There are several ways to measure your body fat content like fat calipers that pinch your fat pouches in key areas, water displacement technology, air displacement technology, and also electromagnetic fields. But one of the more accurate ways to find out just how much of your body is bones vs muscle vs fat, is to undergo a DEXA scan.
DEXA technology has been around for decades. Physicians (like me) use DEXA scanners to determine the bone density of men and women in order to screen, diagnose, monitor, and manage osteoporosis or osteopenia. More recently, the technology has been adapted to help consumers use this information in a different way, to determine their body fat composition. With that information, you could determine whether certain lifestyle changes like a change in your diet, or a change in your fitness routine, is really working the way you want it to. Are you losing or gaining muscle? Are you losing or gaining fat? It’s better than the number on your scale. It doesn’t hurt to get it done. It’s quick as get out. And there is only a 1-2% error rate!
Back in September 2017, I had my first one done as a baseline. You can see the numbers in the 2nd photo from the September visit and the January 2018 visit. As you can see, my weight didn’t really change. I gained half a pound! But, look at the fat and lean pounds. I dropped 1.5 pounds of fat and gained 2 pounds of lean muscle! To me, this is great because I’m shedding the fat like I wanted and am building more muscle which will help burn fat!
Also, I feel a little healthier.
Case in point, about 2 years ago, I walked 3 miles to the Capital and back to my friends place. Then, the next day I sprinted...across the intersection...and hurt both of my knees chronically. The doctor essentially said my leg muscles were too weak to support the load on my knees and it caused an inflammatory process. It took months to heal and even now I still feel like they ache from time to time.
Then, on Christmas Eve, my girlfriend and I were in NYC to celebrate the holidays. That day, we walked 10.11 miles!!! Over the Williamsburg bridge, around ChinaTown, to Gramercy Park, shopping just a smidge, then back over the bridge to our cute airbnb. I couldn’t believe the final tally when she told me. I was sore the next couple days but happily sore and not injured sore.
During the past 4 months, after my first DEXA scan at Composition ID, I made a couple dietary changes and a couple fitness changes. For diet, I stopped eating frozen foods or fast foods during lunch at work. Instead, I ordered from Vegetable & Butcher, a husband and wife team in the Ivy City section of DC who cook delicious, healthy, properly proportioned paleo dishes Monday to Thursday. I tried to cut back on eating too much for dinner and less snacks in the house. (The less snacks bit might not have been too successful.) I also juiced 2 times, each 5 days long, a couple months apart. For fitness, I went to FlyWheel sporadically, Solidcore twice, and my at home pullup bar daily.
Could these little changes have been the reason for my fat loss and muscle gain? I believe it!
I’ve lined up 3 more scans over the next 3 months to keep track of changes. Follow my blog to keep up to date.
andulkaphoto
2087
origamiaround
titsay
annaxmalina
stormborns
discoholicmusic
tangentwithtanner