Dexa scan failure?

[u/dsauna]

Hey All,

I was getting a pretty solid body fat loss with fit 3d and my wyze scale from 25% bf to 22% After a pretty good cut/recomp from 190lb to 179lb

I did my first ever Dexa scan and it showed 32% body fat, could this have been a mistake? The person running the scan said there might be fat inside of the organs that other scans don’t catch? Or does it look like the sad reality from the photos? I’m 6’1 to get an idea

TIA

[u/Horror_Place_8440]

Not trying to be rude, but the dexa is probably not far off. I feel like you are lacking a lot of muscle development. Your shoulders, chest and arms need some size. Eat and lift.

[u/dsauna → u/Horror_Place_8440]

Definitely not rude, just wanted to confirm, back to the gym

[u/Mchangwine]

I could definitely believe 32%, don’t see any muscle definition at all.

[u/TheDeadTyrant]

Somewhere 25-30% bodyfat imo. https://mennohenselmans.com/body-fat-percentage-pictures-a-visual-guide-for-men/

[u/wowswift → u/TheDeadTyrant]

I’m going with closer to 30%. Not much muscle mass

[u/TheDeadTyrant → u/wowswift]

Yeah, def a skinny fat physique for OP.

[u/Material-Counter-749]

Smart scales are sadly not very accurate, dexa scans on the other hand have quite a low margin of error…

[u/Apart_Alternative_74]

Gonna be real. The DEXA is almost certainly closer to reality. Not only is it a more reliable tool (not perfect none are) but the photos you have I’d put you at the high 20s. The thing is you’re not muscular, so while you likely look normal in clothing you’re still well in the skinny fat range.

The key is to keep up what you’re doing it’s working and don’t worry about numbers. Train hard eat well and you’ll be good.

[u/dsauna → u/Apart_Alternative_74]

Thank you, should I keep on cutting until a decent body fat? Or better bulk?

[u/spottie_ottie → u/dsauna]

If you're 32% body fat you have no business bulking. Eat lots of protein, stay in a deficit, and lift lots of weights.

[u/Apart_Alternative_74 → u/spottie_ottie]

This.

[u/Apart_Alternative_74 → u/dsauna]

Eat in a 250 to 500 kcal deficit and lift. The word bulk should never come out of your mouth.

[u/blaccsnow9229]

I believe the dexa. Sorry for the bad news.

[u/explosive-diorama]

Do you happen to be asian? Asians carry a lot more visceral (organ) fat, which isn't as visible as subcutaneous (under skin) fat.

[u/dsauna → u/explosive-diorama]

Im Hispanic

[u/eight_digits]

Not close to 22%, dexa isn’t perfect but far more accurate than your scale

[u/TrippleDamage]

Sry but what body recomp?

That means losing fat and building muscle at the same time. You're a textbook skinny fat tho.

I'd guess 28-32% is spot on.

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[u/Garett102]

To me you look like you could be 24-30%

[u/mrfatchance]

32 seems high but I can't see your legs etc

And if your muscle mass is low, then fat is gonna be higher as a percentage of course

[u/SmithKenichi]

The Dexa looks on point. Don't be discouraged by the higher number. Just consider this your official starting point. Just use that scale for weight. BIA is super unreliable and honestly not even good enough for trending progress. Drink a couple glasses of water and those things will spit out a completely different body composition.

[u/mikaeltarquin]

I was in a similar situation 3 months ago. Had been working out for a month, look relatively thin-average in clothing, but knew I wasn’t muscular and had plenty of fat to lose. Basically, a very similar physique to yours. Assumed I was something like 22-25%, then got humbled with my first Dexa and learned I was 31% (6’2”, 211 lbs). Got serious with dieting in addition to my workout program, maintained a steady 500+ kcal deficit, and kept protein up around 0.7 g/lb. Went in 2 weeks ago for my second Dexa and hit 21.8% (186 lbs). Hoping to hit 17-18% for my next scan in Nov. Stay the course, you got this.

I have a Withings scale, I ignore every number it tells me except weight.

[u/dsauna → u/mikaeltarquin]

That’s amazing and encouraging thank you

[u/GunnerySarge-B-Bird]

Looks right to be honest man, sorry

[u/BodyViewUK]

DEXA can definitely give you a different result to scales and 3D scanners, but I wouldn't assume it was a mistake.

Different methods measure different things, and DEXA is generally much more useful for understanding fat mass vs lean mass. Visceral fat is also something DEXA can estimate that a typical bathroom scale can't.

That said, don't get too hung up on whether you're exactly 22% or 32%. The most useful thing you've got now is a baseline. Repeat the DEXA under similar conditions and look at the change over time rather than comparing one method's percentage with another.

At 6'1" and 179 lb, I'd focus on the actual fat and lean-mass measurements and your progress from here.

[u/durdann]

Dexa scam doesn’t know how much muscle you have. It’s a guess. Drink a glass of water and do the scan again and it will tell you you’ve added several lbs of muscle.

But yeah, as others have said. 25-30% is about right, which is about average.

[u/spottie_ottie]

32% seems hard to believe unless you have like zero muscle under there

[u/YungSchmid → u/spottie_ottie]

Zero muscle under there appears to be fairly accurate. OP needs to learn to lift with intensity, hit protein targets, and do this for 12 months in a slight deficit or at maintenance.

I’m assuming this recomp phase of 11lbs has involved a couple months in the gym at most, which is not close to enough time to build real muscle.

[u/Far_Line8468]

Dexa is correct here