The Weight of It All: Why Women Deserve More Than a Number on a Scale

I work with women every single day. Women who are vibrant, intelligent, kind, and deeply committed to their health. Women who are in a perfectly healthy weight range, who have improved their gut health, balanced their hormones, cleared their skin, built muscle mass, gotten their periods back, and finally have energy in the afternoon for the first time in years. And yet... the conversation still circles back to weight.
It breaks my heart how many women still feel like they're not “doing enough” simply because the number on the scale hasn't budged, or hasn't dropped enough. Despite their pathology improving. Despite inflammation reducing. Despite better sleep, moods, digestion, and libido. Despite it all , they still feel like they’re failing.
We’ve been conditioned to believe that weight is the ultimate measure of success. That no matter how healthy we become, we should always be striving to be smaller. And as a practitioner, it’s exhausting to watch women dismiss the incredible changes their bodies are making just because their jeans don’t feel looser fast enough.
When I talk about functional testing, hormone panels, gut microbiome mapping, nutrient testing, I talk about how it gives us insight into energy, immunity, fertility, mental health, metabolism, ageing, and disease prevention. But what moves the needle most for many women? The suggestion that it might help with weight loss.
And listen, weight loss can be a part of the journey. Sometimes it’s a byproduct of healing. But I’m never going to glamorize it. I’m not going to post “before and afters” where someone’s visible abs become the proof of progress. I’m not here to coerce your body into shrinking by pulling calories so low you’re left with hair loss, insomnia, or missing periods. That’s not wellness.
Functional medicine is about healing from the inside out. It’s about asking why the weight is holding on. Is it inflammation? Cortisol dysregulation? Insulin resistance? PCOS? Hormonal imbalances? Gut health? Trauma? It’s about getting curious, not punishing your body into submission.
Your body is not broken. Your weight is not your worth. And healing is not always linear, or visible, at first glance.
If we could shift the narrative around health from aesthetics to function, we would start to truly understand what empowerment feels like in a woman’s body. Not because she’s finally reached a goal weight, but because she finally feels at home in her skin.