Changing your body composition

As part of the New You program I asked the participants to undertake a DEXA body composition scan before and after the 8 weeks of training and good nutrition.

The reason for this is that I wanted them to be able to see how changes to nutrition and training can result in more muscle and less fat.  As we age we want more muscle.  It is a way to avoid the “spread” –  that layer around the middle that seems to come from nowhere even though we have not started to eat more or exercise less.

Back in October 2015 I took a DEXA scan and I was fairly pleased with my result -21.9 per cent body fat – pretty good for a 47 year old woman.  I knew that with a little hard work and in particular a focus on my nutrition I could reduce that percentage even further and not lose muscle.  I want my muscles because I want to be strong and I want to be able to eat a lot.

At the end of the 8 week NEW YOU program after following all the nutritional guidelines (more water, more protein, more vegetables, less sugar, good fats, grain free week) I went for another scan and this time the result was even better – 17.2 per cent body fat.

I had only lost 2 kilos over the 8 weeks but I reduced my body fat percentage by 5 per cent.  At the end of the program if all I had seen was a 2 kilo loss on the scale I may have been disappointed after all the hard work.  The improved DEXA result was tangible evidence of the changes I had made.