DEXA Results: 29F, 5'5", 126.1 lbs, 18.4% BF

[sabrina_]

@tinabugs77 I'm not being aggressive, I'm being firm.

First, if you are going to claim a body fat percentage, you should at least have a concept of essential body fat enough to realize that below 13% is/was probably not an accurate reading, and would put you in a place of failing health to maintain.

Secondly, yes - this is an issue with something that much of the fitness community is doing. You are one of the people doing it. For most athletic and fitness purposes, discussing body fat is unnecessary. Most people claiming their body fat are claiming a fiction. Most athletes do not have any real idea what their body fat is, because they have not completed a series of accurate testing under controlled circumstances, over a prolonged period of time (DEXA scans every 3-6 months).

62% of female athletes will suffer from an eating disorder or disordered eating (different things). Seeing athletes online promoting their super low body fat contributes greatly to this. It places an importance on appearance and leanness over both health and performance. It reinforces that value comes from our measurements: How low can we get our weight? How low can we get our body fat down? This has nothing to do with strength or fitness. The fact is, trying to stay super lean, or push yourself to the max possible leanness, means sacrificing health and performance almost 100% of the time.

Lastly, If having a low body fat, which 18.4% is, is weighing on you, and if you are so attached to 12.8% body fat being part of your identity, the person you need to speak to is a professional, and not the people checking in on an internet forum.

 

[natalie_c]

@sabrina_ I agree with all of this, it's borderline disordered behaviour. Almost every DEXA post on this sub is a woman being disappointed in their results. I just don't understand why the fuck it matters.

If you're healthy and like the way you look, you shouldn't be so focused on a body fat percentage. I hate that the fitness community has made body fat percentage such a prevalent thing now. Leads to situations exactly like OP's.

 

[tinabugs77]

@sabrina_ I removed my downvote on your original post, because now that you've explained your position better, I agree with it. My relationship with my own body is toxic as hell, and I'm working on it with a therapist.

Another person shared this chart with me, which I had never seen before, and has completely reset my perspective.

Love and peace. Thank you for contributing, and I'll do some more thought work on why the numbers are so important to me, and how best to break myself of that.

 

[youngmrmarti]

@tinabugs77 I’m really glad to see that you recognize that your relationship with your body isn’t healthy and that you’re working on it! It’s a hard thing to do in this culture, but a million percent worth the work.

 

[sabrina_]

@tinabugs77 Thank you, and also on my part, I apologize. I come off very strong on this topic, and often lack sensitivity. That is something I should work on. I have blame here. You're right that coming off as aggressive isn't helpful to anyone. It's a hard one for me, as I see so many women I care about, as well as many women on this sub, suffer/struggle. Advertisements of seriously low body fat #s from more advanced athletes/fitspo models doesn't help.

I'll also admit that when I started getting more into lifting/fitness, my eating was disordered. I didn't have an eating disorder, but I was extremely regimented, separated foods as "good" and "bad", didn't take rest days that I needed to take, having the "right" food became a concern in social interactions, and I had anxiety when I couldn't function within these guidelines. I'm lucky that is as far as it went, and that as time went on, I balanced out. Many women are not so lucky.

I think that social media and patting ourselves on the back for things like leanness do contribute to this. I think identifying ourselves using these numbers is risky to our own health, as well as the health of the people who maybe look to us for inspiration. I'm not a popular fitness figure. I'm a 35 year old semi-decent powerlifter, who cannot be bothered to even angle or light the vids that get posted to social media in any way that is attractive. Still, I have 400ish followers, and a few who have said that they look up to me. If I center conversation on my body fat as opposed to my lifting, what am I emphasizing as important? I also know I have to regularly remind myself not to compare myself with the lifters in my class that I compete against regularly. If that's hard for me, how hard is it for the 17 year old, just getting started, who looks to more experienced lifters for inspiration?

Can a DEXA scan/knowing our body fat be useful? Absolutely. I'll probably get one soon because while I think I can stay in my weight class, make good progress and be healthy for another season, I'm not 100% sure. If my body fat is lower than I think, staying the same weight and getting stronger isn't just going to be hard, it's going to put my health at risk. A DEXA scan might also be worthwhile for someone who is sitting at a low normal range BMI for their weight, who doesn't have a lot of training history. A cut for this person would be ill advised, but if they are undermuscled enough to have high body fat at a low weight, a bulk also isn't the answer, and they'd be better off starting at a recomp.

Mostly, even as athletes, when we get a DEXA scan done, or strive to know our body fat, it's for the wrong reasons. It's for a sense of validation. This is absolutely true of the first DEXA scan I got done. I was seeking validation from a number. Looking back, the only positive thing that came from that test was the knowledge that my bone density is really good. Both grandmothers had pretty bad osteoporosis, and my mom has it too. I was terrified I was heading down the same path.

 

[tinabugs77]

@sabrina_ I 100% understand pain points like these and honestly, I'm the exact same way with certain things. It's incredibly emotionally taxing to try to stay compassion-forward when you see the Same Toxic Shit everywhere and it always hurts. It's exhausting. I appreciate you engaging me and pointing out my bullshit, because I know how it comes at a cost to have to have this conversation again and again. I've been a little fragile lately, sure, but it's no stranger on the internet's job to put on the kid gloves to account for my emotional state.

Part of the problem is that the body numbers are honestly all that motivate me in fitness. Aside from progress in my pull ups, I don't have any real lifting goals. I think lifting heavy is awesome, but it's not for me, so I'm kind of struggling to find a way to keep working hard without leaning too hard on nUmBErS. I need to do a lot more noodling on this, and I appreciate you pointing out the parts of my thinking that are suboptimal at best and toxic at worst.

What you said about the bone density is spot on. I walked out of my DEXA feeling really good about my bone health, and that's not nothing.

 

[danieljmateus]

@tinabugs77 At the end of the day, numbers are just numbers and what matters most is how you feel about how you look, AND I THINK YOU LOOK AMAZING!

Are you happy with how you look right now? Switch to maintenance. Do you wish you looked leaner? Keep cutting.

If you need numbers, the DEXA is the most accurate measurement you can get, use that, and in-between use progress photos, or just track the decrease the calipers indicate but apply that to the dexa number.

As to your request for a visual estimate, I'd actually say the DEXA number is close to what I would say, somewhere between 16-18%. You have tons of muscle definition but you still look really full. Honestly my goals right now.

 

[tinabugs77]

@danieljmateus Thank you! I'm mostly happy with how I look right now and am presently eating at maintenance. I may cut again after these next 6 weeks, depending on how I feel, now that I know for sure I'm not at risk of being dangerously low in body fat.

I really, really appreciate your input, and the advice about how to use the numbers is very helpful. Thanks again.

 

[kenneth327]

@tinabugs77 Are you still getting your monthly cycle? I'm curious, since you really are at the elite athlete level of leanness.

 

[tinabugs77]

@kenneth327 I have the Mirena IUD, so my periods have been mostly nonexistent for 6 years. But since getting this new one put in, I actually am bleeding about two days a month again. Just finished this month's cycle, actually.

 

[michaelreece]

@tinabugs77 You should be 100% happy with how you look. You look like you could be a Viking war goddess or something. I could wash my shirt on those abs! Just goes to show even the most beautiful have insecurities. Don't be toxic to yourself!

 

[tinabugs77]

@michaelreece "Viking war goddess" is amazing, thank you! Still working on being kind to myself. I appreciate the reminder.

 

[dominatio]

@tinabugs77 I believe I've read DEXA scans have a margin of error of +/- 5% so it's possible that you're closer to the caliper measurement than you think - I don't know what the margin of error is for calipers - I've heard that if done correctly, they're pretty accurate.

In any event - it's just a number. How do you FEEL? You look amazing and strong.

 

[tinabugs77]

@dominatio Thank you! I'm not sure how I feel exactly. It all gets really muddled and soupy in my brain, so I tend to need a little bit of external guidance to get me unstuck from whatever toxic mindset I find myself in.

 

[dominatio]

@tinabugs77 Believe me, I get it!