Body Recomposition Is More Important Than Weight Loss—Here’s Why Experts Say So 

For too long, weight loss has dominated the health conversation, often at the expense of true well-being. We've been bombarded with the misguided notion that shedding pounds is the ultimate—and sometimes only—measure of good health.

The pressure to slim down has been relentless, driven by celebrity endorsements, flawed medical advice, and the food industry pushing fat-free snacks. This narrative, especially targeted at women, promoted the dangerous belief that "less is more," no matter the cost to overall health.

But times are changing. Society and medical research are finally waking up to the fact that weight loss alone isn’t the answer to a long, healthy life. Instead, the focus is shifting to body recomposition—building muscle, improving strength, and fostering a healthier relationship with our bodies.

First, let’s clarify what this term means. “Think of your body composition as painting a clear picture and better understanding of the number you see on a traditional scale. It takes into account not only your body fat but also your lean muscle mass and even your bone mass and water composition,” explains Peloton Tread instructor and keynote speaker Marcel Dinkins.

This approach leaves room for nuance—it acknowledges the inevitable fluctuations in scale numbers and changes in your body's appearance from day to day. It doesn’t reduce your health progress to a single number. Just as BMI has become outdated and recognized as an overly simplistic and unreliable measure of health, so has the obsession with weight loss at any cost.

As you can imagine, this approach is quite different—and, we believe, much better. Instead of focusing on eating as little as possible and burning as many calories as you can, the emphasis shifts to redistribution. While losing fat may be a goal for many, the focus is now on maintaining and gaining muscle mass by building an exercise routine you love and finding a nutrition plan that works for you.

On an episode of the mindbodygreen podcast, exercise physiologist Bill Campbell, Ph.D., critiqued the quick-fix weight loss strategies of the past: “When they lose lean tissue muscle mass, they are setting themselves up for post-diet failure. And that manifests in a very unfortunate outcome. Which is, in a very short period of time, people will gain back more body fat than what they had before they started their diet.”

Olenick explains that healthy levels of total body fat have undeniable benefits for overall health—such as a reduced risk of cardiovascular1 and metabolic disease2, as well as some forms of cancer3. 

With body recomposition as the goal, preserving and building lean muscle mass becomes a priority. This focus not only benefits short-term fitness goals but also supports lifelong mobility.

“I would argue right now that we should all be trying to put on as much skeletal muscle as we possibly can. It's like, we want to stuff as much money into a retirement account if it had a really good interest rate as we possibly can because then we'll have more later to use,” said certified holistic nutritionist and personal trainer JJ Virgin, CNS, on the mindbodygreen podcast.

To get the most accurate measure of body fat percentage, you'll want to get a DEXA scan5, which uses low-dose X-rays to measure the strength and thickness of bones and evaluate body composition, or something similar, like an InBody scan which uses bioelectrical impedance analysis to measure body composition by sending mild electrical currents through the body and measuring the resistance they encounter in different tissues and fluids.

You can often find these at sports medicine clinics, fitness centers, or some doctor's offices.

It’s important to remember that less body fat isn’t always better, and there isn’t one perfect body fat percentage for everyone.

“The problem with focusing only on body fat percentage without considering muscle mass is that two people with the same body fat percentage can have very different amounts of fat and muscle,” explains Olenick.

“I’ve often seen women upset because their body fat percentage is in the upper 20s to low 30s, but that’s because they’re very thin and have little muscle, not because they have ‘too much fat.’ We need to consider both factors,” she says, emphasizing the complexity of body composition.

What’s considered a healthy body fat percentage varies from person to person and between men and women. “Women need more essential body fat than men to maintain normal hormonal function,” Olenick notes.

For instance, if a woman’s body fat drops too low or she isn’t eating enough, it can disrupt her hormones, affecting both reproductive health and overall well-being.

Now that we understand what body recomposition is, how it differs from traditional weight loss goals, and why less body fat isn’t always better, it’s time to dive into the practical side of things—how to make building muscle a priority in your routine.