Posts Tagged ‘dexa’

I recently had a full-body DEXA scan done. Not for vanity. Not for a before-and-after Instagram post. I wanted hard numbers—objective data that cuts through guesswork and tells the truth about body composition, fat distribution, and muscle mass.

DEXA is often talked about in vague terms, so I want to document exactly what mine showed and how I’m interpreting it.

The Raw Numbers

At the time of the scan, my stats were:

• Height: 177 cm
• Weight: 104.7 kg
• Total body fat: 35.0%
• Fat mass: 35.3 kg
• Lean mass: 65.5 kg
• Relative Skeletal Muscle Index (RSMI): 10.40 kg/m²
• Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): 1,776 kcal/day

This immediately tells an important story: I’m not under-muscled. My RSMI sits well above sarcopenia thresholds and is consistent with a strong, load-bearing frame rather than a frail or skinny-fat profile

Muscle Distribution: The Good News

Segmental analysis showed that muscle mass in my arms and legs is solid and well balanced left-to-right. Legs in particular carry a large amount of lean tissue, which aligns with strength and movement capacity rather than inactivity.

In other words: this is not a “lost muscle” problem. It’s a fat distribution problem layered on top of a muscular base

That distinction matters because it completely changes the strategy.

Where the Fat Is (And Why That’s the Priority)

The scan highlighted elevated fat concentration in the trunk and android (abdominal) region:

• Trunk fat: ~44%
• Android fat: ~48%
• Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT): ~2.8 kg

Visceral fat is the metabolically active kind—the type associated with insulin resistance, cardiovascular risk, and inflammatory signaling. This isn’t about aesthetics. This is about risk management.

The DEXA heat map makes this impossible to ignore: the issue is central fat, not overall size.

Why Scale Weight Is a Terrible Metric

If I lost 15–20 kg without preserving muscle, the scale would look great and the outcome would be worse.

DEXA makes it clear that the correct objective is:

• Reduce fat mass aggressively
• Preserve (or even improve) skeletal muscle
• Shift fat distribution away from visceral storage

That’s not something you track with a bathroom scale.

Metabolism: No Excuses Here

An RMR of ~1,776 kcal/day is normal for my lean mass. There’s no “broken metabolism” narrative to hide behind. Fat loss here is not about metabolic damage—it’s about sustained energy control and consistency.

That’s actually good news, because it means the system responds predictably when the inputs are correct.

The Real Value of This Scan

What this scan gave me is clarity.

• I know muscle is not the limiting factor.
• I know exactly where the fat is.
• I know what type of fat matters most.
• I have a baseline that future scans can objectively compare against.

This turns body recomposition into an engineering problem instead of a motivational one.

Final Thought

Most people never get this level of feedback. They chase weight loss blindly, lose muscle, stall, and then assume age or genetics are the problem.

DEXA removes the guessing.

Now it’s just execution.