Finale: My Body Composition Journey
Revealing my DEXA scan results: Insights into how I gained muscle, burned fat and found unexpected joy in the process. Plus, the secret to achieving more by doing less.
This post is for anyone striving to reach their full potential. If you’re new here, [start at the beginning] to understand my story.
Today marks the finale of this series, where I’ve shared weekly learnings from my 60-Day Body Composition Journey.
What began as a personal challenge earlier this year—to improve my metabolic health by lowering fat and building muscle—transformed into a shared public experience.
For the most part, it’s been an enjoyable ride. But as the date of my final DEXA scan approached, I started to feel the pressure. Had I improved my metrics?
Nothing stirs up old patterns like an impending “test.”
Hoping for last minute tips, I reached out to Anne Marie Chaker, a WSJ reporter turned bodybuilder with an amazing story that inspired her upcoming book, Lift: How Women Can Reclaim Their Physical Power and Transform Their Lives (June 2025). Her advice surprised me but it was exactly what I needed to hear.
“Lift happy. Don’t worry.”
Sometimes even the health coach needs someone to offer perspective.
This post shares my DEXA scan results, body composition protocols, and the personal lessons I've gained—insights that transcend fat and muscle metrics.
Keep reading to see what I did to I transform my body and, most importantly, how I cultivated joy in the process.
xCelia
If you’re ready to change your body composition, upgrade to paid for $6/month. The insights beyond today’s paywall will save you from wasting effort, time and money on your journey.
Wins at the Gym 💪
Before we get to the DEXA results, let’s review my strength improvements and acknowledge positive mindset shifts.
My progress over 8 weeks:
Hip thrusts: 30lbs > 60lbs
Lat pull downs: 58lbs > 82lbs
Shoulder press: 7.5lbs > 15lbs
Goblet squats: 20lb dumbbell > 105lb squats on the Smith machine (see below!)
Plus, one less tangible but equally important metric: JOY. I’ve literally never had this much fun “working out.”
In my experience, every high-performing individual I’ve met shares one belief: they know they can do it. The most successful people don’t just work harder—they work smarter, with more ease and enjoyment.
“Consistent progressive overload got you to improve in all of these areas. You increased your physical strength and mental confidence in your capabilities as you continued to try heavier weights and succeed!”
— Kolton Oie / Hume
My DEXA Results 📈
Before I reduce my body into a series of metrics, let’s remember that all bodies are beautiful, but unfortunately most aren’t healthy. In fact, only 7% of Americans have optimal metabolic fitness.
🚨PSA: Diets don’t work. Optimizing body composition doesn’t focus on losing weight but rather on increasing muscle, which in turn improves body fat distribution.
What is a DEXA scan and why is it so important for your longevity efforts? read [here]
"By highlighting muscle as your target for better health, you can create positive momentum focused on what you have to gain rather than what you need to lose. Given the power of muscle to help stave off diseases commonly attributed to aging, we should be thinking of muscle as a new health end point.”
— Dr Gabrille Lyon, Forever Strong
Scan Comparison: Sep 30, 2024 vs Dec 5, 2024
My Goal:
Build muscle to improve overall metabolic health, with a focus on lean mass gain and better fat distribution.
1. Lean Mass
Change: Increased by 3.9 lbs (from 82.0 lbs to 85.9 lbs, a 4.8% increase).
Insight: Significant lean mass gain reflects effective resistance training and supports overall metabolic health.
2. Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
Change: Increased by 100 calories (from 1120 to 1220, an 8.93% increase).
Insight: Higher RMR is driven by lean mass gains, as muscle tissue burns more calories than fat, even at rest.
3. Visceral Fat (VAT)
Change: Decreased by 0.09 lbs (from 1.20 lbs to 1.11 lbs, a 7.5% decrease).
Insight: This reduction highlights improved metabolic health, as visceral fat reduction reduces inflammation and insulin resistance risks.
4. Android Fat
Change: Decreased by 0.3% (from 37.1% to 36.8%).
Insight: A slight decrease in abdominal fat shows that fat distribution is gradually improving, even with an energy surplus for muscle building.
5. Body Fat Percentage
Change: Slight decrease by 0.1% (from 32.9% to 32.8%).
Insight: Maintains fat loss while prioritizing lean mass growth, indicating a balanced body composition shift.
6. Fat Mass
Change: Increased by 1.7 lbs (from 42.3 lbs to 44.0 lbs, a 4.0% increase).
Insight: A small increase in fat mass suggests a slight energy surplus, which supports muscle growth.
7. Weight
Change: Increased by 5.6 lbs (from 128.7 lbs to 134.3 lbs).
Insight: Most of the weight gain is attributed to increases in lean mass, with a smaller contribution from fat mass.
Summary:
Gaining 3.9 lbs of lean mass in 8 weeks far exceeds the average for a 50 year old woman (which tracks at 0.5 to 1 lb/month). Lower visceral fat, higher RMR, and better fat distribution means a boosted metabolism. A small fat mass increase is normal during muscle-building, and my optimized strategies—training, nutrition, supplements, and recovery—proved highly effective!
If you are still reading, it’s clear that you are curious about body composition. Take a step towards optimizing your health below ⬇️
How I Achieved These Results
Below is the protocol that helped me achieve these outstanding results. As a bonus, I share my previous DEXA scan from March, which illustrate an even more incredible transformation—a full body recomposition—but with even less effort. Combining these insights offers the most profound take-away from my personal experiments with body composition this year (scroll to the end 🤯)