Dexa Body Composition -- who am I? What am I made of?

I'm feeling a little lost with my Dexa results from today.  It challenges my self image, my lifelong identity.  But, in a good way.  So grateful for VSG.

Thanks for letting me indulge by talking about this here. I don't want to be that person in real life that goes on and on about her weight/body. 

There are a boatload of numbers on here on the report, but I will try to keep as brief as possible.

My body fat % is 20.0.  I have a lower body fat % than 99% of women who are my age (and closer to 99.6% of woman but the report defaults to whole numbers)  Of that 20%, 9-11% is considered "essential" for life.

I have more muscle than 62% of women my age.  At first I was disappointed that wasn't 99% (because I am crazy) but she said this was a terrific number.

My android/gynoid ratio (very much like waist/hip ratio) is 0.76 and "very low"  for  a woman

My estimated Visceral Adipose Tissue (internal belly fat) is 96.5g.  There isn't yet a standard of what this "should" be but at this center most people are about 160.

I have a total of 24.7 lbs of fat left on me. 

Ideal body weight was given as 121-128 although I can't find that in the paperwork right now.  I think that was based on current %fat. 

She said that I have very little fat (ok for now but could approach too little fairly soon) but was able to keep a lot of muscle.  She gave me the impression that she doesn't see this much in bariatric patients.   

She cautioned about losing more weight saying that as we get closer to essential fat threshold that the body will begin to borrow energy from muscles and then I would lose my excellent muscle mass status.  She also said that women athletes sometimes don't feel they have enough power at my current body fat percentage and to keep that in mind should I start to lack energy.  If that becomes true for me, I should gain weight.  (The appointment became an out of body experience at this point.)

Nice to know that I didn't diet my way down to a skinny on the outside but fat on the inside. 

What a fantastic report! Congratulations! Clearly maintenance is the place for you! 

It really is amazing that you've done so well keeping muscle after losing roughly 240 pounds! You have quite a bit to appreciate and be proud of! 

So grateful and thankful!  Lots of luck, too.  After decades of being warned never to go below 1200 kcals daily on diets, this last year was a worry that I might be doing real damage with such a low calorie intake.  I think this report strongly suggests that it was ok, after all!

Thank you so much for posting this!!! Love the information you got - must make you feel awesome about your progress and where you are at currently. I soooo want to have this done! Did you do this at a hospital? A rehab center? A university? If you don't mind sharing the cost that would be awesome. I'm going to do some more investigating locally. Really helpful information! Extra skin doesn't skew the results? I was afraid it might.

I could talk with you for hours, maybe even days about this kind of stuff. Can I come visit you? Lol!

Paula

Paula, come on over!  We will get you a scan and then go do yoga!

125 dollars for one scan.  They offer a 2nd scan for 1/2 price.

I had it done at a Sports Medicine Clinic which I have driven by for years.  They have always offered the body composition testing and I noticed a while back they switched from Bod Pod (?  I think that is what it is called) to Dexa. 

My trainer last night made a comment that there are a lot of places, including mobile ones,  are doing similar things in the area.  Can a dexa scan be mobile?  That seems sketchy.  But, the comment made me feel like that maybe I paid too much to go to this particular place.  It is sort of a fancy physical therapy office that I know works a lot with young athletes in the area that have parents with money.  They are all about athletic performance.

I asked about the extra skin thing and how it would affect results.  She noted that skin has a lot of lipids in it but it wasn't enough to turn me "yellow" in my big skin areas because there would need to be some actual fat attached to it.   Fat shows up as bright yellow.  In fact, I had NO yellow on the color picture.  Crazy!  She said my extra skin is just that......skin and nothing else.  It didn't impact fat and muscle numbers. 

Interestingly, the lymphedema in my right arm that is left over from mastectomy read as muscle because water is heavy like muscle. (During the scan she asked, "so what's with the edema in your arm?" so it was very clear to her)   She estimated that I probably have a 1/2 lb of extra water in that arm based on a comparison with the other arm which has never had edema.  

By the way, having a double mastectomy would have robbed me of some fat.  So, I cheated a bit :)

My left leg has 0.5lb more muscle than my right.  She says that makes sense because I am right handed and the left leg would be used as to plant and push the right leg off so it is common for it to be stronger when right handed.  I throw that tidbit of information in just for your nerdy exercise self!  But, maybe you already knew that?

I bet it is around your area, too.  Besides everything you mentioned, maybe look for a place that focuses on athletic performance. 

ALSO, because we are about the same height (I am 5'3.5") I give you the following to chew on:

• BMR:  1445 calories
• Sedentary: no intentional exercise 1734 calories
• I will leave out the rest of the estimated caloric requirements because she thinks her software overestimates exercise calorie burn (that right there made me like her)

***Smootch*** I could just kiss you! Thank you so much for this information. I will call one of the clinics that is in my hospital's system that does DEXA and see if they do more than just bone density analysis. Our local University (where my husband teaches) also has a BOD POD and I can do that if the DEXA scan isn't possible. I'm calling around tomorrow!

I would love to know how much of my extra skin is actually just skin and how much is still fatty tissue. And knowing how much visceral fat I have would be super cool too.

Interesting about the lymphedema and how much water weight you carry in that right arm. Even though I have not had a mastectomy, I have pretty much lost all of my breast tissue. I kid you not, next time I have a mammogram, they won't have anything to smoosh down (boobs are pancake flat when lifted up on a flat surface!) - it is mostly just skin now!

Wow, 1,734 calories with no intentional exercise! I can tell you right now that is not my reality - even with intentional exercise (and I would guess not your reality either!). That is how I gained my weight back the last time I lost 100 lbs. I went by the numbers and gained well before I hit maintenance calorie range and I was exercising 45 - 60 minutes daily. I got so frustrated that I just said F*** it and went back to my old ways of eating (which BTW were not that unhealthy - portions too big but overall healthy foods)

You are totally right about 1734 not being my reality, even with exercise!  I have also been burned by going by the numbers including adding some for exercise.  Gonna do it different this time! 

I am so happy for you and proud of you. Those are amazing numbers congratulations. Just think did ever imagine you could have such a great achievement.  You must be just floating. Awe I'm just so happy for you. Hugs!

Just loved this thread ! The comment "challenges my lifelong identity in a good way" and the genuine excitement your information generated say it all. Powerful ! Great stuff !

Diane

I did some research on DXA v. density scan, and saw the same machine pictured that I had what I thought was a simple density scan done on in December.  I called the imaging office, and they say it WAS a DXA, and the report can only be released by my PCP, who ordered it.  Office is closed for lunch, so I'll call back.  My PCP's office called after the test to say that the "results were fine", and I never questioned it.  I may have bonus information I didn't even know I had !!!

Thanks again, Shel !!