A few years ago, I worked with two women in their forties. Same height, same weight, completely different lives. One could deadlift her bodyweight, jog without gasping, and wake up ready to take on the day. The other lived on salads and caffeine, walked less than 3,000 steps a day, and thought being lighter meant being healthier.

Guess who had better blood work, stronger bones, and more energy? It wasn’t the thinner one.

That was the turning point for me as a coach. For years, I had watched people chase the number on the scale like it was the key to happiness. The problem is, the scale doesn’t measure health. It measures gravity.

Being light doesn’t mean being fit. I have seen lean people who couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded. I have trained heavier clients who moved like athletes, slept well, and had blood markers doctors dream of. The difference wasn’t their body size. It was what their body could do.

We have been told for decades that weight equals health, but research keeps proving the opposite. In a large study published in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, scientists found that people with higher fitness levels lived longer even if they carried extra body fat. Those who were fit but overweight had lower mortality risk than people who were thin but unfit. Another study in JAMA confirmed that aerobic fitness and muscular strength predict longevity better than BMI ever will.

The reason is simple. Muscle and cardiovascular capacity protect you. Muscle helps regulate blood sugar, supports joints, and keeps metabolism active. Cardiorespiratory fitness improves heart function and oxygen delivery. When you lose either, you lose your resilience.

This is where modern culture gets it wrong. We glorify thinness as discipline and strength as vanity when it should be the other way around. The scale is easy to check, but your grip strength, your endurance, your ability to get up from the floor without using your hands, those are the real indicators of healthspan.

When I train clients in their forties, fifties, and sixties, I tell them that the goal isn’t to weigh less, it’s to do more. I would rather see them lift groceries without strain, climb stairs without pain, or chase their kids without exhaustion. That is real progress.

I am not saying weight is irrelevant. Extreme obesity does carry risks. But the obsession with being thinner has created generations of under-muscled, under-fed, and over-stressed adults. People who lose weight through starvation or endless cardio often lose precious muscle along the way. They become lighter, yes, but also weaker, slower, and more prone to injury.

Fitness, on the other hand, is protective medicine. Studies show that even moderate improvements in fitness, like moving from the bottom 20 percent to average for your age, dramatically reduce the risk of chronic disease. You don’t need to train like an athlete. You just need to move with intent and consistency. Strength training twice a week and daily walking do more for your healthspan than any crash diet ever could.

When I turned 40, I stopped chasing leanness and started chasing strength. My training shifted from punishing workouts to performance-based sessions. I cared less about abs and more about recovery, sleep, and energy. The change wasn’t just physical. It was mental. I felt calmer, more capable, more in control. And my clients noticed the same shift when they stopped asking, “What should I weigh?” and started asking, “What can I do better this month?”

Healthspan, the years you live with quality, mobility, and energy, doesn’t care what the scale says. It cares whether you can carry your own bags, keep your posture, balance on one leg, or walk at a brisk pace without fatigue.

If I could sum it up simply, being fit beats being thin. Every time. The mirror may show your reflection, but your strength shows your potential.

Train smarter. Get stronger → https://coachharis.com