DEXA Scan

You are lucky to get this done. Supposed to be very accurate. Never had one done though. They are very expensive. Is insurance covering it??

Good Luck. I'll be wishing low numbers for you!:)
 
Amy - when I made the appointment with radiology, they told me to say it was for body composition.

Janice - no, insurance isn't paying for it. It's part of a package where I find out what my metabolism is, how many calories I should be eating, sample menus, plus learning where I hold my fat (which I don't need any scanner to do that...I KNOW where my fat is) for $125. I've been at this plateau for about 2 months now, despite eating clean and working out 5+ days/week. I'm very discouraged and was hoping this will help tailor a new fitness program. Yes, I hope the numbers are good to me. I'd guess I'm around 20% fat. I'd like to be around 13-16%. At 0-1/2 lb. very 10 days, it will take forever to lose the last 10 lbs....

Terri
 
Terri- I have had two DEXA scans to check for osteoporosis since I am now post-menopausal. The main function of these scans is for bone density. However, they do give analysis of your body fat % as well. If you have been working out with Cathe for a while you may be in for a pleasant surprise. My BF % using scales and hand held devises usually reads around 16-18%. The Dexa scan read my BF at 12%,
which is the reading I got from calipers as well.

ShellyC
 
Terri,
That sounds like a reasonable deal for getting an accurate assessment. Maybe I should look into that.

I have calipers, but I'm not sure I was using them right, so I gave up on them. Any tips, anyone?

Cathy :)
 
I never heard if this. Is it supposed to be accurate? And it is done by x-ray? I may have to call our x-ray department and look into this. I had a caliper measurement years ago, but haven't had a body fat measurement for a long time.
 
As a nurse, I have put many orders in requesting patients get DexaScans. They are pretty much only for bone density and to evaluate osteoporosis. I have never heard of them doing them for body fat composition, Sorry!
 
I have the Accumeasure skin fold calipers and I think they're fairly accurate if you know how to use them. Practice is key. My problem is that the illiac holds the majority of my fat on my waist (you know, the stretched loose skin from pregnancy GROSS), so I don't think that it's very accurate for me. When I do the 3-fold test, I get a much lower assessment, but I don't think I'm that low either. That method show me to be around 18%. The illiac shows 22.2%. I think I'm somewhere in between. The big debate has been between me & DH. He's a HUGE advocate lifting heavy, heavy weights to build muscle. I told him I have enough muscle and want to tone down. My thighs are 23" of solid muscle, but they aren't muscular, know what I mean? I'll be anxious to find out where I am (good or bad) so I know where I need to go.

Terri
 

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