DEXA scan. Good or Bad?

[Jensen1995]

Got a dexa scan today and I wasn't told if the results were good or bad. Was wondering if some one could help me out.

My height is 178 cm (5"10) and weight 75 kg's (165 pounds) age 22.

Results attached!

thank you

[dipatel13]

32% bf at your stats? Something doesn't seem right. Possibly due to the inaccuracy of the DEXA scan.

Do you have a current picture?

[Jensen1995]

32% bf at your stats? Something doesn't seem right. Possibly due to the inaccuracy of the DEXA scan.

Do you have a current picture?

My stomach is quiet fatty I think that may be why? I seem to gain weight around the belly area. My waist is 37 inches when I measure. I don't seem to gain fat evently throughout my wholebody, seems to be only my stomach.

I attached a body picture.

[Tommy W.]

Mirror and tape measure are your best scanning tools

[Decimus80]

My stomach is quiet fatty I think that may be why? I seem to gain weight around the belly area. My waist is 37 inches when I measure. I don't seem to gain fat evently throughout my wholebody, seems to be only my stomach.

I attached a body picture.

On the contrary, your results suggest you store fat very evenly across your body. DEXA scans are going to detect more fat then any other method and are widely considered the most accurate way to test. When I did mine, lady told me that a contest ready guy who was calipering in the 5-7% range came out 12-13%. Consider yourself 32% body fat. Google "DEXA 15%" and "DEXA 19%" to get an idea of what that looks like. Those guys look lean, to the point of being about 5%+ less than what they really are. But Tommy W. is right, tape measure and mirror. Who cares what the DEXA number is. If you look good, and are healthy, it doesn't really matter. I would also caution you against going crazy on a cut, because what you may find is that you don't actually have much muscle mass (you currently have about 108 pounds of lean mass, which is not much), and if you lean out too much you will look sickly scrawny. Mirror and tape measure is all that matters. If you want to cut, then shoot for something that would make you look average, like a 32" waist or something. Start a weight training program ASAP, if you haven't already. Maybe do a recomp, instead of a cut. It will be slower, but it won't cause a dramatic change in your look the way a cut might.

[EjnarKolinkar]

Why are you concerned about this OP? What are your goals?

Do you weight train at this time?

Mirror and tape measure are your best scanning tools

Agree here, over a long period the basics are easy to use, cheap, and effective.

[Jensen1995]

On the contrary, your results suggest you store fat very evenly across your body. DEXA scans are going to detect more fat then any other method and are widely considered the most accurate way to test. When I did mine, lady told me that a contest ready guy who was calipering in the 5-7% range came out 12-13%. Consider yourself 32% body fat. Google "DEXA 15%" and "DEXA 19%" to get an idea of what that looks like. Those guys look lean, to the point of being about 5%+ less than what they really are. But Tommy W. is right, tape measure and mirror. Who cares what the DEXA number is. If you look good, and are healthy, it doesn't really matter. I would also caution you against going crazy on a cut, because what you may find is that you don't actually have much muscle mass (you currently have about 108 pounds of lean mass, which is not much), and if you lean out too much you will look sickly scrawny. Mirror and tape measure is all that matters. If you want to cut, then shoot for something that would make you look average, like a 32" waist or something. Start a weight training program ASAP, if you haven't already. Maybe do a recomp, instead of a cut. It will be slower, but it won't cause a dramatic change in your look the way a cut might.

I'm thinking about going on 1700-1800 calories a day while doing weight training and cardio. Would this be enough? My resting metabolic rate is 1452.

I'm trying to aim my protein intake to 120g a day (half of that from whey protein powder). which I hope is enough. I'm new to weight training so I can't use super heavy weights so I'm currently using 10 kg (22 pounds) dumbbells in each hands which gives my arms a huge work out & makes them tired pretty quick so I think 10kg is good enough for now. I know I won't gain much musle with 10 kg dumbbells but I'm going to gradually increase the weights every few weeks.

I just measured my waist and it is 37 inches surprisling... I had no weight my waist was that big. Is 37 bad?

Why are you concerned about this OP? What are your goals?

Do you weight train at this time?





Agree here, over a long period the basics are easy to use, cheap, and effective.

My goals are to mainly lose fat and gain some muscle. My waist is at 37 inches and Ill like to get to around 25 inches.

[Decimus80]

I'm thinking about going on 1700-1800 calories a day while doing weight training and cardio. Would this be enough? My resting metabolic rate is 1452.

I'm trying to aim my protein intake to 120g a day (half of that from whey protein powder). which I hope is enough. I'm new to weight training so I can't use super heavy weights so I'm currently using 10 kg (22 pounds) dumbbells in each hands which gives my arms a huge work out & makes them tired pretty quick so I think 10kg is good enough for now. I know I won't gain much musle with 10 kg dumbbells but I'm going to gradually increase the weights every few weeks.

I just measured my waist and it is 37 inches surprisling... I had no weight my waist was that big. Is 37 bad?



My goals are to mainly lose fat and gain some muscle. My waist is at 37 inches and Ill like to get to around 25 inches.

Just lift heavy and keep pushing yourself. The amount of weight used doesn't matter. Shoot to be in the 6-12 rep/set range, don't worry about the amount of weight. I think you will find that you won't look good at a 25" waist, and looking to lose 12 inches is a BIG BIG drop. Set a more modest target first, maybe 33-34", and see what you look like and go from there. People disagree, but cardio is good IMO for building the caloric deficit while eating a bit more. I find having more food in the stomach helps control hunger, even if the deficit is the same. But it could be in my head. Given your body composition, if you are going to cut, I would do it in phases. Cut until you hit about 33-34" on your waist, and then do a VERY lean bulk. Then cut. Then bulk. Or recomp. At 105lbs of lean mass, you won't look good if you lean out, and you absolutely need to get that number up substantially in order to look good when you lose weight. As to whether 37" is too big. I think typically it would be, but you don't look fat from your picture TBH. Depends on your bone structure

[Decimus80]

Just lift heavy and keep pushing yourself. The amount of weight used doesn't matter. Shoot to be in the 6-12 rep/set range, don't worry about the amount of weight. I think you will find that you won't look good at a 25" waist, and looking to lose 12 inches is a BIG BIG drop. Set a more modest target first, maybe 33-34", and see what you look like and go from there. People disagree, but cardio is good IMO for building the caloric deficit while eating a bit more. I find having more food in the stomach helps control hunger, even if the deficit is the same. But it could be in my head. Given your body composition, if you are going to cut, I would do it in phases. Cut until you hit about 33-34" on your waist, and then do a VERY lean bulk. Then cut. Then bulk. Or recomp. At 105lbs of lean mass, you won't look good if you lean out, and you absolutely need to get that number up substantially in order to look good when you lose weight. As to whether 37" is too big. I think typically it would be, but you don't look fat from your picture TBH. Depends on your bone structure

BTW, conventional notions of body composition are all wrong, if DEXA is to be believed. The human body typically carries a lot more fat than people think. Look at the distribution curve on your results. For someone in their 30s, 20-25% is about the 50th percentile, with 15%+/- being the 25th percentile. Don't sweat the numbers.

[Jensen1995]

Just lift heavy and keep pushing yourself. The amount of weight used doesn't matter. Shoot to be in the 6-12 rep/set range, don't worry about the amount of weight. I think you will find that you won't look good at a 25" waist, and looking to lose 12 inches is a BIG BIG drop. Set a more modest target first, maybe 33-34", and see what you look like and go from there. People disagree, but cardio is good IMO for building the caloric deficit while eating a bit more. I find having more food in the stomach helps control hunger, even if the deficit is the same. But it could be in my head. Given your body composition, if you are going to cut, I would do it in phases. Cut until you hit about 33-34" on your waist, and then do a VERY lean bulk. Then cut. Then bulk. Or recomp. At 105lbs of lean mass, you won't look good if you lean out, and you absolutely need to get that number up substantially in order to look good when you lose weight. As to whether 37" is too big. I think typically it would be, but you don't look fat from your picture TBH. Depends on your bone structure

Yes I'm definetly not fat it's just that I'm fat in the chest area if that makes sense? I guess you could call me 'skinny fat', basically the only play I have alot of fat is in my chest but it's not really noticable when I got a shirt on.

Would benching weights daily increase my muscle mass while cutting? or would it atleast maintain my muscle mass?

[SugarFree1]

Dexa is different then all other forms of body fat testing so you cant compare the results to body fat numbers we typically look at. It is accurate testing but Ive found only good from comparing multiple test results to see progress. The overall number it says you are is meaningless since it tests both types of fat a body carries.

In the past the wife and i would get both dexa and bodpod tests done. I typically came in at 4% lower on the dexa tests and my wife 13% over on the dexa

[spradish]

25" waist on a grown man seems unusually small. Just focus on losing fat, not on a specific waist goal.

Get on a solid lifting program. Either get more equipment for home or just join a gym if at all possible.

Don't fret over the DEXA. They are routinely 5% or more off for individuals. Measuring tape and mirror, as mentioned before, are more useful as long as you don't have a warped view of yourself.

[Decimus80]

Dexa is different then all other forms of body fat testing so you cant compare the results to body fat numbers we typically look at. It is accurate testing but Ive found only good from comparing multiple test results to see progress. The overall number it says you are is meaningless since it tests both types of fat a body carries.

In the past the wife and i would get both dexa and bodpod tests done. I typically came in at 4% lower on the dexa tests and my wife 13% over on the dexa

^This.

[Decimus80]

25" waist on a grown man seems unusually small. Just focus on losing fat, not on a specific waist goal.

Get on a solid lifting program. Either get more equipment for home or just join a gym if at all possible.

Don't fret over the DEXA. They are routinely 5% or more off for individuals. Measuring tape and mirror, as mentioned before, are more useful as long as you don't have a warped view of yourself.

The technician who did mine told me she had a guy come in. Was calipered at 12% BF by his nutritionist. Came in at 27%. I asked if he looked really fat, and she said no he looked normal/muscular. Go figure. The difference between DEXA and everything else is 5-10%, sometime more. It's pretty crazy.

[Jensen1995]

I'll aim for 33 inch waist and see how it looks. I just want to lose the belly fat rolls hopefully 33 inch will be enough

[spradish]

The technician who did mine told me she had a guy come in. Was calipered at 12% BF by his nutritionist. Came in at 27%. I asked if he looked really fat, and she said no. Go figure. The difference between DEXA and everything else is 5-10%. It's pretty crazy.

Yeah, I had a DEXA last August and it came in at 36%. It was definitely high. I expected it to be higher than visual estimates I'd been given but that was much higher. Only afterward did I read up more on them and found that they are not as much of a "gold standard" as people claim them to be.

http://weightology.net/weightologywe...t-part-6-dexa/

[Decimus80]

I'll aim for 33 inch waist and see how it looks. I just want to lose the belly fat rolls hopefully 33 inch will be enough

Take it day by day. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend anybody do a DEXA scan unless they were entering a physique contest and really wanted to sculp their body. All it does is freak people out and potentially warp their view of their body, with the result that people react very drastically.

[Decimus80]

Yeah, I had a DEXA last August and it came in at 36%. It was definitely high. I expected it to be higher than visual estimates I'd been given but that was much higher. Only afterward did I read up more on them and found that they are not as much of a "gold standard" as people claim them to be.

http://weightology.net/weightologywe...t-part-6-dexa/

Wow. Interesting. Thanks. I wouldn't do it again. So far, I have lost 12-13 lbs. But I lost a ton of water the first week or two (7-8 lbs if I had to guess). And no I am not fat, as I am 6'1", 177 lbs, 31.75" waist (trying to reduce the remaining love handles). So my body composition will actually have deteriorated according to DEXA (since water weight loss comes out of your lean mass rating), despite the fact that I have lost fat (am about 2" smaller in the waist). OP, once again, disregard the DEXA number, go by the mirror and tape measure. Only accurate way to get the physique you want.

[sooby]

as long as you are losing weight, not losing much strength, and the tape measurements on your waist/hips are going down, you are going in the right direction.

[broganoff]

From what I understand it includes the brain in your body fat total, which is 10+ pounds of pure fat, which would not be part of the equation in other methods.

IMO the best use for it is to track progress in body composition when gaining or losing weight, so you can evaluate if your program is effective and that you are not losing muscle or gaining too much fat. I wouldn't look at a certain number as a destination.

[Decimus80]

From what I understand it includes the brain in your body fat total, which is 10+ pounds of pure fat, which would not be part of the equation in other methods.

IMO the best use for it is to track progress in body composition when gaining or losing weight, so you can evaluate if your program is effective and that you are not losing muscle or gaining too much fat. I wouldn't look at a certain number as a destination.

Yes it does. It also targets visceral fat (muscle fat and around the abdominal organs), which calipers won't pick up. It simply isn't measure the same things. 20%+ on DEXA could easily be 15% visually/calipers. VERY easily. As I said, she had one guy come in contest ready, he clocked in at 12-13%. But as the article above states, the individual error rate is 5-10%. That is worthless for estimating. Thus, the only thing that really matters is the mirror and the tape measure.

[Decimus80]

Yes I'm definetly not fat it's just that I'm fat in the chest area if that makes sense? I guess you could call me 'skinny fat', basically the only play I have alot of fat is in my chest but it's not really noticable when I got a shirt on.

Would benching weights daily increase my muscle mass while cutting? or would it atleast maintain my muscle mass?

Follow an established weight lifting program for beginners and do not deviate. It will have you lift weights (likely) 3 days a week, maybe 4. Do 20 minutes of cardio on your off days if you want to burn more calories. Relentlessly track every calorie that goes into your mouth. Maybe do a small cut. And then do a long, but lean bulk of about 150-200 over maintenance to build up your muscle base. This will be slow, but it will minimize fat accumulation. Maybe cut if you still want to lose some fat at the end. If you bulk smart, you may improve your body composition slightly. But you have to get on a program and be disciplined about it. No deviations. No cheating. Fitness is hard work, no question. Do not work a particular muscle everyday under any circumstance unless on gear. You won't be able to recover properly.

[Jensen1995]

Follow an established weight lifting program for beginners and do not deviate. It will have you lift weights (likely) 3 days a week, maybe 4. Do 20 minutes of cardio on your off days if you want to burn more calories. Relentlessly track every calorie that goes into your mouth. Maybe do a small cut. And then do a long, but lean bulk of about 150-200 over maintenance to build up your muscle base. This will be slow, but it will minimize fat accumulation. Maybe cut if you still want to lose some fat at the end. If you bulk smart, you may improve your body composition slightly. But you have to get on a program and be disciplined about it. No deviations. No cheating. Fitness is hard work, no question. Do not work a particular muscle everyday under any circumstance unless on gear. You won't be able to recover properly.

I'm aiming for 10,000 steps a day while doing some lifting 3-4 a week. Would this be ok?

[EjnarKolinkar]

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend anybody do a DEXA scan unless they were entering a physique contest and really wanted to sculp their body.

As if someone who was close to competition would care what the number is. They typically don't waste time and money on DXA, they are using the mirror, progress pics.

as long as you are losing weight, not losing much strength, and the tape measurements on your waist/hips are going down, you are going in the right direction.

It's a shame when people decide that they need to obsess over body fat %. It's an easy thing to ballpark yourself, and progress to a goal.