THE REFINED FIT

Introduction: Why the scale stops telling the full story As we cross into our 40s, 50s, and beyond, many of us instinctively default to “lose weight” or “avoid gaining weight” as our main fitness goal. But midlife is a unique phase: our hormones change, our metabolism slows, recovery takes longer, and the stressors of work, family, and life transitions often mount. At this stage, shifting the goalposts away from merely chasing a smaller number on the scale (or avoiding weight