DEXA Scan! (Read if you are thinking about doing it!)

alpepp

I finally coughed up the money and got my DEXA scan done last Friday ($75 USD at my university). I decided to do it as I have been half-a$$edly working out and eating this past year. Well, it's time to put my money where my mouth is! I also just finished a personal training package (big strength gains, little physical results from poor eating) and am about to start a new package tomorrow. I also had wide varying measurements between the body fat scale, handheld device, and calipers. I wanted to know my accurate body fat so I can make a good judgment call on a goal weight and stop using BMI as my standard.

The results?

45.1% Body Fat (ouch!)

That makes me a 109 lbs of lean, mean body mass and an initial goal of 25% body fat between 140-145 lbs. That weight may end up being lower because, with over 60 lbs to lose, I may most likely lose some lean mass as I drop weight.

What I find funny/weird/awesome/frustrating is that, for my very short 5'1" frame, 140 lbs is still technically overweight according to the BMI chart, even if I should be within average limit for a woman by body fat %(almost to fitness level).

My personal trainer and I will be focusing mostly on fat loss and maintaining the muscle I have; therefore, I see lots of HIIT in my immediate future!

I am also going to the EM2WL approach a shot. My main problem with working out, especially with all the strength training I have done in the last year, is maintaining my energy consistently. This was pretty difficult to do on 1200 calories, even with eating back my exercise calories.

My plan is to have another DEXA scan done when I reach halfway between my current weight and goal weight (around 170 lbs) and then reevaluate my goal.

Thought I would post this for anybody considering it - the DEXA scan has been a great motivator for me. It helped me really evaluate what I want from my weight loss, work out, and my body in general.

Thoughts? Anybody else doing the same approach as me?

alpepp

Bump! Looking for buddies.

omma_to_3

How dd your results compare to the less accurate methods?

alpepp

The calipers was 36.4% & handheld BIA was 41.2%. HUGE difference in the three!

jg627

The calipers was 36.4% & handheld BIA was 41.2%. HUGE difference in the three!

Calipers take practice and they don't measure visceral or intramuscular fat. The bioelectrical impedance is just plain unreliable.

Elizabeth_C34

I get a DEXA scan every 6 months to track progress. Gone from 46% bf to 29%. Online calculators have me at 38%, and calipers had me at 32%. DEXA is the way to go with this stuff.

Sounds like you have a solid plan!

For anyone starting out, I highly recommend getting it done. You don't have to do it every few months, as it is expensive, but it's important to know where you're starting. Do it again when you hit your goal.

Also, you need to eat a little more to fuel workouts like that. 1200 is the MINIMUM. Try eating just above your BMR but below your TDEE.

marycmeadows

1200 calories isn't enough. period. you'll have to eat more if you're doing any kind of work out regime. I've lost over 100lbs -- and I've just upped my calories from 1800 to 2000 calories because I've been stuck for a while. Oh and get an hrm or body bugg to monitor calories burned so you get a true picture of what your deficit is. body bugg is worn all day (and night if you like) vs hrms which are typically worn only during workouts. so it gives an accurate picture of your burn in a 24 hour period. (and it's on sale for $99 w/6 month subscription through 24 hour fitness thru 6/30)

Sarauk2sf

I get a DEXA scan every 6 months to track progress. Gone from 46% bf to 29%. Online calculators have me at 38%, and calipers had me at 32%. DEXA is the way to go with this stuff.

Sounds like you have a solid plan!

For anyone starting out, I highly recommend getting it done. You don't have to do it every few months, as it is expensive, but it's important to know where you're starting. Do it again when you hit your goal.

Also, you need to eat a little more to fuel workouts like that. 1200 is the MINIMUM. Try eating just above your BMR but below your TDEE.

^^totally agree with this. I had one done a month or so ago, but wish I had done it a little earlier so I could see total progress. Its also really good, especially for women. to see how their bone density is doing.

CoderGal

Thanks everyone for sharing the DEXA info. I find it pretty interesting the mass differences in body fat calculations.

apriltrainer

I am planning to get one next month. I found a place in Chicago tor $100 dollars. Cant wait!

DaysFlyBy

I know of a place here locally that does Bod Pod analysis, is DEXA more accurate? Either way it's a lot of money for me so I might as well get the most bang for my buck.

jrutledge01

it's not a huge surprise to me that the calipers were way off... the guy that runs the gym i go to said that above 15-20% body fat, calipers are less accurate than bodpods, etc

missym357

I had a dexa done last March and it was worth every penny. The inaccuracy of the other bodyfat calculations drove me nuts. Dexa gives you real numbers. I look very much forward to doing it again to compare numbers in the future.

bazfitness

I know of a place here locally that does Bod Pod analysis, is DEXA more accurate? Either way it's a lot of money for me so I might as well get the most bang for my buck.

I'm getting an iDxa scan. Not sure what the difference betwene this and a Dexa scan, if any, anyway it's meant to be more acurate than the Bod Pod. I'm getting one done in September (earliest opportunity) According to the place I'm going to it's
'A state-of-the-art iDXA scanner is used to measure body composition (body fat and muscle mass), to an accuracy of 0.5%. Body fat levels and muscle mass are also given for each body segment (e.g. trunk, right arm, left versus right leg, etc.).

Looking forward to this. I can't get on with calipers. I've only ever used online calculators. Last time I measured 5 or 6 weeks ago I was down to about 21%. Don't expect to be much lower than this but hopefully won't be too much higher. Will be good to know for sure and help formulate new goals as have almost reached my original goal weight.

geekyjock76

DEXA is the way to go if you want to do periodical assessments and get the most accurate body composition stats. For first time dieters, getting one before starting a plan, and then reassessing 3 months later can provide valuable info on how your initial plan is working and better guide you to what adjustments need to be made.

HMVOL7409

I know of a place here locally that does Bod Pod analysis, is DEXA more accurate? Either way it's a lot of money for me so I might as well get the most bang for my buck.

Dexa is definitely more accurate but Bod Pod is just as accurate as hydrostatic water test and is ranked as a top way to test and well worth it. Some areas Bod Pod is cheap and some it is just as expensive as a Dexa! I got it done for $25 so there was no way I was shelling out $150 for a Dexa. I am very pleased with the process and results.

athensguy

I got a DEXA scan. The results heavily depend on the algorithm used to analyze the data. The standard version gave me a result just under 10% while another version (the one they're using for a new study) gave me a bf of 14%. The different algorithms were run on the same scan, not at two different times.

For comparison, I was about 5 lbs lighter than the time I had a bodpod, which put me around 13%.

MRITechheg

Getting Dexa scand every 6 months is like getting a cat scan every 6 months, i scan pateints all day and its a high dose of radiation. I would not suggest them as often as people get them.

blonde71

I'm actually going for one in September. I'm anxious to find out the results but I don't think I'd be brave enough to post them on a public forum though. Should be interesting to find out what my bf% is.

theblackbirdtree

The calipers was 36.4% & handheld BIA was 41.2%. HUGE difference in the three!

I got my DEXA scan a few months ago and found out I have 23% body fat! Eek! All of the calculators online told me I was an athlete at 17-18%! Who am I kidding? :laugh:

MissMollieD

I have actually not done a DEXA scan, though I thought about it. I started with a PT about June 1 and he has a lot of experience with calipers. So decided to do a little research project - about this time I also had hydrostatic fat testing done:

I'm 5'4", female, 30, my weight was ~137lbs at the time

1. Tanita Resistance Scale at home (research and picked the best bang for my buck) - 28%
2. Caliper reading by a trained professional that has logged 100's, if not 1000's, of readings - 17.9%
3. Mobile Hydrostatic Test $50 (www.bodyfattest.com) - 21.5%
4. Military Body Fat Test - ~27%

It's been about 6 weeks since I started with my PT and I am following an eating plan he recommends based on Dr. Warren Wiley Better Than Steroids, and I just started Ketosis on Friday. So I asked him to caliper me again:

Friday I weighed 136lbs and my caliper BF% was 13.9%. I lost 1lb on the scale but gained 4lbs of muscle in 6 weeks!! And I was no weakling before - I have been heavy lifting since January (hoping that would break the "plateau" - if you want to call it that).

This morning (Sunday) I weighed in at 132.2lbs (Tanita scale said 28.7% BF, for the record). Which is the lowest weight I've been since November when I started MFP (yes, I have gained weight since I started trying to lose weight - AAARRRGH). I was actually 131.7lbs when I started in November and trying to lose 4lbs-5lbs I had gained.

I honestly feel like of all methods, the hydrostatic test was closest accuracy. I should also say that my PT did not keep a record of my BF% reading from the first time so he had no idea what it was when he did his measurements, I did keep it because I am an engineer and I always want more data. I can't form a trend line without data points! LOL But just knowing what I looked like and what I've seen other ppl with ~17.9% or even 13.9%, I know I didn't/don't look that good. I took pics, but there is no way I am posting.

bazfitness

Getting Dexa scand every 6 months is like getting a cat scan every 6 months, i scan pateints all day and its a high dose of radiation. I would not suggest them as often as people get them.

This is worrying. I didn't realise there were high doses of radiation involved. Not so sure now if it's such a good idea to have this done!

mcarter99

While calipers and the BF scales are not accurate, they can show a trend. Most of us who are just trying to get healthy, not be in fitness competitions, probably just could stand to see a rough estimate and a trend.

"My main problem with working out, especially with all the strength training I have done in the last year, is maintaining my energy consistently. This was pretty difficult to do on 1200 calories, even with eating back my exercise calories. "

That's a quote from the OP. I would love to know how much our daily intake typically affects our 'energy levels'. Once past the initial slump from changing calorie levels, I find that I get energy from stored body fat just fine and don't feel like I'm lacking energy. I can see if blood sugar levels are getting low, that would make most people feel slumped. I think most of us can keep our blood sugar levels constant at 1200-1500 of the right foods at the right times. I don't know. If anyone has articles about how today's intake affects today's energy level, I'd love to read them.

sfdcubfan

Does the DEXA take into account loose skin? At 46, mine just doesn't snap back anymore.

I'm 130 lbs, 5'8, and the blasted Tanita tells me I fluctuate between 23-28% bf, even though I pretty much workout 6-7 days/wk, lifting 5 of those days. I do Body Beast, Asylum and P90X. Gonna zero in on just Beast with Asylum for cardio from now on, but I do want to do a DEXA, get a baseline read.

I'm also a strict vegan (six years this July), and I try to limit the processed foods, just because I'm concerned about GMO's. I don't have a gluten issue, but I have intolerances to Dill, Cabbage, Sunflower and Strawberry.

My resting HR is 46. I can spike it to 210 and still carry on a conversation during Asylum. I hate the loose skin, so I'm hoping the DEXA sees past that. If it does a bonescan too, awesome.

fleetzz

I was wondering about the radiation exposure as well. Not sure if having DEXA every 6 months is worth it. If you have had one, correlated it with the standard measurements for body fat % and just use it as a trend.
Or radiate the hell out of your body every 6 months just so you know your body fat % to the 0.01% accuracy, because what the hell, its your body.

_Zardoz_

A Dexa scan has the equivalent skin does of a Chest X Ray. Personally as a Radiographer I wouldn't have one. As I was always taught there is no such thing as a safe dose of Radiation. The benefits of any x ray procedure need to out weigh and possible negatives. As there is no real medical reason to get a Dexa scan in these cases and there are other pretty accurate methods of working out your body fat why do it? Yes it's not a huge dose but it's still a needless dose of radiation.

fgrell

I can't believe there are people claiming to be radiology techs that don't understand simple concepts of radiation. Any real tech that works in radiology (or even any random person with internet access) can tell you that DEXA is not a huge amount of radiation. To put it in perspective, a normal person just going about their normal life recives 2.4 mSv/year. In a typical DEXA scan a patient receives between 0.0084-0.0105 mSv in an exam. To compare it to other common examinations a chest x-ray has a dose of about 0.02 mSv(more than twice the dose of DEXA), an abdoinal CT scan has a dose of around 8.0 mSv. This just goes to show you can't trust so called "professionals" take 5 minutes and do the research yourself. To the two "techs" that are spewing this garbage STOP IT! The one intelligent thing that you mentioned was that a extra radiation should be weighed risk vs benefit. In the long run are 2 or 3 DEXA scans going to hurt you? Probably not. Doesn't mean it hasn't or in the future will cause a problem, just the risk is lower then what two ignorant people might have you believe. fatdoob until you can post any official article that proves differently stop poluting the message boards with your false "facts"

Just so you can get some rea info from real medical professionals:
Http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2948153/

isaacdg

Ha, hijacking a very old thread. I found this while doing some dexa research, your post looks like you have a great grasp on things. Do you have an update on progress?

Theo166

Think I'll save this for when I get closer to ideal body weight.
I already know I'm a fatbastard now, it's too early in my loss journey to help me set goal weight.

SCoil123

I got one once and it was an eye opener. My bf% was only a few % higher than calipers and measuring tape but it was enough to bump me up into the overweight category which was a motivator to get more proactive.

I really want to do it again. My goal is to get and stay at the 20-25%bf range.

Difference for me was 27-29% with calipers and measuring tape

32% with dexa

I had it done last year when I got seriois about getting back in shape.

LessCookiess

I'm curious how are things going for you Op? @alpepp