First Dexa scan

(Mary) #1

Well, today I put my big girl panties on and had a scan done. And apparently they were XXL panties as my BF percentage came in at 55.3%. Cringe… And to top it off, a dangerous amount of that fat is visceral. Yes, it was worse than I thought. I have no illusions about my obesity - it’s just that seeing it in black and white made it even more real for me than seeing 216 on the scale. Sigh. No where to go but down.

The good news is that I have the bone density of a 20 year old. I guess I won’t be following my mother into osteoporosis-land. Oh, and more muscle mass than the average 55 year old woman. But then, I’d need more muscle, wouldn’t I, to carry around 115.9 lbs of fat…

So - nothing’s really changed. I figured I had about 80 pounds to lose and that’s been confirmed. What has also been confirmed, after 4 weeks of keto, is that I’m far more insulin resistant than I was even a few years ago. I’m shocked at how difficult it is to bring my insulin levels down, despite rigid adherence to LCHF and IF’ing. Not much point whining about it - the only option is to KCKO.

I’ve committed to doing another scan in 6 months and I hope to god the numbers are less demoralizing.

Thanks for listening.

(Jordan) #2

As long as you KC and KO it can only get better, right?
Way to go for being brave enough to have the scan!

(Damon Chance) #3

I’m looking at a comparable total weight loss… So far I’m about half way there (almost all Keto over 4 months) so just keep going. NSV’s will help keep you motivated along the way.

(Jennifer) #4

Good job - now you have a goal to shoot for. You can do it - now you know the process. And it will work!

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #5

Ah good for you, standing in your truth. You are right, just get on with going down. Good to know your bones are good and you have extra muscle going for you. That is good news indeed.

Wishing you much success, here is some :bacon: & :fried_egg: to keep you going in the right direction.

(Mary) #6

Thanks, guys… :kissing_heart: I love my Keto Buds!

(Andrea Shields ) #7

Hi there Mary

Well I had a DEXA scan for the first time ever yesterday. My health conditions/challenges are different to yours - with only a couple of kg’s to lose but concerningly I did have an area of my spine with less than ideal bone density. Now that was sort of surprising but I guess it makes sense. Due to my chronic fatigue & fibromyalgia I’ve become very inactive & deconditioned over the last 5 years. Without the strain of physical activity & without good energy delivery to my organs/tissues/bones my body has become weak. I’m going back in to have a more extensive bone density scan next week. I’ve resolved to implement longer fasts - have you heard the 2keto dudes podcast with Megan Ramos? Anyhow she says that human growth hormone peaks after 72 hours of fasting - so I guess that’s what I’ll be doing to regenerate stronger bones. Also planning to do a follow up DEXA scan after 8-12 weeks to see if I’ve managed to lose 2 kgs of body fat. I know that might sound like a ludicrously low amount of fat loss to you but you’d be surprised to know how difficult those last kilos are to take off - the body really holds on for dear life :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

Let’s motivate each other to stay on track & check-in once we’ve had our next scans…

#8

Getting started is the hardest part…
I’m in the same boat. DEXA on 8/9/17 showed 230 lbs with 50% BF. I decided to make a change. So I bought a couple books and used them to formulated a plan.

I’m the type of person that needs feedback, so I got a ketone meter, FitBit, and smart scale so I could track my numbers. As of today, I’m down 19 lbs and 5% fat. So we can continue this journey together.

So your goal is to lose 80 lbs, what’s your plan for getting there?

(Mary) #9

Let’s see if I can manage to reply to you both…

@andy70 I’m very sorry to hear about your health issues. Returning to health and fitness is hard enough without a chronic condition to deal with. Good for you for taking it on. Yes, fasting seems to have all sorts of benefits beyond weight loss. It really is magic. I hope our society will be brave enough to try it, rather than loading up on useless pills. And yes, I’m expecting the last few kilos to be difficult (although I have a long, long time to prepare for that battle…). I have my doubts that I’ll be able to get down to where the DEXA tech figured I should be - 60 kgs or about 135. I have a feeling my happy place will be closer to 145.

I’m all for motivation. Let me know if you’d like to correspond off line. Cheers, Mary

@4dml You must be a guy (or perhaps an incredibly tall woman). Doesn’t matter either way… I like feedback, too, but haven’t shelled out the cash for the gadgets yet. Well, I bought a pedometer but nothing else so far. I’d love to be able to check my BS but can’t bear the thought of sticking myself :scream: You’ve done incredibly well to have lost nearly 20 lbs in 2 months! I’m finding that weight loss is pretty painful unless I fast. That’s a big part of my plan, actually - get my insulin low enough that I’m able to access my own body fat. I’ve just been surprised at how reluctant my insulin resistance is to get with the program. It is getting easier but I hadn’t anticipated how long keto adaptation actually takes.

I figure it’ll take close to 18 months for the weight loss phase and I’m ok with that. I’ve got enough saggy skin already and don’t want to imagine what I’d end up with if I lose too quickly. Also, I want to be able to mentally prepare for being slim and fit. I’ve been overweight for more than 20 years and am used to being invisible.

So jump on board, you two! Mutual support is always welcome.
Mary

#10

I bought a meter to test ketones and the finger prick really isn’t bad at all (especially considering I don’t check all that often). I would compare it to someone flicking your ear, it’s gone after a couple seconds and to me the information is worth it. But I’m pretty extreme in terms of data collection so it’s definitely not for everyone :slight_smile:

#11

I’m female, at my tallest I was 5’9 but now I’m shrinking :worried:
I want to say drawing blood gets easier over time, but so far, it hasn’t. I’ve never liked needles, and have a visceral reaction every time. But I get it over with first thing in the morning, and hopefully that’s the worst thing that happens to me that day.

While I’m not diabetic, my last A1C was 5.8 and I’m very insulin resistant. A couple of weeks ago, I was in ketosis (4+ mmol) and had a small piece of cheesecake. My BG was still over 100 for two days, despite doing subsequent IF dinner only. So I feel your pain…

I didn’t even know what fasting was until I read Dr Fung’s book. Combined with hours of researching on the internet, I’m convinced that fasting is the best way to fix my metabolism. My inner Forrest Gump said “just stop eating”. So I did. That lasted for 4 days. Then someone from out of town came to visit for a couple of days, so I ate. Then I stopped again. A few days passed, another event came, and I ate. It’s been 5 days since I’ve eaten, and there’s nothing on my calendar right now that will trigger me to eat. Of course that’s subject to change…

(Andrea Shields ) #12

Hey Mary

I’m not so sure that you really have to get all the way down to 60kg - isn’t it the visceral fat we’re most concerned about? You can lose that bad fat surrounding organs & still be left with a bit of cushiness for nice cuddles - my 10 year old daughter says that a little bit of pudgy is nice to cuddle into :hugs::hugs::hugs:

My DEXA person said I should lose 2kgs of fat but that my visceral fat level was excellent. Do I believe that losing 2kgs will do anything for my health?? Nope!!! But I do like me at 53kg - I feel slim there & happier to wear shorts or bathers - my thighs & bottom are far less wobbly. I’m a terribly self conscious person at the beach so yeah I feel happier and more confident when I’m a bit slimmer. Health wise I want more muscle & now thanks to the scan I know I need to focus on my bone strength. I’ve just started doing some physio led core strength classes so I’m going to take my report along & have a chat - see what they suggest.

Are you planning to re-scan in 8-12 weeks? Let’s compare notes then. Happy to do it here on the forum or via email.

All the best!

(Andrea Shields ) #13

Come on girls - you can’t call the LITTLE lance on a blood glucose/ketone meter a needle - it’s just a teeny tiny prick - and I’m sure we’ve all put up with far worse!! My poor fingers are calloused from all the pricking :joy::crazy_face: only joking I’m not quite that obsessive.

Mary, I’m horribly insulin resistant & my weight will not budge without fasting/calorie restriction and an elevation of ketones. But in order to work out exactly what I needed to do - either to achieve therapeutic ketosis (G/K=1 index) or lose weight - it was so important to understand what was happening in my own body. I’ve always struggled to keep my weight down - just looking at food (even healthy stuff) would have me laying down fat!!! I can not believe how much mental/emotional & physical energy I’ve devoted to keeping weight off - so no way am I a person who naturally & effortlessly stays within a healthy weight range. How I wish!!! In fact on my maternal side of the family most of my cousins are obese. Obviously there’s a genetic predisposition to insulin resistance & carbohydrate intolerance.

So if you want to give yourself an early Christmas present I’d really encourage getting a blood glucose/blood ketone meter. I think you’ll find it will be money very well spent - it will help you understand your own unique metabolism and hopefully save you from much frustration. Trying what you think is the best course of action & then seeing no results on the scale for weeks on end is very disheartening - believe you me I’ve been there - back in the day when I followed all that eat 5 to 6 small meals a day nonsense. But similarly to you when I followed all the LCHF/keto advice I still couldn’t budge weight (I’ve lost approx 5 kgs down from 59kg to 54kg since June, now I just have the last couple kgs the DEXA man is encouraging me to get rid off).

I find that I need to calorie restrict by a massive amount - maybe eat 300 to 500 cals max but they need to be 90% fat - so basically I call that fasting & I might do it for a few days in a row. Then when I go back to eating forget the FEASTING eat only up to your calorie requirements. My TDEE is calculated at 1,300. That’s what I do. Don’t fall for this feasting talk & eat 1,000 calories in excess of your TDEE - that might work for some but it’s just a recipe for weight gain for me. Save that feasting for special occasions - Christmas, your birthday, Easter etc

Anyhow that’s my “sage” advice after many many years of experimenting - LCHF/Keto has led to the best success - I achieve my goals with minimal hunger & suffering. Hope you find it helpful while you go through your own weight loss journey - while you work out the pieces to your metabolic puzzle.

All the best.

(Mary) #14

Good morning @recent @andy70 and @4dml. I’m actually quite interested in a BG/ketone meter, despite the sticks :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: . As 4dml says, if a needle stick first thing in the morning is the worst thing that happens to me that day, it’s a win :star_struck: The KetoMojo is my top choice and it looks like it will ship to Canada. I’m heading to England tomorrow and will email the company about it when I get back.

Yes Andrea, I agree with you that 1 kg here or there isn’t anything to fret about. And us “women of a certain age” probably have to choose between out bodies and our faces anyway (no point looking hawt in jeans if our face is too gaunt). I will be So Happy when my visceral fat level is “excellent”. My scan really scared me. And yes, too, to the muscle. I’m finally, after half a century, starting to understand what having more muscle mass means (how’s that for alliteration?). Heck, a few sessions in the weight room and I could carry 145-150 and still look like I’m 130. Total win! Sorry about the lbs vs kgs - I’m sure you can do the conversion…

Thank you for mentioning the mental, emotional and physical energy cost of keeping weight off. And financial. Don’t forget how much money we’ve all spent on books and programs and special food, etc. The whole industry is a real cash cow and there’s a huge incentive to keep us all fat. But we’re not sheep, people. We’ve got brains in our head and shoes on our feet (as Dr Seuss says) - let’s use 'em!

Another “yeah” on the genetic predisposition - my dad fought to keep his weight down his entire life. Mind you, the chocolate bars he hid in his desk probably stacked the deck against him a bit. Ah, if only I could pass on what I’ve learned but, unfortunately, he died in 1987.

It appears I’m still at the stage where I can afford to feast a bit on my non-fasting days. ie: the day before my scan, I scarfed down 2000 cal worth of keto cheesecake and now, 3 days later, I’m down 2 lbs. I’m really hoping that keto will heal decades of binge behaviour. It seems to work on the brain as much as the body so here’s hoping. Anyway, I’m sure you’re right that I won’t get away with as many calories as I lose weight, but I plan on trying to raise my BMR with fat and high intensity exercise. It’ll be an interesting experiment.

Cheers!
Mary

(Andrea Shields ) #15

2,000 calories doesn’t sound like a crazily high amount - I can do that in the blink of an eye - especially on keto foods which are so delicious and energy dense. And cheesecake my all-time favourite dessert - I’ve loved it since I was a little girl :heart::yum::yum::yum: I guess if you did 2,000 cals on cheesecake & plus another 1,500 on the rest of the day then that does become problematic if it’s done repeatedly in a single week. Been there, done that :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Understand your struggles with binge eating behaviour - I’ve been bingeing since my teens & then been compensating enough that I never became obese but certainly had dramatic weight gains & then struggled with iron willpower over many weeks/months to lose ONLY to then binge repeatedly in a single week & have it all avalanche back on. As I’ve described it to my husband it’s like I go into “fat free fall” (there’s my alliteration :joy:)

Binge eating disorder messes with your head - the anxiety, guilt, and the bloated stomach are bad, bad, bad. At times I even considered going to see a psychologist about it. Did some research, apparently it is the fastest growing eating disorder in the middle aged women’s category - we don’t go for anorexia, or bullima, binge eating’s our thing. But like I said I’ve struggled with it since my teens. How I would like to be sensible, rational & calm about food - enjoy it then walk away & not obsess about it.

Yep keto is definitely helping me with the binge eating. I think the fact that it brings all our hormones & neurotransmitters into balance (especially insulin the master hormone) that removes the physiological reasons to eat to excess. And then the fact that I fast for long periods of time & only eat dinner or only eat within a tight 2 hour window - there are less occasions or times to start up with all the mind games - all the…" I’ll just have one more slice of cheese, to the oh well I might as well finish off the whole block, get rid of the temptation" (by stuffing it in my gob!).

Well Mary it looks like we have a lot in common, despite such different DEXA scan results :blush:

Jimmy Moore interviewed Dr Vera Tarman (episode 1295) re: carb addiction & food addiction. I downloaded her book on audible “Food Junkies - The Truth About Food Addiction” something I could relate to completely. Good to listen to while you’re doing your workouts:

I love the KCKO motto - it’s so simple & rational - me I can be far too OCD about far too many things…so KCKO to all of us :grin::grin::grin:

(Mary) #16

Morning Andrea @andy70,
Nope, only the cheesecake calories. I was so stuffed that my acid reflux came back, and I haven’t had that in quite a while. I’ve done plenty of binging in my time but apparently not on pretty much straight fat. It was an education…

Oh yes, “sensible, rational and calm about food”. Imagine! I still don’t seem to have a functioning appestat but it really is harder to binge on fat. Being completely sugar free is totally changing the game.

Thank you for the info on “Food Junkies” - I hadn’t heard of it and look forward to better understanding this behaviour. It’s really good to be able to come here and have a conversation with someone about such a shameful, difficult subject. Mind you, if I’m able to keep carbs out of my life, I may also no longer need to binge. How empowering would that be, eh? :fireworks:

Have a great day!

#17

I am on Day 6 of a fast. I almost broke it tonight, but decided to ride out the hunger. I am feeling okay, just a bit weak. I am on the thin side, but fast to hold cancer at bay, and to resolve an annoying swollen tongue issue. If I don’t break my fast tomorrow (Monday in Australia), I am scheduled to have a DEXA scan on Tuesday morning (Day 8). I am tempted to just carry on fasting -as long as I feel well - and have a fasted DEXA. Has anyone done a fasted DEXA?

(Todd Allen) #18

Yes, I’ve done a DEXA fasted. I think being in a state of depleted muscle glycogen lowers the reported lean tissue a little but other than that it isn’t a big deal. If one is getting scans periodically to track progress then getting each of the scans in a similar state (fasted or unfasted) should make the comparisons more meaningful.

(Ann) #19

Where does one go to have a DEXA scan done? Do we need a Dr to request this?

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #20

Google DEXA scan, . Most dr. don’t order them, they will the stupid bone density scans that don’t tell you LBM, so insurance probably won’t cover it. The group out of Denver does them for $99 and you can get a package of two for slightly less per scan, but the pricing can be all over the place. Groupon sometimes has discounts for them in some areas.