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

[terranova]

@maria90 Crispy!

Did you ever consider using your lifts as a way of shaking the internal BMI meter? Something like the Stronger.io calculator? I'm aware that dreamer bulks kinda fudge things with some people thinking diminished returns level of strength excuses not keeping tabs on body composition but plugging in your best/gym lifts into the calculator gave out a pretty close number to your DEXA result, 20% vs DEXA's 19%

Thanks for blessing us with your swolfies.

 

[anna16]

@terranova That's a nice calculator! Thanks

 

[vet4god]

@terranova Oh this is interesting! I wonder how accurate it is - it has me at 23%, but I’ve always assumed that I was sitting around 30%. Though maybe I’m not good at gauging from looking at myself in the mirror.

 

[maria90]

@terranova Hey thanks!! I've never seen that calculator, pretty cool! DEXA has like a 2% margin of error anyway so it's neat how much they line up.

 

[bertchen]

@maria90 Actually DEXA has up to 5% error. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9107641

 

[arthurj01]

@terranova So interesting! This estimated me at 22.9%....might be accurate based on what I see in the mirror

 

[xkyd]

@maria90 Oh WOW. This is a super interesting scan! Love seeing fit women in the 140s or even beyond. Keep doing what you're doing because you look incredible!

 

[kbrow2]

@maria90 Thanks for sharing!!! I’m your height and 158 lb right now, and it’s nice to see someone can be so fit at 141 since BMI and the online range usually says like 125 is “normal”... i definitely have some weight to lose but I don’t think I could lose 40lb and still look healthy.

 

[dawn16]

@maria90 Wow! These are always really interesting and your body and lift PRs are both impressive! Thanks for sharing.

 

[onegodjesusnameapostolic]

@maria90 Woah, your back is goals (to be fair, all of you is goals)! Thanks for sharing!

 

[maria90]

@onegodjesusnameapostolic Thank you! Training back is my faaaavorite.

 

[tom4tot]

@maria90 I have been considering doing a DEXA scan for some time now. My reasoning being to give me a more realistic view of myself, my weight, etc. I lift, so I know the number on the scale is just a number. Muscle is heavy, etc etc. Yet I still struggle with feeling like I weigh too much, worry if I am just telling myself I weigh more due to muscle, and that sort of thing.

My question to you is, did you find it validating to see your scan results? I feel like the scan will (obviously) give me a clearer picture of my body composition, therefore giving me a clearer idea of what I need to focus on, or let go of mentally. I don't compete or anything, so I am not shooting for a crazy lean BF percentage or anything like that. And I realize that those percentages look different on everyone. But it is easier to understand the concept, and be able to explain that to others, than it is to feel that way about myself when I look in the mirror or step on the scale

 

[maria90]

@tom4tot I'll be honest and tell you that I did find it validating, although I wish I wasn't so mentally tied to a number. I am close to being overweight according to BMI (and I might be overweight by the end of this bulk) so it was nice to have some confirmation that I am lean. The scan also checked for bone density and I am in the 98 percentile for that so now I know that the weight is partially bone as well. So, yeah, it was validating, but the fact that I felt validated made me realize that I have a bit of a way to go in terms of body acceptance. If I felt good, put up big lifts, had all the markers of good health, and my clothes fit, yet say the machine said I was 25% instead of 19% I'd feel differently about myself and I would prefer that wasn't the case.

 

[tom4tot]

@maria90 This! I hate BMI.

 

[maria90]

@tom4tot Yeah I honestly have a really hard time shaking it mentally. Especially because my doctor lectures me every time I get weighed (I'm usually overweight on the doctor's scale due to food, clothes, etc, so she's on me to lose weight). I feel like, since "normal" has such a wide range, like there's a 40 lb range for my height, then shouldn't that leave enough space for athletes at the top end? So it's good to know that I'm still quite lean for my height.

 

[johannammmm]

@maria90 so do you plan to take these results into your doctor? please say yes!

 

[maria90]

@johannammmm Haha I actually recently switched from HMO to PPO and changed doctors largely because of this! My new GP is a sports medicine specialist and is down with the thiccness so long as I'm not taking steroids to get there

 

[texasman]

@maria90 Your lifts and body come numbers are great; kudos to you!

How did you find someone that provides dexa scans? Did you need a referral? Did your doctor facilitate this? Is there a certain type of practice that does this (and what is it called, so I can google providers around me)? I would love to get scanned but I don't know where to go and my doctor didn't know where to send me. There used to be a bod pod in my metro but it isn't operational anymore.

 

[maria90]

@texasman I used https://www.bodyspec.com/ in San Francisco