DEXA scans

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• posted by LouiseKangooroo
  on 10 Jul 2019 at 07:30

  

  As anyone done a DEXA scan before?

  I have, a couple years ago, and my fat percentage was a massive 47% which puts me as extremely obese. It was very shocking given that my BMI was only in the overweight category.
  After a couple of calculation, I found out that if my lean mass stayed the same, to achieve a 25% body fat percentage, I would need to weight 54kg. I have never been that weight, not even when I was a super slim 16yo wearing EU clothes sized 34, even then I was 58kg!

  Anyway that makes me think that the DEXA scan might not be that reliable. And would love to hear from your experiences!
  Not sure I should pay for a repeat scan 😅

• posted by sunshine-girl
  on 10 Jul 2019 at 15:28

  

  I had an unofficial scan at the gym on a machine called Boditrax and I was 41.2% and muscle mass was 44 kg. After losing around 3kg my fat percentage went down to around 40% and my muscle mass was down to 42 kg, so it looks like I lost fat and muscle. More worrying was bone density which went from 2.4 kg down to 2.3, so I lost bone. I somehow dont think these machines are very accurate and depend on lots of other things. One thing being how much water you have drunk. If the scan you had was under medical supervision with a super duper machine I wouldn’t take much notice. I just use it as a guide so I can see how I am doing. The only thing that did improve with weight loss was visceral fat down from 13.1 cc’s to 12, which is in the okay range.

• posted by JGwen
  on 10 Jul 2019 at 19:16

  

  Hi, Did you get any additional information from the scan, did it show where the fat was, ie is it around organs or under the skin.
  I have not had a Dexa scan, I did have a scan on a machine that reports on body composition. The modern version of the machine apparently retails for around £6K, so not a cheap piece of kit but no where as expensive as a Dexa machine. . – I was surprised by the results so I asked around about the reliability, and was told that these machines can struggle to correctly assess the tissues and amount of fat around organs.

• posted by LouiseKangooroo
  on 11 Jul 2019 at 14:02

  

  Yes Im not convinced the machines are super reliable. I mean I have a healthy BMI (top range) and somehow my body is supposed to be half fat?
  JGwen yes it came with a report, basically fat everywhere 😀

• posted by LouiseKangooroo
  on 30 Aug 2019 at 01:05

  

  Just thought I’d update this thread as I had a repeat DEXA scan, same machine, same operator.
  It was 2.5 years later, one pregnancy later, not much exercising happening, but a switch to low carbs WOE. I was weighting in 9kg/20lbs lower for my 2nd scan.
  And the doctor doing the scan was very pleased with my results while I was over the moon! My bone density have remained the same, I have managed to drop 11kg/24lbs of FAT and have increased my lean mass by 2kg! Especially happy with the lean mass as it includes water retention in the body. In my initial scan I was eating typical moderate carbs so I’m guessing there was ~1 or 2kg of water retention then which I have drop now. For my lean mass to go up by 2kg while I have dropped 1kg of water it means that my muscles have really increase by 3kg! I do do pilates and the doc mentioned that it was perfect exercise for my body type, apple shape, to increase muscles in the trunk region.
  The doc want me to put on a further 1.5kg of muscles and to drop an extra 5kg of fat. So I need to revisite my weight goal and shift from dropping weight on the scales to upping my exercising and weight lifting. I say upping, but really I need to start from scratch as I do nothing atm.

• posted by JGwen
  on 31 Aug 2019 at 10:07

  

  Hi LouiseK,
  Interesting results of the change in the last 2.5 years.
  Could you tell me when you made the change to low carb?

• posted by Jennie10
  on 31 Aug 2019 at 11:39

  

  Hi Louise – yes, thanks for posting, it is interesting. When I first started the BSD and exercise one of the things I used to track my progress was a Boditrax-type machine at the local gym. but of course that’s nothing like having a DEXA scan. Do keep us updated – and congratulations, great results – on here and from your other posts.
  Jennie

• posted by LouiseKangooroo
  on 31 Aug 2019 at 14:59

  

  @jgwen I only made the change to the low carbs lifestyle 10 weeks ago but that accounts for 100% of my weight loss since the initial DEXA scans
  At the time i was doing weight watchers and was not very successful. Then I fell pregnant and breastfed for a year which fast fwd me to today.
  I’m not sure where the lean mass come from. I wouldn’t be too surprised if that isn’t confirmed by the next scan 🤷‍♀️ As I can’t say I’ve been much active!

• posted by 175Target
  on 24 Sep 2019 at 11:16

  

  the lean muscle partially probably came from carrying your baby/toddler around, i can see the definition changes on my wifes arms from this, she has certainly added muscle from all the carrying

• posted by LouiseKangooroo
  on 24 Sep 2019 at 11:25

  

  @175target I like your thinking 😄
  The DEXA scans actually tell me exactly where I’ve put on muscles and only 200gr in the arms but a massive 1kg in the trunk and 500gr in the legs. Not sure this adds up 😅
  This one my third baby so my arms are used to carrying little people around. It’s like they never leave my arms 😍 although the 6yo def have by now hehe

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