Health checkup, first dexa scan, quitting my diet

globalc00

Went in for my yearly health checkup today. I been waiting 3 long weeks for this day as I was planning to quit my diet 3 weeks ago. But figured since the health checkup is around the corner I’d keep it up until the checkup was done. As each day got closer, the hunger pangs were getting unbearable. All I could think about was food and what it would be like not to be hungry again. To make matters worse. I had to fast for 12 hours before my checkup, which meant I had to stop eating and drinking by 7:30 the night before. This morning as I’m dragging my carcass to the subway, I’m thinking to my self if I can even make it to the facility. I told my self, you will finally get a somewhat accurate depiction of you body with the dexa scan and will get to eat soon after since they provide breakfast after they draw blood and the other necessary stuff that requires you to be fasted.

So I get there and the first thing they did was the dexa scan. I’m thinking awesome, I get to find out my body composition, and to see if all this dieting has paid off. Well.... after it was done, they just moved me to the next station. So I’m thinking, maybe they will review it all with me once I’m done with everything.

1.5 hours later, they finally said you can eat now before we proceed. I’m thinking finally. FOOD!!! To my disappointment, that was 1 pathetic breakfast they served. 1 sandwich, 1 hard boiled egg, a tiny salad and various types of drinks. So I finish eating and do the rest of my test and they say ok your done, time to pay the bill. So I ask, can I see my dexa scan result? They respond saying we will mail it out to you in 3 weeks. It is not ready yet. I’m like what!?!? I thought I can get a printout right away. Apparently I thought wrong. 😡

So as I’m heading home, disappointed, I’m thinking well at least I can not be so restrictive with my diet now. When I got home, I had my usual lunch thinking if I get hungry before my next meal, I’ll have the satisfaction of eating a snack. Well, the hunger never came. I went the rest of the day eating as I had before and didn’t feel hungry.

Now I’m heading to bed and I’m thinking. WTF. Was all that hunger pangs psychological??? Now that I know I’m not dieting anymore I’m not hungry anymore eating the exact same portions as before!?!? Damm you brain!!!!! Lol. Ok rant over. Will have to wait 3 long weeks to get my results assuming it doesn’t get delayed due to holidays.

Question is will I change my portion sizes tomorrow or keep it the same. 🤔

MaltedTea

Going through thought patterns can be so helpful!

What does dieting mean to you vs how you would rather usually eat to meet/maintain your health goals?

As for the Dexa, I've always gotten my results explainrd to me within minutes of coming off the bed (and offered a high-protein snack with juice within 30 min). We look at it on the computer screen together, and I leave with a print out. But that may be because I was part of a study.

springlering62

I’ve had a Dexa twice. Both times in a van at a health club. Never been told to fast, and both times handed and reviewed results on the spot, as well as email PDFs received while I was still sitting there.

What I’m picking up on here is a distinct vibe that you are throwing in the towel and going back to same old, same old.

Why?

If you’ve had success, bump your calories up a little. I just cringe at you thinking the end game is reached. We preach about sustainability, but seriously, it doesn’t have to be self flagellation.

Hugs and best of success. Maybe it was indeed all in your head!

Dogmom1978

I’m not sure why you were eating in a deficit that caused you hunger pangs?? That’s normal for like the first week or two of a diet, but not for the entirety of it.

Did you make sustainable changes or were you just crash dieting for a drs visit? I hope they were sustainable as the alternative is not healthy and just makes us into human yo yos.

Jacq_qui

I find that when I am really stressed I lose my appetite, could be that. Sounds like you were pinning a lot on the outcomes of these tests. But as others have said, you might want to review your calorie intake if you were that kinda crazy hungry all the time. Diets aren't really the cure, you still need to find a way to eat and live in a way that is not detrimental to your body and hopefully healthy and enjoyable.

globalc00

Dogmom1978 wrote: »

I’m not sure why you were eating in a deficit that caused you hunger pangs?? That’s normal for like the first week or two of a diet, but not for the entirety of it.

Did you make sustainable changes or were you just crash dieting for a drs visit? I hope they were sustainable as the alternative is not healthy and just makes us into human yo yos.

I had the opposite experience. When Covid started, and I started to wfh I decided now was a good time to diet without outside pressure or distractions. With my activity level, I worked out that my diet calories at 2000, about 500 calorie deficit. At first it was easy, maybe due to the fact it was a new goal, and I was excited to do it. 1 month later and seeing good progress the hunger started. I had also felt like I went past where my body wanted to be due to symptoms associated with being too thin.

I then upped my calories to 2250 and the hunger went away. I started to have big meals on weekend, but since I was still in a calorie deficit, I was able to maintain weight at end of each week. However the symptoms with being too lean didn’t go away. That’s when I decided to quit dieting all together and eat 2500 calories. With the idea weekend meals will slowly create a calorie surplus to put weight back on.

Well, 2 weeks later, that is when the health checkup came into play. So I decided to go back to 2250 and skip the weekend meal for 3 weekends. 1 week before the checkup I was eating 2350 calories, and still hungry. No change in exercise or anything in last 3 month.

So now that the checkup is over with. Curious to see if it was all in my head.

Nony_Mouse

globalc00 wrote: »

Dogmom1978 wrote: »

I’m not sure why you were eating in a deficit that caused you hunger pangs?? That’s normal for like the first week or two of a diet, but not for the entirety of it.

Did you make sustainable changes or were you just crash dieting for a drs visit? I hope they were sustainable as the alternative is not healthy and just makes us into human yo yos.

I had the opposite experience. When Covid started, and I started to wfh I decided now was a good time to diet without outside pressure or distractions. With my activity level, I worked out that my diet calories at 2000, about 500 calorie deficit. At first it was easy, maybe due to the fact it was a new goal, and I was excited to do it. 1 month later and seeing good progress the hunger started. I had also felt like I went past where my body wanted to be due to symptoms associated with being too thin.

I then upped my calories to 2250 and the hunger went away. I started to have big meals on weekend, but since I was still in a calorie deficit, I was able to maintain weight at end of each week. However the symptoms with being too lean didn’t go away. That’s when I decided to quit dieting all together and eat 2500 calories. With the idea weekend meals will slowly create a calorie surplus to put weight back on.

Well, 2 weeks later, that is when the health checkup came into play. So I decided to go back to 2250 and skip the weekend meal for 3 weekends. 1 week before the checkup I was eating 2350 calories, and still hungry. No change in exercise or anything in last 3 month.

So now that the checkup is over with. Curious to see if it was all in my head.

If you were already lean, then it's not at all uncommon to experience hunger when trying to get leaner, particularly if your deficit is too large for the amount of fat you have.

I'm curious as to why you went back to a deficit ahead of the health checkup though, if you'd already established that it wasn't doing you any favours and that you were too lean?

Dogmom1978

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

globalc00 wrote: »

Dogmom1978 wrote: »

I’m not sure why you were eating in a deficit that caused you hunger pangs?? That’s normal for like the first week or two of a diet, but not for the entirety of it.

Did you make sustainable changes or were you just crash dieting for a drs visit? I hope they were sustainable as the alternative is not healthy and just makes us into human yo yos.

I had the opposite experience. When Covid started, and I started to wfh I decided now was a good time to diet without outside pressure or distractions. With my activity level, I worked out that my diet calories at 2000, about 500 calorie deficit. At first it was easy, maybe due to the fact it was a new goal, and I was excited to do it. 1 month later and seeing good progress the hunger started. I had also felt like I went past where my body wanted to be due to symptoms associated with being too thin.

I then upped my calories to 2250 and the hunger went away. I started to have big meals on weekend, but since I was still in a calorie deficit, I was able to maintain weight at end of each week. However the symptoms with being too lean didn’t go away. That’s when I decided to quit dieting all together and eat 2500 calories. With the idea weekend meals will slowly create a calorie surplus to put weight back on.

Well, 2 weeks later, that is when the health checkup came into play. So I decided to go back to 2250 and skip the weekend meal for 3 weekends. 1 week before the checkup I was eating 2350 calories, and still hungry. No change in exercise or anything in last 3 month.

So now that the checkup is over with. Curious to see if it was all in my head.

If you were already lean, then it's not at all uncommon to experience hunger when trying to get leaner, particularly if your deficit is too large for the amount of fat you have.

I'm curious as to why you went back to a deficit ahead of the health checkup though, if you'd already established that it wasn't doing you any favours and that you were too lean?

^^
Same question I have!

globalc00

I went back to 2250 because I wasn't hungry eating that before I went to 2500. Figure no harm in sheding a few more lbs of fat before the checkup. The typical body fat test that they do where you stand and hold 2 things in your arm had me at 15.3% body fat. So it's not like i'm super lean. My fitbit aria scale that morning told me i had 14.2% body fat. Will be interesting to see how the dexa scan compares when I get it in 3 weeks.

Dogmom1978

Well, your Fitbit scale is highly inaccurate and can fluctuate wildly from day to day. So are the hand held ones.

Dexa is supposed to be accurate, but personally I don’t see the point on wasting money on one. I mean, I can see how much fat I have in the mirror and I can measure myself to make sure I’m headed in the right direction.

I’m curious OP are you male or female? 14.2 is very good if male if that’s accurate and bordering on athlete status and if you’re female it would border on the cusp of essential fat (14% is the bottom of the athlete range for women).

globalc00

I find my fitbit scale to be very consistent and almost predictiable the 3 years I been using it. After a vacation or fun weekend, the body fat goes up predictiably with my weight and comes down slowy as my weight drops. When I first got it, and was a litte heavier, it registered a higher body fat, and has come down with my weight loss. Whether it is accurate or not is another story. It didn't cost me any money for the dexa scan. It was included in one of the 3 options included in my anual health checkup. I am male.

Dogmom1978

Well, if it didn’t cost any extra, then no harm.

As for the scales, they are known to be wildly inaccurate and to vary greatly (maybe a larger issue for women as our water weight varies throughout the month depending on hormones).

I’m not a fan of doctors, so I still wouldn’t get a dexa scan even if it was free. Curious to hear what the results are though. Keep us posted.

sgt1372

I've been DEXA scanned over a dozen tines and ALWAYS received a print out of the scan IMMEDIATELY after it was done. In and out in 10-15 mins.

Was after told NOT to fast before taking the scan (and to just eat/drink normally) because the absence of food/water can skew the results.

As for what to fo next, just do as you were planning to do before you got the DEXA scan done based on whatever your current goals are and don't put too much stock in the DEXA scan results that you receive in 3 eks because they are likely to be flawed.

If there is an independent DEXA scan facility near you and you have the funds, I'd recommend taking another scan there w)o fasting and compare the results wc may differ markedly

springlering62

I was told not to fast. Eat normal and do normal exercise routine, if any, before scanning.

Theoldguy1

sgt1372 wrote: »

I've been DEXA scanned over a dozen tines and ALWAYS received a print out of the scan IMMEDIATELY after it was done. In and out in 10-15 mins.

Was after told NOT to fast before taking the scan (and to just eat/drink normally) because the absence of food/water can skew the results.

Same here and the instructions I got were from the owner of the facility who is a professor of Exercise Physiology with a PhD and in charge of the exercise lab at a local 20,000 student university.

globalc00

The fasting requirement wasn't specifically for the dexa scan. How the health checkups are done where I live is they do a bunch of basic test and let you pick some optional test. You go in to the facility in the morning and they herd you from station to station to do test after test. So basic test would include blood work, eye test, hearing test, urine test, heart rate, arteries stiffness and things of that nature. The fasting is probably more for some of those routine items. I know that being overly hydrated will make you appear leaner. I definitely was not overly hydrated or fasted for extended period of time. So my expectation of the scan as far as body fat goes is that it will be +-1% or 2% from what other devices have told me.

As far as quitting my diet goes, I'm not finding an urge to eat up to my maintenance calories on normal days. I am having occasion piece of candy and snacks just for the heck of it, but not enough be at maintenance. I am also finding I'm not wanting to change my workout routine ever since I have the option to decrease it either I guess mentally for me telling my self I have to do it to reach a goal just made me hate it, but now that I don't have too, it doesn't seem that bad. I guess reverse psychology is a real thing. lol

lemurcat2

Yes, a healthy diet is important for, you know, health. Not sure how that is particularly relevant to this thread (did OP say he/she was not following a healthy diet or needs advice?), and the idea one needs to follow some specific link to some specific service or diet (I dunno, I don't follow suspicious links) is, of course, completely false. I think it's a much better idea to learn about nutrition if one doesn't know enough to formulate a healthy diet, and to figure out for oneself how to eat healthfully.

Dogmom1978

lemurcat2 wrote: »

Yes, a healthy diet is important for, you know, health. Not sure how that is particularly relevant to this thread (did OP say he/she was not following a healthy diet or needs advice?), and the idea one needs to follow some specific link to some specific service or diet (I dunno, I don't follow suspicious links) is, of course, completely false. I think it's a much better idea to learn about nutrition if one doesn't know enough to formulate a healthy diet, and to figure out for oneself how to eat healthfully.

You have to love the spam posts!

lemurcat2

Yeah, don't know why I bothered to reply. I was actually shocked at how fast it got cleaned up, considering it's the weekend!

AnnPT77

lemurcat2 wrote: »

Yeah, don't know why I bothered to reply. I was actually shocked at how fast it got cleaned up, considering it's the weekend!

True spam disappears faster on weekends, I think . . . since we're supposed to use "flag/report" on terms of service issues from real posters, and "flag/spam" on these bot thingies, then 5 "flag/spam" make it auto-disappear (which doesn't happen IMU with "flag/report"). More member (non-mod) activity on weekends, more "flag/spam" opportunities.

Apologies for the digression.

globalc00

I beleive I know what a healthy diet is. I boil it down to just getting appropriate calorie intake and macro nutrients from whole foods. So when I'm dieting, I will eat every meal at home except 1 a week so I know what is going inside my body. When I say i'm going to stop dieting, it means i'm not going to be as strick and go out to eat and more often when friends/work/spouse ask. Not sure if it is a good or bad thing that I decided to stop dieting when I did, because the reasons for eating out has skyrocketed till the end of year. Instead of 3 meals of eating out starting from Dec 8 to end of year, I will have 15 assuming nothing else gets scheduled. While I do want to gain some weight, I hope I don't gain it all until the end of December.

lemurcat2

(In case it wasn't clear, I was replying to some spammer who went on about the importance of a healthy diet and then linked to some promoted site. I wasn't directing my comments at you, OP.)

globalc00

Finally got my health report back. The dexa scan didn’t show as much info as I expected. Not sure if this is because it was an older model or what. I thought it would give me my tdee. Does anyone know what the %fat trunk/% fat leg and trunk/limb fat mass ratio under the adipose indices suppose to tell you. Those 2 measurements are really out of wack in my report. For YN and AM they are 79,47 and 91, 58 respectively.

kshama2001

globalc00 wrote: »

The fasting requirement wasn't specifically for the dexa scan. How the health checkups are done where I live is they do a bunch of basic test and let you pick some optional test. You go in to the facility in the morning and they herd you from station to station to do test after test. So basic test would include blood work, eye test, hearing test, urine test, heart rate, arteries stiffness and things of that nature. The fasting is probably more for some of those routine items. I know that being overly hydrated will make you appear leaner. I definitely was not overly hydrated or fasted for extended period of time. So my expectation of the scan as far as body fat goes is that it will be +-1% or 2% from what other devices have told me.

As far as quitting my diet goes, I'm not finding an urge to eat up to my maintenance calories on normal days. I am having occasion piece of candy and snacks just for the heck of it, but not enough be at maintenance. I am also finding I'm not wanting to change my workout routine ever since I have the option to decrease it either I guess mentally for me telling my self I have to do it to reach a goal just made me hate it, but now that I don't have too, it doesn't seem that bad. I guess reverse psychology is a real thing. lol

I'm with the US VA who obviously considers fasting blood work to be onerous as they give us a $5 voucher that we can use in the cafeteria upstairs immediately after the blood is drawn.

Next year consider asking what tests require fasting and insist on getting them done first, then have a snack that you've brought like a protein bar or nuts or something easily portable like that.

Many times I've found I'm told one thing is the procedure but if I emphatically explain why that won't work for me it's suddenly not as hard a rule as they first said.

mom23mangos

globalc00 wrote: »

Finally got my health report back. The dexa scan didn’t show as much info as I expected. Not sure if this is because it was an older model or what. I thought it would give me my tdee. Does anyone know what the %fat trunk/% fat leg and trunk/limb fat mass ratio under the adipose indices suppose to tell you. Those 2 measurements are really out of wack in my report. For YN and AM they are 79,47 and 91, 58 respectively.

Can you scan a copy of your report? Not sure what YN and AM means. It should give you a breakdown of %fat per arms/legs/trunk/Android/Gynoid and Total.

heybales

globalc00 wrote: »

I find my fitbit scale to be very consistent and almost predictiable the 3 years I been using it. After a vacation or fun weekend, the body fat goes up predictiably with my weight and comes down slowy as my weight drops. When I first got it, and was a litte heavier, it registered a higher body fat, and has come down with my weight loss. Whether it is accurate or not is another story. It didn't cost me any money for the dexa scan. It was included in one of the 3 options included in my anual health checkup. I am male.

Just FYI - your experience there is EXACTLY why it can be so inaccurate for actually giving good calculation of BF%.

It's not measuring it, it's measuring electrical resistance to pulses, and using stats and averages it's calculating after that.

After a fun weekend you would not gain fat that fast, nor lose it that fast - that is water weight and prior measurements at different hydration levels.

But good job using it and realizing it can provide a direction even if it is consistently inaccurate.


Too bad on an annoying DEXA report, even if older the reports used to be translated over to normal human-speak.

AnnPT77

globalc00 wrote: »

Finally got my health report back. The dexa scan didn’t show as much info as I expected. Not sure if this is because it was an older model or what. I thought it would give me my tdee. Does anyone know what the %fat trunk/% fat leg and trunk/limb fat mass ratio under the adipose indices suppose to tell you. Those 2 measurements are really out of wack in my report. For YN and AM they are 79,47 and 91, 58 respectively.

I can see how they might be able to estimate BMR or RMR from body composition, but I'm not sure how accurate the estimate would be. I can't see how they could estimate NEAT or TDEE, without a lot of other information, since the scan itself doesn't know whether you're a bricklayer's apprentice carrying hods of bricks all day, or a reference librarian who mostly sits at a desk and answers questions. I grant that they could ask you questions, but that's pretty approximate . . . really no better than plugging a RMR/BMR to an online calculator. (Yes, some of the calculators let you enter your own BMR estimate. I assume that's because there are tests that provide a more personalized estimate.)

globalc00

[/quote]

Can you scan a copy of your report? Not sure what YN and AM means. It should give you a breakdown of %fat per arms/legs/trunk/Android/Gynoid and Total.
[/quote]

YN stands for young normal. Ie what someone between 20-29 would be. AM is age matched. Which is where I rank among people my age. So for those 2 measurement, I’m avg and sub avg while all my other measurements such as fat% are much better than compared against YN and AM.

I does give the breakdown of my arms, legs trunks and so on and those were all fine. It also included my head which I thought was strange since I didn’t see other people’s report on YouTube report head fat.