What Is Body Composition Scanning?

Hey everyone!  I wanted to sit down and write a blog about body composition scanning because I know many of are competing in our $10,000 transformation challenge or just starting your journey with us since January 1 of 2021.  I know the household scale is how most people are used to measuring their fitness success, but that’s actually not the way we encourage our members to track their true success.  Remember muscle is more dense than fat, so you can be gaining muscle while losing fat and still seeing the scale number increase.

If you are wanting to keep up with your weight on the scale, I highly encourage doing a body composition scan.  This scan is much more detailed and shows way more data to track and progress than just one simple “number” on the scale.  I’m sure body composition scans may be new or foreign to some of you, so I wanted to break it down.

First off, know there are man different body composition scans available.  I’m going to be talking about the “In Body” machine as it is the most affordable (sometimes even free) option at local nutrition/supplement stores like Complete Nutrition, Total Nutrition, etc.  I personally love the DEXA body scan the best and view it to be the absolute most accurate, but it also comes with a price tag of usually $50-$100 to do.  Also be sure to ask your local gym and/or nutrition stores if there’s an In Body Machine available in your town, or if there’s another body composition scan available.

What exactly is this “body composition” that I’m talking about scanning?  Body composition is a method of describing what the body is made of. It includes fat, protein, minerals, and body water. Body composition analysis can accurately show changes in fat mass, muscle mass, and body fat percentage. This can help validate services like personal training, nutritional programs, corporate wellness programs, and more.

Another benefit of the In Body machine I’m suggesting, is that it saves your data each time you scan.  How exactly does it do that? Well, In Body devices can store up to 100,000 tests. In addition, they offer a cloud database management solution called Lookin Body Web. This software allows you to remotely access and manage all of your In Body data from any computer, laptop, or tablet.

How does the In Body machine work? In Body devices use an advanced form of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) with a combination of Direct Segmental Measurements and Multi-frequencies to measure body composition. Because of the advancements behind their four pillars of technology, InBody does not use empirical estimations based on age, gender, ethnicity, athleticism, or body shape, which allows In Body to provide more accurate and precise results.

What does an In Body scan look like and how do I read it appropriately?

Here is an example from their website.  This shows you a body scan from a 31 year old female that has weighed many times (based on the body composition history seen where #1 is).  The client’s age, height, and sex is listed at the very top.  The body composition (back to #1) monitors how clients are doing overtime with the Body Composition History section.  You’ll see how the history shows the way the client’s weight, SMM (skeletal muscle mass), and PBF (percent body fat) adjusts or changes each time she weights.  I personally do not use the ECW/TBW reading and have found it to not be listed on all In Body Scans.  The most notable thing from the 8 different times this client has scanned is that her body fat percentage has steadily decreased from 37.5% to 35%.

If you look to the #2 – Segmental Lean Analysis – this can identify  muscle or fat imbalances with the Segmental Lean and Fat Analysis section. You’ll notice at the top of the chart that 80-120 shows to be the healthy range, and I typically want to see clients numbers all above 100.  Once you get below 80 (based on the % value), muscle is really needed to be built in that specific area.  So for instance this client has the least amount of muscle in her left arm at 88.6% or 4.03 lbs.  She has the most muscle in her trunk at 92.7% or 39.6 lbs.

Under the muscle-fat analysis, you’ll see the client’s weight, skeletal muscle mass and body fat mass for her current scan.  You’ll notice her body fat mass is much higher than her skeletal muscle mass reading.  Ideally we would like to see this client have more skeletal muscle mass and less body fat mass, but we can also tell that from the previous scans her % body fat is steadily decreasing, meaning she is on the right path!

One of the best pieces of information that an In Body Scan will show you is the Basal Metabolic Rate (on the right side, just above the middle part of the page). Basal Metabolic Rate is the number of calories required to keep your body functioning at rest. BMR is also known as your body’s metabolism; therefore, any increase to your metabolic weight, such as exercise, will increase your BMR.  So this woman’s body burns 1231 Kcal a day at complete rest, as if she was going to sit on the couch all day long or lay in bed all day. Why is BMR so important?  Because the more lean muscle mass you built, the higher your BMR rises.  You want to raise your BMR because who doesn’t want to burn more calories at a resting state?  Also keep in mind the higher your BMR is, then if you decide to go into a deficit/shredding/fat losing diet phase – a higher BMR allows this to be easier and more sustainable because you won’t be as restricted with a higher BMR.

Now there’s even more information than I broke down on the In Body Scan that you can research or ask the person helping you administer your scan.  Things like water weight, BMI and more.  I personally did talk about the things that I pay the most attention to, and wanted everyone to know there are certain components on this scan that hold greater value to me.

I hope this helps break down what a body composition scan is and how beneficial it can be to seeing your TRUE success rather than just one “number” on the scale.  The reality is there’s so much more behind that one “number” and that’s exactly what a body composition scan breaks down for us.  Remember we also encourage things like measurements, progress pics, the way your clothes fit, the energy you have, and the way you feel to help you track your progress with us.  Read a previous blog post I wrote about the important of progress pictures HERE.

To read in greater depth about the full scan of the In Body Machine, visit their website where a full sheet scan is broken down piece-by-piece HERE.