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

[tinabugs77]

EDIT: I should clarify, I thought DEXA would put me around 15%. I didn't think I was actually 12-13%, nor did I want to be, but 15 seemed reasonable, and I was way off on that mark.

EDIT 2: A kind Redditor below shared this chart, which handily addresses a lot of my angst - I appreciate this sub a lot, and thank you all for helping me to readjust my thinking.

I'm having a bit of a crisis. My trainer has been doing caliper body fat measurements on me every 6 weeks for the past 4+ years. I just got my first DEXA on Saturday and immediately after went to see my trainer. The calipers put me at 12.8% body fat, and DEXA has me at 18.4%. That's not a great feeling, and I'm trying to figure out how I should process the information.

Here are some progress photos, including an image of my last few sets of measurements. I'm curious where you'd put a visual estimate on my body fat.

DEXA:

Meaured Date: 4/13/19

Total Body Fat: 18.4%

Total Mass: 126.1 lbs

Fat Tissue: 23.2 lbs

Lean Tissue: 97.7 lbs

BMC: 5.1 lbs

Visceral Fat: .04 lbs

Arms Lean Mass Right: 6.3 lbs | Arms Lean Mass Left: 6.3 lbs

Legs Lean Mass Right: 17.7 lbs | Legs Lean Mass Left: 16.8 lbs

Total Lean Mass Right: 48.5 lbs | Total Lean Mass Left: 49.2 lbs

Total Body Comp Enhanced Analysis

7.8 % Android Body Fat | 20.6% Gynoid Body Fat | .38 A/G Ratio

Android Fat Mass .5 lbs | Visceral Fat Mass .04 lbs

Bone Density Total 1.214 g/cm^2 | 1.3 T-score | 1.7 Z-score

Can someone just ... talk me through all this? I've been noodling on it for half a week, and I don't know how to feel. On the one hand, I know 18.4% is still very healthy, but it's SO MUCH HIGHER than the caliper readings that I feel like I've been lying to everyone for years about my body fat, pretending I'm leaner than I am, and that feels absolutely terrible. I feel like I can't trust anything about my fitness anymore. Which is ridiculous, because even if the caliper readings are wildly low, they're done by the same person every time and are still providing useful feedback on change over time ... but if I don't know what my BF% is, I don't know when to stop cutting and go to maintenance.

And like ... which number do I use? Because I'm not going to be getting scans every 6 weeks, but I will continue on with calipers.

So my questions are:

1. Where would you visually estimate my body fat?
2. When talking about my body fat, what number do I use?
3. Can you provide any insight into DEXA vs. calipers that will help me sleep at night?

I appreciate any input! Thanks for reading.

 

[mistavega]

@tinabugs77 You look amazing and fit! (A lot of people don’t know their true body fat measurement- mine has showed as low as 7%-9%. And I’m a female!! But was never that insanely lean)
I understand the disappointment, using the number as a justification of your fitness- but the others r right, you look great!

 

[tinabugs77]

@mistavega Thanks so much!

 

[mlenadc]

@tinabugs77 Although DEXA is considered 'the Gold-standard' for body composition, it can still fluctuate somewhat. I personally think the 18.4% reading is a high estimate; visually, I think I would call it 16%. You ought to compare your figure against the U.S. Navy Bodyfat Calculator; I'm curious what number it outputs for you. As far as "providing insight to help you sleep at night", don't be married to a number. Everything is crisp down there, and all your hard work is evident.

 

[tinabugs77]

@mlenadc That calculator puts me at 22%.

And thank you! If this post has taught me anything, it’s that I need to stop being so invested in these numbers.

 

[darcylbridge]

@tinabugs77 You look like high teens overall. You look like, and the DEXA results show, you have a pear shaped fat distribution so your upper body is leaner than your overall composition. But also DEXA tends to be ~3% higher than other methods. Some of the difference is because DEXA can measure visceral fat. Also the skin thickness measurements for calipers when used properly and consistently are very reliable but the formulas are based on averages so they can be more off for some people.

18.4% is quite lean. Female athletes measured by DEXA are frequently 17-23%. Somewhere below that range is an unhealthy level of leanness depending on the woman.

You should base when you are too lean on how you actually feel more than numbers because a level of leanness that is unsustainable for one woman is not for another. You should be able to tell because it can cause amenorrhea, irritability, brain fog and chronic fatigue.

I don’t see a problem with 2 if you are clear about the method of measurement. Either way they show change over time. DEXA is said to be more accurate and I’ve seen advice to not get another under 6 months. I’ve been thinking about getting one once a year personally.

 

[tinabugs77]

@darcylbridge Thank you for this thoughtful response! All of this is very helpful.

 

[godislove19933]

@tinabugs77 Responding to your edit, 18.4% really isn’t “way off” from 15% in the grand scheme of things. I’m saying this with the gentlest intent, but I don’t think your expectations are reasonable. Your body fat is low for a woman and you look great. Why does the exact number matter so much?

 

[tinabugs77]

@godislove19933 Thank you. I appreciate this and you. The number really shouldn't matter; it's just part of my obsessive personality. I'm still working on how to keep it in check.

 

[luigari]

@tinabugs77 Take a look at this chart on body fat % for DEXA scans, this is from Lyle McDonald (so it's solid info). The "older" methods he's comparing the DEXA to, are things like calipers.

So if calipers were showing you around 12%, the DEXA scan putting you at 18% is exactly what you should expect to see. DEXA scans measure your internal fat which IIRC, that's why they show higher numbers than older methods. Neither is necessarily wrong, you just need to be aware of the context that the body fat measurement was taken in.

Also, as I'm sure you noticed, be 12% on calipers and 18% on DEXA, still puts you at the lower limit for a female, and you're probably on the verge of losing your menstrual cycle if you go much lower (if you haven't already).

Long story short, you're freaking amazing, insanely lean, you look incredible, and your body fat % is low no matter how you look at it!

 

[tinabugs77]

@luigari I could kiss you right now.

Holy shit, that chart is honestly what I needed to see. Thank you SO. MUCH. for that. It just shut down all the toxic shit that's been stewing in my brain for the past few days.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I honestly could cry of relief.

 

[luigari]

@tinabugs77 I'm glad I could help!

 

[youngmrmarti]

@tinabugs77 12.8% is really, really low for women - that’s in the essential body fat only level, like low single digits for men. People get down that low for competitions, but it’s not possible to sustain long term. Your trainer should be aware that 12.8 is not a realistic body fat percentage for you, though calipers can be useful just to compare over time even if not totally accurate.

Take a look at this chart - as you can see, you aren’t as veiny as the woman in the 10-12% category. It’s hard to compare you to the woman listed as 15-17% body fat since you clearly have a lot more muscle than she does, but somewhere around 18% seems roughly correct to me, given that 18% is very lean for a woman and you clearly both have a good amount of muscle and are quite lean.

 

[christinspired]

@youngmrmarti I wouldn't put too much stock in that chart. It's just random guessing for most of the photos.

 

[youngmrmarti]

@christinspired Yeah the chart definitely is just guessing, I think I was mostly just trying to get across what 12% (essential body fat levels) look like - I realize even that varies from person to person, but it’s very distinct from what most people look like or want to look like.

 

[tinabugs77]

@youngmrmarti Thank you! I wish there were a more standardized version of these visual charts, with more body types. I've seen a few floating around, but they differ so wildly from each other, I've never really known what to go with. Ultimately it's not super important, but I get fixated on numbers because my brain really likes concrete data and doesn't know what to do with more subjective measures (e.g. how clothes fit).

 

[urban_legend]

@tinabugs77 People put way too much stock in that chart. Having a single image to represent a whole body fat range isn't very helpful given the amount of variation possible between individuals. A given body fat percentage can look very different on two bodies with different fat distribution and different amounts of muscle.

18% body fat is still very lean for a woman. My period temporarily stopped when I got down to 20% (not saying that you're in the unhealthy range, as mentioned before, lots of variation between individuals, but being super lean isn't necessarily healthy or sustainable). If you insist on having hard numbers, use that as your baseline and compare it to other DEXA measurements to assess your progress. Comparing DEXA numbers with caliper numbers and numbers estimated from comparing to pictures makes no sense objectively.

 

[tinabugs77]

@urban_legend You're totally right. Thank you!

 

[sabrina_]

@tinabugs77 ... You do realize that being around 12% body fat isn't actually healthy for women, and that 18.4% body fat is considered low for women, right?

Edit: Of course the calipers are wrong, and the only reason you have been lying about your body fat is because for some reason you've decided it's necessary to advertise your body fat to people (it's not appropriate in 99.9% of situations to do this). You did this while not actually even having any clue what your body fat was, because a) most people do not know how to use calipers properly and b) even if they do, they're not going to be able to measure your body fat without a significant margin of error for obvious reasons.

Down vote away. It will not change that essential body fat in women is 10-13% and being at bare essential body fat is not healthy. 12% body fat is not something to strive for, unless you're doing it very temporarily, in order to step onto stage for an event. Even then, it's risky both mentally and physically.

 

[tinabugs77]

@sabrina_ ... You do realize that your attitude is really aggressive and not at all helpful, right?

I'm not sure how it's inappropriate to discuss body fat in fitness groups and on my fitness progress updates, but I don't think any of your aggression is actually about me, so I'm gonna let it go.

I hope your day gets better.