DEXA scan results: 33, 5'4", 141.5 lbs, 19.1%

[maria90]

I enjoyed looking at all of the DEXA data from /@jedidvena so I figured I'd add mine.

Album of results + pics:

https://imgur.com/a/CJpap

. I used the Google photos "auto" option to brighten them up a bit but otherwise no filter. Pics were taken first thing in the morning with no pump; posting swolfies online without a pump is a first for me lol. I got my DEXA for $45 from a BodySpec truck. According to their machine I weighed 143.2 lbs but I was 141.5 that morning before eating and without clothes.

My training is primarily powerlifting and BJJ (bruises are from jiu jitsu) with a smattering of conditioning, yoga, and weightlifting thrown in for fun. I do more bodybuilding accessory work than most powerlifters. I am also a bicycle commuter. My best lifts are 280/160/360 gym, and 265/148/352 competition. This post gives a pretty detailed overview of my training over the past year.

I just started a bulk about 2 weeks ago (I'm already up about 2 lbs) so I wanted to get baseline prior to putting on more weight. I figure once I get to my goal or close to it, I will get another scan. I'd really like to be a lean 146 pounder, but I'm also kind of over trying to force my body to be smaller OR bigger than it wants to be, so we'll see where I end up without stuffing myself beyond satiety.

According to my Tanita BIA scale I am 32.7% body fat, lol, so I don't think those things are accurate

I liked the granularity of the data from the DEXA scan. In particular it was nice to see from the heat map that my torso is mostly lean. I naturally have kind of a blocky waist and narrow hips, when I was younger I really fixated on this and dieted like crazy thinking it would give me more of an hourglass figure. Now I just try to build up my lats and shoulders.

 

[bhaktivedanta]

@maria90 so amazing, and we are similar stats! what is your diet like, if I may ask? cals/macros?

 

[johannammmm]

@maria90 that's really interesting that most of your fat mass is in your legs but they look relatively balanced with your upper body!

 

[maria90]

@johannammmm DUDE RIGHT?! I noticed the same thing too! It's funny because I have a blocky torso and narrow hips so if you just take measurements I have a large waist/hip ratio but according to the scan my Android/Gynoid ratio is great (0.5) and I have zero organ fat. Now I know that it's mostly lean and it's actually kind of a positive in terms of lifting (check out 2 and 3 in this article)!

 

[johannammmm]

@maria90 so you built your own hip to waist ratio! just proof that women who don't have naturally narrow waists and wide hips can also build an hour glass figure

 

[maria90]

@johannammmm Haha exactly I'm just working on my lat-to-waist ratio

 

[tls1978]

@maria90 Wow, thank you for sharing! I'd say your body is goals and your lifts are also respectable

 

[dawn16]

@maria90 how does one get a dexa scan?

 

[maria90]

@dawn16 I honestly just googled "dexa San Francisco" and found BodySpec.

 

[dawn16]

@maria90 hahaha that works.

 

[ladygardener]

@maria90 So buff!

 

[abosie]

@maria90 Looking great! BJJ purple belt and intermediate powerlifter myself, nice to see someone else so similar! I am 5'6" and just under 140 lbs, but your lifts a lot more advanced! Goals!

 

[maria90]

@abosie Awesome!! We are probably inverted in BJJ and powerlifting skills lol, I am an average blue belt

 

[abosie]

@maria90 I'm a pretty bad purple belt, but now that I'm stronger I'm a bit better (bad, I know).

 

[n9070]

@maria90 Thank you for sharing this! You look great and are strong af. This is inspiring/heartening for me to see - I'm 5'3" and around 130lbs, significantly higher bf now but am constantly struggling with the weird need to be lighter since I'm short, but knowing that really I don't feel/look good lighter than this and it's totally counter to my strength goals. I see your point about feeling too tied to the numbers though, that's a struggle, but at least this gives you a good rebuttal when your doctor insists you need to lose weight. Seems really silly for a doctor to be concerned about that when you're clearly active (much more than the average American), have a healthy body composition, and I imagine based on your scan results at a low risk of metabolic or cardiovascular issues.

 

[maria90]

@n9070 I toooootally get where you're coming from. I'm dealing with something similar; I talked about it in the "what's next?" section in my last meet report. I somehow got it in my head that since I'm short and borderline overweight then obviously I have a ton of weight that I can afford to lose. It's also kind of awkward to conceptualize because I think we have this long-ingrained mental model that women are either "thin" or "fat" and I really am neither ("lean" is a reasonable adjective but not "slim" or "thin"). So I think I fell in this trap of thinking that since I'm not thin and I'm not shredded either that I should be much lighter.

 

[arthurj01]

@maria90 We are super similar, I'm 5'2.5" and around 138lb, and like I mentioned in a comment above that BF calculator said 22.9%. I think I look about that way too, and just like you describe, not "thin" or skinny, and definitely not fat at all. Muscular/lean but still petite...small but curvy-ish...all unusual combinations! I also feel like at less than 5'3" I should be weighing in no more than 130 or less, but I know for a fact that I look unhealthily skinny at that weight. I want to get a DEXA to check my bone density, and you being so similar makes me think I might be right in my assumption that I have good bone density too! That's an important metric for us old ladies (I'm 33 as well!)

 

[maria90]

@arthurj01 Duuude I totally feel you on all of this! Definitely agreed on bone density being important, heavier bones are definitely a worthwhile trade-off for being in a higher weight class. And yeah I look at pictures of myself next to other girls and I just look so much bigger than everyone...thicker, broader, more barrel-chested, and frequently curvier on top of all of that, and it's just so easy to associate that with "I need to lose weight".

 

[magpie0603]

@maria90 Back is lookin swole! I did BodPod, which isn't as comprehensive, sadly. At 5'7" and 19%, it's interesting how different these numbers look when comparing my pics to yours. Looks like you've got about 20 lbs of muscle on you compared to me. Thanks for the motivation

 

[maria90]

@magpie0603 Thanks! Obviously I don't know what you look like but I think that I more upper body and less lower body muscle than most other lifter chicks; I love me some upper body bro lifting but I really have to force myself to do volume squats! So muscle distribution could play a role as well.