58-year-old grandmother becomes natural bodybuilder after losing 70 kg without quick fixes: Says. 'the female body is incredible and forgiving'

At 58, many imagine slowing down, but Fran Smith from Suffolk in England, is busy stepping onto bodybuilding stages. Once weighing 127 kg, a mother of six and a grandmother has shed more than half her body weight and now competes as a natural bodybuilder. Speaking to BBC, she said, “I don’t have to necessarily win because I’ve already won on that stage from where I started.”

Her transformation began more than a decade ago when, with her children grown, she looked in the mirror and decided it was time for change. “I had tried every diet in the book and it hadn’t worked,” she admitted. Instead of quick fixes, Smith focused on consistent lifestyle changes—healthier eating, walking, and eventually the gym.

Finding strength in weightlifting
After losing about 25 kg, Smith gathered the confidence to enter the gym. That step soon became life-changing. She fell in love with weightlifting and discovered her body could achieve more than she had ever imagined. “From being overweight, going through menopause, and having so many children, the female body is incredible and very forgiving,” she told BBC.

Smith’s journey was not only physical but mental. In a 2022 interview with the East Anglian Daily Times, she described her struggles with food. “I would find any excuse to eat something, whether I was happy or sad. Losing weight is the easy part. Maintaining the weight is more difficult.”

Her perseverance eventually led her to competitive bodybuilding, where she proudly competes in natural categories that forbid performance-enhancing drugs. At one event, she secured third place in the novice category, standing alongside women decades younger.

Inspiring others
Now weighing 57kg, Smith acknowledges that bodybuilding is not traditionally associated with grandmothers, but her grandchildren see her differently. “They think I’m pretty cool,” she shared with BBC. Beyond personal pride, she hopes her journey inspires other women, especially those over 50, to embrace fitness. “Lift your endorphins and feel good about yourselves,” she advised.

Her coach, Karen Thomas, herself a former bodybuilder, praised her determination. “Fran has exceeded all expectations. She’s proof that with the right mindset anything is possible,” Thomas told the East Anglian Daily Times.

What makes Smith’s story stand out is not just the physical transformation but the courage to reinvent herself after midlife. She entered the gym at an age when many women feel sidelined by menopause and societal expectations. Instead, she embraced the challenge. “I haven’t got the perfect bodybuilding body, but I kind of like what I see,” she reflected.