Beyond the number on the scale, regular body composition measurement offers a deeper, more accurate picture of your health and fitness progress. It provides a breakdown of what your weight is composed of—specifically fat mass and lean mass (muscle, bone, and water)—revealing how your diet and exercise habits are truly affecting your body.
Tracks true fitness progress
One of the most motivating aspects of monitoring body composition is that it shows genuine progress, even when the number on the scale remains unchanged. A traditional scale can be misleading because it doesn’t differentiate between muscle and fat. For example, as you start a new fitness program, you might gain muscle and lose fat, causing your overall weight to stay the same. By tracking your body composition with the guidance of Maine functional medicine, you can see that you are getting leaner, stronger, and more toned—a significant, positive change that the scale can’t measure.
A better indicator of health
Body composition offers a more comprehensive assessment of health risks than Body Mass Index (BMI). Excess body fat, particularly visceral fat (the fat surrounding your organs), is strongly linked to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. Regular analysis can help you track and manage these risk factors proactively. In contrast, a person with a high muscle mass might have a high BMI, but a healthy body fat percentage, indicating they are not at the same health risk as someone with a high BMI due to excess fat.
Supports long-term, sustainable goals
Focusing on body composition encourages a smarter, more sustainable approach to health. Chasing a lower number on the scale can lead to unhealthy behaviors like crash dieting, which often results in the loss of muscle mass. By prioritizing body composition, you can focus on building lean muscle while reducing fat. Lean muscle is more metabolically active than fat, meaning it burns more calories even at rest. This shift in focus helps you build a healthier, more resilient body over the long term.
Empowers personalized wellness plans
Body composition data provides personalized insights that can fine-tune your fitness and nutrition plan. Knowing the specific breakdown of your fat and muscle mass allows you to set more targeted and achievable goals. For instance, if your body fat is high, you can focus on a caloric deficit, while if your muscle mass is low, you can increase your protein intake and prioritize strength training. This data-driven approach removes guesswork and helps you make informed decisions about your health.
Creates motivation through tangible evidence
There’s nothing more motivating than seeing tangible results from your hard work. When you track your body composition, you get clear, visual feedback on your progress. A report showing a decrease in body fat percentage or an increase in skeletal muscle mass is a powerful reminder that your efforts are paying off, helping you stay committed to your wellness journey. It allows you to celebrate victories that go far beyond just a number on the scale.
At TruForm Longevity we offer accurate, reliable body composition scanning for all of our patients at no cost.
We encourage you to call use to schedule your body composition scan today. It only takes 10 minutes to get your results direct to your phone based app
