Getting The Most Out Of Your InBody Scans

Good news! If you haven’t already heard ALL FITISM memberships now include use of the inBody scanners. 

This is great news for everyone but especially great if you have set yourself a body composition goal this year. 

For anyone who may be unfamiliar, the in body scanners are a way of getting an accurate measure of your body composition including your weight, body fat, muscle mass and visceral fat (to name a few). 

The scanners are a great tool to gather measures of ‘success’ when attempting a body composition change however its not for everyone. If you are someone who finds weight stats emotionally triggering or finds that measuring composition stats more negative than positive then don’t feel obliged to do this. Anyone who has also previously struggled with their relationship with weight or food should also avoid this, or at least speak to their coach about what is best for them. 

Bit of background 

InBody use a technology called bio-electrical impedance to create a digital map of your body, inside and out. This a fancy name for the use of a very low level electrical current which travels around your body and measures resistance against various tissues. Each different body tissue has a different level of resistance associated with it and this allows the machine to build a picture of your internal body composition. 

What we measure 

The 4 most popular measures that are of interest to clients are 
• Weight 
• Muscle mass 
• Body fat (percentage and actual) 
• Visceral fat 

How to measure & make the best of your measures 

Using the inBody scanner is simple, you take your shoes and socks off, stand on the machine and follow the prompts and instructions from there. 

To do the best measures however an gather the most accurate data you must do the following 
• Always scan at the same time of day 
• Always scan BEFORE exercise 
• Always try to recreate the conditions of your scans (i.e. if you haven’t eaten for 3 hours first time, then do this again each time you measure)
• Never take a hot shower or bath before you scan 

The technology used in the scanners is very sensitive to fluid levels in the body so hydration and any food intake can change the results of your scan significantly. 

Body fat percentage for example will always be a higher baseline in a morning, this is because you are less hydrated and therefore fat occupies a greater proportion of your total weight. In the evening however your weight may be higher due to food and water intake through the day but your hydration levels will be higher and a baseline body fat percentage will be lower. 

This is why you must always scan at the same time of day and remember 

We look for trends I data, not individual results. 

As coaches we cannot stress enough that one result is not enough to determine whether something is “working” we need to see trends in data, a downwards trend in weight and body fat over a 3 month period is much more valuable than one “good” measure on one particular day. 

The take home messages

1. Get your new year body scan ticked off
2. Scan regularly and at the same time of day. We recommend every two weeks 
3. Look for trends in data and don’t fixate on single numbers 

Video

And finally here is a video of me doing a body scan step by step, which might be useful if you have never scanned before. CLICK HERE

Hannah