continue to benefit you years down the line.

Join Me in Training for Real Results

I encourage you not to wait for the “perfect” moment. Because here’s the (funny) secret: there’s never going to be a perfect moment. Time will pass whether or not we decide to invest in ourselves. So, let’s reclaim the narrative, pick up some weights, dial in a workout routine that we genuinely enjoy, and watch our bodies—and minds—transform.

By incorporating resistance training into your life, you’re setting yourself up for a cascade of benefits that extend well beyond simple “fat loss.” You’re taking control of your body and health, intentionally deciding which direction you move in. If you feel even a tiny spark of possibility reading this, listen to it—it’s telling you that you can step into your power and build a physique that’s strong, lean, and confidently you.

Let’s do this together. Are you in?

references

Schroeder et al. (2019). PLoS ONE. Comparative study of aerobic vs. resistance vs. combined training in overweight adults.
Lee et al. (2024). European Heart Journal. CardioRACE trial analyzing cardio vs. resistance vs. combined training for cardiovascular health and fat reduction.
Yarizadeh et al. (2021). Advances in Nutrition. Systematic review/meta-analysis of exercise modalities and subcutaneous fat reduction.
Batrakoulis et al. (2022). Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Network meta-analysis comparing various exercise types in overweight/obese adults.

Body Recomposition 101: Training for Fat Loss