DXA Scan College Runner

Dehydration can lead to an overestimation of fat mass. Could also explain the big weight difference from water weight. Were you more dehydrated during the second scan?

This type of screening is completely unnecessary. Don't worry about it. Do you feel fit and in shape? Your weight is, if anything, is a bit low and the change in body composition could indicate loss of muscle mass. HOWEVER, when last was the instrument calibrated? It should be calibrated daily and preferably before every scan.

The scans are done by a nutrition staff intern. I have no idea about if the machines are calibrated or not.

These scans are technically “optional” (but it reflects negatively on us if we don’t do them). We get them before and after every season.

The more recent scan was done after a practice (easy run). I don’t remember if I was particularly dehydrated but that is definitely a possibility, especially after running on a hot day.

If it were a true 6% fat gain it would be very noticeable on your frame

Don't stress about it. Having a machine is one thing, using it properly is another matter altogether. This is why multiple testing avenues are necessary to form a correct picture. This picture should be compared to your historical data tends. There is no "one-click" test that can be meaningful. Heck, if an athlete is out of shape, a visual test alone would suffice! I doubt the "interns" know what they are doing. Coaches adapting medical devices do so with mostly incomplete knowledge of the tool, it's limitations and how to accrue data and how to interpret what the machine spits out. Sometimes, the medicine is more dangerous than the affliction.

TLDR: Don't worry, just run!

Oh my! This is just a bad environment. I am all for accountability, but there are less flaky ways to enforce it. Ex: Performance in races and training discipline.

Sounds like your coach and/or AD will get fired if this comes out. I'm sorry you're in this toxic environment.

Anyway, DXA results are not very repeatable between different machines. Only repeat tests if on same machine.

Your weight is fine for your height. Eat more.

Overthinking it probably won’t do you any good. And that you didn’t actually gain any scale weight makes the reality of the results more questionable imo.

If you feel good, just keep eating and training.

ignore all the bs and noise. you omit how the season is going. if you'd never seen the number, how do you feel right now? how is the season going? if good, who gives a crap? soph year of college they ran us through VO2 and body fat and some other stuff in soccer. i had an absurdly low body fat according to the kineez students doing the tests. i do remember the number but it was like, who cares. i was fit and ready to do. i didn't go run out and get a sandwich or 10. i was co-MVP that year.

second, muscle outweighs fat. the numbers could just be off, but particularly as an adult i've seen it where when i first start up working harder on fitness, my weight goes up initially. it's muscle. if i keep going it starts dropping as i exercise more. if i stop, say i tweak an ankle, my weight might initially drop. it might then rise if i started snacking all the time. ferreting through that noise, i want to know how i feel and my workouts are going.

i have made a push on harder running workouts lately. i am not shedding any weight. but i feel 100% better. the rest is noise.

also, seconding the "pressure" discussion, as an adult you don't have to cave to pressure if you feel healthy. you do have to perform on meet/game days. but you don't have to follow everything dutifully to the letter. my college soccer coach overtrained us at practices and pregame warmups. i dutifully showed up. but i found different times and ways to slack when it felt too much. i don't think the coach was my biggest fan but the team voted me awards anyway.

if you feel like you are getting too much unnecessary crap like this, you go to administration or AD, or you look into another school. and i don't mean this has to be selfish. i thought being less tried made me a better player, and the first coach got canned before senior year.

Some general thoughts: Overall, I think tracking body comp can be helpful for older college athletes only if they already have all their other boxes checked (recovery, sleep, nutrition) and aren’t struggling with disordered eating thoughts. But even then it’s only useful if done accurately and in a non-judgmental way. Throwing body fat percents to athletes without context isn’t helpful. And, there is no universal BF% that works for everyone.

Additionally, I think body comp should be a discussion with medical staff not coaches.

If it can’t be done accurately and carefully it should be done at all.

Interesting

What?

Season has been going well, so what you said has been my approach so far. I have my meeting about my Dexa results tomorrow. I’m not sure how the staff will react to my numbers yet.

You should be concerned with your running performance and how you feel. The numbers don’t matter here. Remember you’re there to run fast, compete, and be a student athlete. You are not there to get low values on a dexa scan.

Here's what you do ...

Calculate the lbs of fat on your body from the spring and fall measures. I think it's something like 17 & 23. Then ask them to plausibly explain how you lost 6 lbs total but gained 6 in fat. Do they really think you lost 12 lbs of water/muscle and gained 6 of fat? It should be an interesting meeting anyway.

Update

My coach is not concerned or frustrated with me. My coach also questioned the accuracy of the bf% given it’s so much higher than all my other dexas (without big changes in my body or performance). I was told to just not worry about it and to not let it get into my head going into post season.

I am going to be tracking my calories and meeting with our new team dietician we just got. Which I want to do because it will be good to check in on my fueling anyways and I haven’t seen a dietician for a bit.

I’ll get another Dexa at the start of indoor and go from there. I’ll update this thread!

TLDR; Got fatter and looking for excuses