THI's Live Transformed Podcast

Fat Loss Over 40 — The Truth and the Tools Episode 4: The Scale Isn’t the Goal — Redefining Progress Over 40

• Adam Kelley • Episode 54

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We challenge the scale-first mindset and show how to measure progress that actually improves life after 40. From daily weight swings to body recomposition, mindset shifts, and lifestyle wins, we lay out a practical, multi-metric system for sustainable fat loss and stronger health.

• the scale as one tool among many 
• why inches, photos, and strength tell the truth 
• daily weight fluctuations and what drives them 
• body recomposition explained in plain terms 
• mindset as the engine of lasting change 
• simple systems for food, sleep, and steps 
• lifestyle wins that matter more than weight 
• redefining success after 40 as strong and present 
• the real scoreboard: energy, confidence, and showing up

When you’re ready to pursue transformation built on strength, not shame, that’s exactly why we exist at Transform Health Initiative. We’d love to help you out there!

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  • Forbes, G. B. (2000). Body composition: Influence of nutrition, disease, growth, and aging.


  • Silva, A. M., et al. (2019). Changes in body composition and performance during aging. Journal of Aging Research.


  • Client outcomes from Transformed Health Initiative: THI Rebuild & THI Ascend.




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SPEAKER_01:

If you're only staring at a number, you're going to miss the transformation that's happening in your body and in your health. Okay. And how many people raise your hand right now? I don't care if nobody can see you. I don't care if everybody can see you. Raise your hand right now because I got both hands raised. If you have ever been in the position where you allowed what you saw on the scale to determine if you felt like you were being successful. If you've ever tried true fat loss, then you should have your hand raised. All right. Quit being shy. I can't even see you. Raise that hand. So so many of us have been there.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to Live Transformed, the podcast from Transformed Health Initiative, where evidence-based truth meets real life transformation. Lead yourself. Integrate health. Value what matters. Engage in the process. This is how you live transformed. And now here's your host, Adam Kelly.

SPEAKER_01:

What is up, my live transform people? So glad you guys are back in the building. So glad that I'm back in the building. I'm excited because we are rocking and rolling through this series, Fat Loss Over 40, The Truth and the Tools. So I am your host, Coach Adam Kelly, and today we're wrapping up our series, Fat Loss Over 40, with something most programs ignore, okay? And that is, and most people dep desperately need to hear. Goodness, I'm so excited I can't even speak. What so many people are desperately needing to hear. The scale isn't the goal. I'm pausing so you can let that set in. Say la as the Bible says. Think about that. The scale isn't the goal. Because when you're over 40, chasing a number can keep you from seeing the transformation that's actually happening physically, mentally, emotionally. So in this episode, we're going to break down what the scale can't tell you, how to define real progress, and why success in your 40s and beyond looks a whole lot different than it did in your 20s. All right. So welcome and let's get rocking with this thing. All right. Finish with a bang. So this for part first part, we're gonna talk about what the scale can't tell you. Okay. So let's start here. The scale tells you exactly one thing: your gravitational pull on Earth. That's it. Okay. It tells you how heavy your how much mass you take up. All right. But what it cannot tell you, it cannot tell you how much fat you've lost. It cannot tell you how much muscle you've gained. It cannot tell you whether you're sleeping better, you're thinking clearer, or you're moving pain-free. It can't tell you whether your clothes fit better. It can't tell you whether your blood work or your health markers are improving. And here's a fact that most people don't know, okay? You can lose four inches off your waist and gain two pounds on the scale. How is that? Well, it's not failure. That's called body recomposition. That's muscle replacing fat tissue. And that is a massive win, okay? That's literally a double positive for your health. Two extremely health promoting things, reducing excess body fat and gaining lean muscle tissue that are promoting good health in your body. Double the benefit. But if you're only staring at a number, you're gonna miss the transformation that's happening in your body and in your health. Okay. And how many people raise your hand right now? I don't care if nobody can see you. I don't care if everybody could see you. Raise your hand right now because I got both hands raised. If you have ever been in the position where you allowed what you saw on the scale to determine if you felt like you were being successful, if you've ever tried true fat loss, then you should have your hand raised. All right, quit being shy. I can't even see you. Raise that hand. So so many of us have been there, and so many of us are still there. Like, I it's crazy, guys. I know these things, like the back of my hand, okay? I know my body very well. I know how my body's gonna respond to different things, and still, if I especially if I've been handling business, if I've been tracking my food, I hit my goals, I did my daily activity and my lifts and everything else, and I wake up and I see that scale weight go up. I'm gonna have a quick about 20-second mental battle that happens where I'm like, you gotta be kidding me. You are supposed to be down, at least be the same. But you went up, like I was hungry yesterday. I woke up hungry today, like I got an extra 2,000 steps in because I was feeling gung-ho. Like I push extra reps on every set. You should be down today, but yet you're up. All right. And then I remind myself of what happens, what's happening, where I'm supposed to be, and I'm all good. But a lot of people don't have that understanding and that knowledge, and they stop there. And it's like, well, why am I even doing these things? This is hard, this is tiring, this is difficult. Why am I doing these things if it's not working? If I'm going backwards, I might as well eat a pizza. Like at least I'll enjoy gaining the weight. Guys, that is a death trap. Okay. And today I'm going to save you from either making that mistake or staying in that place of turmoil that you don't need to be in. Okay. So one thing I want you to remember is that weight fluctuation, weight fluctuates every single day. All right, no matter if perfect if conditions are perfect or if everything is off. Weight fluctuates every single day. So hydration, sodium, stress, hormones, sleep, digestion, these can swing the scale by three to five pounds or more overnight. All right. So if you treat that as a failure, you'll consistently sabotage yourself for no reason. And that varies for everybody because I can tell you what, I can diet for a while and like, you know, deplete muscle glycogen, you know, rebalance water retention, things like that. And then I go eat like a bunch of pizza, or maybe we go eat Chinese food that has a ton of sodium or just a big old juicy burger and some fries or something. And I've seen myself gain eight to 10 pounds overnight, literally. Like I weigh in the morning of, I weigh in the next morning, my weight is up eight to 10 pounds. And then over the next two to three days, I'll drop, you know, two, three, four pounds per day, getting back to where I was. It's crazy. Like I'll see, I feel it in my joints, my fingers swell up, my face definitely shows like y'all can know when I'm on and when I'm not, because when my face is looking nice and round and puffy, I've probably been overeating because my body just retains water like crazy. So it's different for everybody. So it's super important to understand that the scale is a tool, it is not the truth teller, okay? It is just a tool, and we want to use it like a tool, like we would any other tool. Okay. We don't judge how the building was built based on one tool alone, we base it on the final outcome. Okay, the tools can either help with the build or it can not help with the build, but the the tool is not the build itself, it's not the goal that we're after. It is one way to help us get there, right? You can use other tools, like tools are interchangeable to a degree. So uh let's see. So, this next portion we're gonna talk about is real progress is multi-dimensional. Okay, so how should you measure your progress? Good question. So, inside THI, whether it's our rebuild or ascend program, it's our online coaching programs or our in-person training, we define success in multiple dimensions, all right. So, number one, we look at, and these aren't in like a specific order, I'm just giving you them as numbers. So, one we look at is body metrics, all right. Yes, we look at the scale weight that that can be a helpful tool, but also we look at inches, okay, circumference inches. We look at progress photos, energy, digestion, strength numbers, our performance in the gym, because those tell a more complete story, okay? We want to get as much data as we can, and that helps paint a clearer picture of what's actually happening. Uh, number two is mindset. All right, how are you talking to yourself? Are you consistent? Do you bounce back faster from slip-ups? Are you improving there? Do you feel more confident? These mental shifts are often the first signs of true transformation because that's what we're here for. We're here for transformation. We're not here for a summer shred just to have to do it all again next year. We're here to transform once and for all. That may look different in each season, but that's the goal overall. Look, I know what it feels like to be frustrated with your health, trust me. To feel like you're doing everything right, but nothing seems to be sticking. That's why our coaching isn't about perfection. It's about building a system that works even when life gets messy. At Transform Health Initiative, we help busy adults rebuild their health, rewire their habits, and redefine their identity without shame, without overwhelm, and without starting over every Monday. If you're tired of trying to do it all on your own, we're here when you're ready. All right, back to the episode. So that's what we focus on is transformation. And the biggest part of that is our mindset. If you can transform your mind, your body is easy to transform. It has to fall in line because your mind is what controls everything. Okay. Number three is your lifestyle. All right. Scale can't tell you what your lifestyle is doing. Are you eating better food without overthinking it? Are you naturally starting to choose better options? You know, your minimally processed or less processed, you know, your high-quality protein sources, your, you know, um high quality carb sources, you know, your fruits and veggies, your high-quality fat sources, like, you know, healthier oils or some fattier meats, things like that. Um, are you focusing on that? Are you moving more naturally throughout the day? Are you increasing just your daily movement? Are you sleeping more consistently? Huge thing there. Are your relationships improving because you have more energy and patience? So things that we want to track. And guess what? The scale can't measure any of that, but those are the things that last. And I can tell you this from experience, from working with dozens and dozens of people. The things that matter most are not scale weight, it's not even clothes size, it's not strength, it's not performance in the gym. None of that matters the most. What matters most to people is how these things translate to their real life. Can they put on a bathing suit and not feel horrible about themselves? Can they go out on a date night and not feel so self-conscious about how they look in their outfit? Can they go outside and play with their kids or their grandkids without everything hurting or having to constantly take breaks or having to constantly say, no, I can't go down the slide with you? No, I can't swing with you because of their health is so bad or their body is so beat up. Like those are the things. Can they get up and off get up and down off the floor, you know, with less pain or with less difficulty or not having to grab onto something? Like those type of things tend to have the biggest impact on people's lives. Those are the true transformations, okay? That's why I love to focus on those things because those big wins is what keeps us dedicated when things aren't easy, when the scale weight's not moving, when we aren't dropping as many inches as we want, when performance is being hindered for whatever reason. Those wins that I mentioned before are the wins that typically matter the most. Okay. And here's the truth, guys. Your scale weight may bounce up and down daily. All right. It just comes with the territory, but your habits, those compound upon each other and they build your future self. Okay. Not your scale weight, but your habits over time. We don't need to chase skinny, okay? That died out in the 80s and 90s. All right. I'm so glad we're beyond that point. I'm so glad to see women in the gym strength training and building muscle and eating real food, not just eating lettuce salad every day and just heads of lettuce every meal, like eating their protein, eating their carbs, eating their healthy fats, promoting hormonal health, promoting just overall health and well-being, strength. Like it's a beautiful transition that we've made. Um, you know, I go into a public gym and I see just as many women, if not more women sometimes in the weight section lifting and getting after it. Whereas 10, 20 years ago, that's something you didn't see very often at all. It'd be more surprising than anything. So we don't need to be chasing skinny, okay? We need to chase strong, we need to chase present, powerful, okay? Those are the things that we need to anchor ourselves on. So, next we're gonna talk about redefining success over 40. What does success look like? So we're gonna bring this thing home, guys. Hold on tight because here we go. So at this stage of life, the real flex isn't your weight, all right? It's things like, like I said, playing with your kids or your grandkids without pain. It's going to bed without guilt or bloating or regret, you know, feeling good in your skin. It's about feeling confident in your clothes and in your decisions, knowing that you're doing something well for yourself. Okay. It's knowing that you're setting an example worth following for your kids, for your grandkids, for your spouse, for your family members, for your employers or your employees and your community members, all the people that you surround yourself with, setting that example, knowing that you're being a leader and a front runner in being just the best person that we can be all the way around. Okay, that's another big win that people see as they continue on their journey, how much influence they have unintentionally, because people see that you're doing something that's hard and challenging and that they quit so many times. And that inspires people to want to do it and also lets people know that hey, if they can do it, because I know this person, I know their weaknesses, I know their struggles, I know they're not some superior, genetically blessed person, like they're a regular person, but yet they've made these choices day after day, week after week, month after month, and now they're reaping the benefits. If they can do it, I can do it. That is hugely rewarding in our journey, guys. So this isn't about looking like you did in high school. Those days are gone, okay? And I promise you, you look better now than you did in high school. Things may hang a little different, things may settle a little different, you know, things may not be, you might not have the endurance and all that as you had in high school, but you're good, okay? And it's about becoming your strongest, healthiest, and most confident version of yourself now, okay. Not comparing yourself to your 30s or 10 years ago, but who are you now and who can you be now? And here's the twist, guys. That version of you may actually weigh more, okay? It may weigh more than you think it should. More muscle, better hydration, stronger bones, all of that can add pounds to the scale, but you'll feel and live infinitely better. Okay, so that's another thing that are isn't accounted for is hydration on scale weight. Another big one that is not thought about is bone density. So as you train, as you lift heavy, do weight-bearing exercise, you're thickening your bones, you're making them more dense. Well, guess what? More dense means more body weight, but you're not adding any body fat. So that can have an effect, especially over time, on how low your body weight gets. Things that people don't usually consider. So when you step on a scale and it doesn't say what you hoped, I want you to do this, okay? I want you to stop, pause, take two breaths, and then ask yourself Am I stronger? Am I healthier? Am I showing up better for the people that I love? That is the real scoreboard. If you can check yes on those, then you got none to worry about, boo-boo. Everything is good, all right? So here is your takeaway, okay? I love to leave you guys with some with a nugget that you can actually implement. The scale is a tool, but it's not the goal, okay? The real wins over 40 come from how you move, how you feel, how you think, and how you show up for the people that you love. Okay, who make what makes you who you are, all right? What keeps you ticking? Those matter more. If you stop chasing a number and start chasing strength, energy, and identity, you won't just lose fast. You won't just lose fat fast. You'll live transformed. Okay, that's what this is all about. The scale weight is useful, body weight is important, okay. It is it is important. We want to be in a healthy body weight range, but obsessing over that's not worth it. Focus on the positives, the body weight will fall in line, okay? And if you're ready to pursue this kind of transformation, one that's built on strength, not shame. That's exactly why we exist at Transform Health Initiative. This is why we get up every single day. So when you're ready, we would love to help you out there. All right. But until next time, do something good for yourself, something good for your health, something good for those you care about. And whatever you do, make sure you live transformed. All right, guys, we'll talk at you next time.