Why Your Weight Doesn’t Matter (with Before + After Photos)

I have been on my new fitness journey for the last five months, and boy has it been a ride! Corey Nielsen, a personal trainer in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I began working together back in February. I hadn’t worked out in close to a year, and when I had, it was sporadic at best ever since my foot surgeries (last one in 2013). Needless to say, I was out of shape, uncomfortable, and unhealthy.

Now, the first time I went in, before we even started working out, I weighed myself. Just yesterday (and all along the journey) I weighed myself as well. The craziest part? I haven’t lost an ounce of weight. I could contribute this to not sticking to a strict diet, or low-carbs. I however, attribute it to two things: muscle gain and set body weight. Would you believe me if I told you I had lost over 7 1/2 inches all over my body? That doesn’t even include inches that I lost on my ankles, calves, and forearms. The weight stayed the same, but the inches came off!

Don’t believe me? Here are the measurements from February and July!

I love seeing those side by side to compare the difference! My favorite part is that my lower and upper belly (trouble area) had the most inches lost! I know that my arm inches have gone up, but I notice huge muscle gains when I look at them, and even better, I have more strength (like when we just moved to our new apartment)! One of my favorite things about weight training is that I have learned how to isolate muscles. Now, even when I am just doing day to day tasks, I know what muscle or muscle groups I am activating. Just the other day I was lifting a ton of hung clothes above my head and noticed my core activated. Before training, I would not have known that required my abs to work!

See how weight means so little when you’re working hard towards a goal?! Stop using the scale as your main form of tracking your fitness level. It just isn’t fair to yourself. I believe in the Set Body Weight Theory, as I have witnessed it many times myself. The idea is that your body has a weight point that it gets comfortable with, and it will do anything it can to stay at that weight. This weight point can change with age, diet, exercise, but it is a tough one to knock down! I know that if I workout hard for two weeks, my body will feel and look different but the weight will stay the same. Alternatively, if I pig out for two weeks, I may feel and look a bit different, but my body weight won’t change either. It all has to do with our body regulation system, body composition, and metabolism!

Okay, now that we have talked about why you weight doesn’t matter, are you ready for some before and after photos?!

Phew, showing that much to you felt vulnerable, but I want others to feel inspired to get their health and confidence back! If you have any questions, feel free to email me! If you are in the Salt Lake City area and you are looking for a trainer, I highly recommend Corey Nielsen Fitness! Not in the area? No problem! He also has a personal training app that he can create personalized workouts on for you!

What is holding you back from your fitness goals? Tell me in the comments below!