First DEXA scan
Hey everyone it's your favourite flight attendant. I don't even know how I ended up with this account name but here we are. I've been rather spoiled lately because I now live in the city I'm based and I don't have to share my bathroom or fridge with 12 people. I'm still a loner and very weak but my fridge is full of vegetables!! I've cut out a lot of people who started acting insane when I got my job and I feel a lot more at peace and ready to deal with my health.
I finally had enough money to get a DEXA scan a few weeks ago and the results were partially what I expected and partially not. The part I expected is that at 5'11 and 210lbs I measured in at about 44.8% body fat, which is higher than I thought and reflects years of accumulated stress and poverty and living/working in very abnormal scenarios. I do think it's typical for people to have higher fat measurements than they'd like on these scans. The part I didn't expect is my lean body mass came in at around 112lbs, which is between 8 and 15lbs less than I thought I had after lifting for several years (haphazardly this past year, but still).
My estimated BMR is like 1480 and I feel I now have a much better understanding of why I feel like shit all the time and why I struggle so much to lose weight or gain any strength while people on here blow past me. I thought my cutting cals were at least 1600 if not higher, but that's really only a cut with sufficient activity. Any well-intentioned advice I've gotten to eat more isn't quite right. A bulk at 2200 to 2500 causes rapid fat gain for me, and trying to eat higher carb low fat this past year was low key a disastrous decision. You would not believe how many chicken breasts I've eaten to get the results above.
Overall though, I feel very vindicated by the DEXA result and much more equipped to rectify the situation over the coming years. I've switched back to low carb higher fat and feel less like an alien, and been incorporating some Lyle McD stubborn fat protocols as most of it is in my legs. I can safely ignore anyone who insists I'm strong and shouldn't lose weight just because I can barely almost sometimes squat 100lbs and just do what I want and what I know works instead. Highly recommend DEXA if you have the means and also recommend having the confidence to follow your instincts.
And yes I'm doing a cut first. Even though there's nothing underneath. RIP