Yes, you need to book an appointment for a DEXA body composition scan at both one of our upcoming mobile locations & our downtown San Diego, East Village location. While we do allow walk ups, our pre-scheduled appointments receive top priority. Walk up availability depends on available spaces on the schedule, in which there is no guarantee as many of our events sell out.
You can book an appointment by clicking here.
A total body composition scan is a head-to-toe, fully clothed process. It’s a quick 5-10 minute process while you lay on your back; the total time depends on your height & weight (NOTE our DEXA scanner has a 350lb weight limit).
Please plan to allocate 15-20 minutes for your total appointment time including your DEXA total body composition scan.
It really depends on you, your goals, changes you’re making, etc. Based on our data, we see the best results when repeats are performed within 90 days.
Yes, DEXA is short for dual energy xray absorptiometry. It’s a quantitative vs. diagnostic xray, which translations for relatively, very low x-ray energy. It can be comparable to a TSA airport scan. The xray energy ranges from 0.2 – 0.8 microsieverts. Click here to learn more.
We suggest a one (1) hour fast from solid foots; liquids are okay.
Yes, you can, but we recommend keeping your pre-scan variables as constant as possible for each of your repeat scans. For example, if you finish your workout 10 minutes before your baseline appointment, we recommend repeating this for your future appointments.
If you do exercise pay attention to your hydration; one way to do this is to weigh yourself before your workout and then re-weigh after your workout. Make up any differences with fluides (typically 1 pint of fluid per pound lost).
No. In fact, you can wear whatever you like as long as there is a minimal amount of metal. We recommend you wear comfortable clothes such as workout clothes; however, work attire is just fine too.
Metal is denser than bone and the worst case scenario, depending on the amount of metal, is that your bone mineral content results may be slightly inflated. The best practice is to wear the same type of clothes for each appointment going forward.
You can access your results through your BodyComp account, which you can login to through our website. Results are generally uploaded within 5-10 minutes after your appointment is complete.
Hydration can have an impact, specifically on lean muscle mass, due to intracellular hydration; but, with DEXA it’s typically in extreme cases of over or under hydration.
One way to gauge normal hydration is the color of your urine. If you workout before your scan, you’ll want to repeat this for every scan. We recommend weighing yourself before your workout and after your workout on scan days. For every pound of body weight lost, replenish with 1 pint of fluid. We recommend maintaining a color from 1 – 3 based on the chart below:
Our DEXA scanners have a maximum weight limit of 350lbs.
