Who all has done one?

I've not done one but would like a scientific read on body comp and TDEE and believe this will be another good tool for me.

Looking to buy a bundle from a local DexaFit store to use this year. 4 for $299 which includes a post scan consultation to chat through the results, figure spouse and I can both use them 6 months apart.

I also see BodySpec vans which offer Dexa Scans for about 50% less, but looking to see if the reports are as comprehensive and don't think it includes consultations.

What have Dexa scans helped do for you?

I do InBody rather than Dexa, but the idea is the same. I take the absolute numbers with a grain of salt and instead use the information to see trends. The thing is, it takes a while to see trends. So, if you do the scans too close together, you might not get useful information.

The most helpful info from these scans, IMO, is the estimate of your BMR. Again, this an estimate, but I think people should have a good idea of how many calories they need just to exist/maintain their current weight. Especially if you are doing a "diet" like intermittent fasting or keto, where you don't typically track calories.

I also use the scan because I'm actively trying to lower body fat and gain muscle and am probably getting pretty close to my limits (without taking extreme measures). If I had a lot of weight to lose, I don't know that it would be as helpful (similar to what the previous poster said).

Yeah, I'm not poking fun. If I can get back to pre-Covid fitness and normal BMI, I'd like to do one. If it weren't so expensive, I'd do one for a baseline now, but that's pretty pricey when I already know my numbers are way out of whack.

I used Dexa to great success. It's actually what kicked off my fitness journey. I did it to baseline and motivate me, and then did them every 8 weeks for a year, losing ~1 lbs. per week and only 15% ended up being muscle, which is pretty good. For me, having numbers really helped keep me on track (along with doing a ton of other stuff like diet tracking, cardio, and strength training.)

I believe they are have up 2% error, but over the long term, that'll still be pretty accurate. I went from 43% body fat to 28%.

Also, use the same place because each machine is calibrated differently, so you'll get more error moving around.

I got a DEXA scan done for free through the sports medicine/PT dept as part of a community fitness incentive. It's kinda like getting your hair cut at a beauty school - you get free tests, the students get to practice on you as part of their Lab time.
I was hoping for DEXA and VO2 Max but got they were practicing straight stress tests the day I went.

The Lab PHD reviewed the results of the DEXA scan and did tell me my bone density was less than expected; not bad, just lower. With that knowledge, I did some research (as my diet is pretty heavy in calcium rich foods and largely plant based) that yielded studies pointing to bone density decline amongst endurance athletes. As such, my 2024 goal is to incorporate strength training into my daily workouts.

I don't think I'd pay to get another one done but if the opportunity arose after 12-18 months of consistent strength training and/or fat loss, I would probably try to get in for a repeat evaluation.

I plan to get one mainly for a baseline and maybe I can calibrate the result to my home scale BF%.

Also curious on the split between visceral fat and total fat

Hi,
So, your DEXA scan seems to be different than the standard medical DEXA scan for bone density (osteopenia/osteoporosis) diagnosis and generally covered by health insurance. Seems to be more related to body mass index/lean body mass numbers?

I have DEXA bone scans every two years since age 50 because of risk factors relating to cancer treatments and genetics. Extremely valuable for me from a health standpoint and effectiveness of bone building infusions. But, as someone passionate about fitness as well, I can appreciate this discussion and body mass testing....and believe it valuable as long as you do something with it.

I think this is right. Dexa was originally created to measure bone density, but it was discovered it can also discern fat and lean mass, too. (Lean mass instead of muscle, because water and other things are fat free.)

Without access to a university, Dexa is as good as the common person can get (and even they use Dexa as part of their measurements.)