Bodyweight is one of the most easily accessible biomarkers. If you take a look under the hood you will see that bodyweight is the sum of the following:
- Lean Muscle
- Skeleton
- Body Fat
You can measure all of the components with a DEXA scan (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry). The DEXA scan does not require a doctor referral (at least in the United States) and costs around $150. In addition to the body composition the scan also measures bone density, an important biomarker for longevity.
I began experimenting with fat loss / bulking phases in late 2023. This zig-zag approach makes sense as the nutrition requirements for fat loss and muscle gain are different. Simply put, fat loss requires a caloric deficit and muscle gain requires a slight surplus. My nutrition was tracked using the free cronometer app.
- Fat Loss Phase 1 (9/19/23-1/27/2024): Lost 10 lbs of body weight, waist circumference reduced by 2 inches. Baseline DEXA Scan taken 11/4/23.
- Bulking Phase (1/27/2024-6/1/2024): Started Rx treatment for hormones, Gained 12.4 lbs of body weight, waist circumference increase 1 inch, lean mass increased by 2.6 lbs.
- Fat Loss Phase 2 – (current): Took a couple weeks to reverse the weight gain but I am trending downwards at a reasonable rate. <29 lbs body fat is the goal.
Links:
Free nutrition tracker app: https://cronometer.com/
DEXA Scan Service Map: https://www.dexafit.com/dexafit-store-mapper
Results:
| Scan Date | Baseline – 11/04/2023 | 5/23/2024 |
| Total Mass (lbs) | 186 | 190 |
| Total Lean Mass (lbs) | 139 | 141 |
| Body Fat Mass (lbs) | 40 | 41 |
| Bone Density T-Score | 1.8 | 2.0 |
I injured my knee in November (meniscus tear) and undertook physical therapy to repair it. You can see that my legs lost ~3 lbs of lean mass while my trunk gained ~6lbs of lean mass during the same timeframe.
Report:
the health engineer 