Survival of the Strongest
From bone density to muscle mass, your body composition metrics tell an insightful story about your longevity. Plus, my DEXA scan wake up call.
True story. I’ve never owned a scale.
As a petite, Asian woman, weight never posed much of a concern for me. During my New York days, I hovered around 118 — give or take a few non-consequential pounds in either direction. My size 26 jeans never changed, although the percentage of stretch and waist height definitely increased over the years. Hip huggers no more.
The only time I packed on the pounds was the year I decided to train with the boys — swinging kettle bells, crawling with sand bags on my back and pulling a heavy as sh*t sled, that made me want to vomit. I put on a whooping 8 pounds during my time at Peak Performance, a private gym best known for toning athletic Sports Illustrated models and transforming actors into ripped Spartan warriors (for the film 300).
My trainer said I had the perfect weight lifter’s body — compact with lots of power. Although my butt looked great, annoyingly I couldn’t zip up my Catherine Malandrino dresses because my lats were getting too wide. After a kickboxing injury sidelined me, I decided to forgo my intense training to return to Pilates.
Fast forward fifteen years — hitting the big 5-0 never felt better, thanks to a quick pivot at 47 to manage my blood sugar and optimize my sleep. Perimenopause wasn’t slowing me down, but I knew I couldn’t ignore the impact of declining hormones on my long term health.
When I read Dr Peter Attia’s book Outlive (which honestly is a marathon in itself), I learned all of his patients do a DEXA body composition scan as part of his Medicine 3.0 longevity protocol.
Confident my consistent efforts over the years would deliver me a good result, I marched into the closest BodySpec location to get my DEXA scan — ready to see what I was made of. Literally.
What is a DEXA Scan?
The gold standard of diagnostic imaging scans, DEXA stands for Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (also abbreviated DXA). It’s a machine that measures the composition of the human body by tissue type, amount and distribution.
1/ Body Fat
Includes subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin) and visceral fat (fat around the organs) to evaluate body composition and risk of obesity-related conditions.
Optimal ranges vary based on age and sex. The report shows fat mass and fat percentage across arms, legs, trunk, stomach and hips.
2/ Lean Tissue
Includes muscles, organs, bones and connective tissues to assess muscle health and distribution throughout the body and monitor gains or losses of mass over time to prevent sarcopenia.
Optimal ranges vary based on age and sex. The report shows lean tissue and lean tissue percentage across arms, legs, trunk, stomach and hips.
3/ Bone Mineral Density (BMD)
Analyzes the mineral density of bones in various regions including the spine, hips and wrists to identify areas of low density, evaluate bone health and prevent bone loss and fractures due to osteoporosis.
You get a Z-Score, which is a general overview and relative age-matched comparison of your bone strength. A score of -1 or higher, your bone is healthy while -2.5 or lower, you might have osteoporosis. Note: this is not a bone density exam which needs a medical professional
4/ Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT)
Specifically the fat around the organs in the abdominal cavity which is inflammatory and associated with the increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other metabolic disorders.
Your number should be as low as possible with a target of zero VAT.
🛑 Join my next cohort: Decode Your Body
Learn how to read your DEXA scan, the most effective (and affordable) tool in health optimization to burn fat, build muscle and finally make your workouts and nutrition plans pay off. I’ll walk you through the metrics — so you can train smarter, not harder.
Early bird pricing for waitlist only. Spots are limited and will go fast. 💨
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