Most year-end reviews are vibes. “I think I lost weight this year.” “I feel stronger.” “My pants fit better.” Vibes are useful but unreliable. A January DEXA paired with a December DEXA replaces vibes with data — exactly how much fat you lost or gained, how much muscle you built, where on your body things changed, and whether your bones held up. Here’s how to do a real year-end body composition review.

Why the year-over-year comparison matters

Eight-week scans show training-block changes. Quarterly scans show seasonal patterns. Year-over-year scans show life patterns — the slow drift that quarterly scans can hide because each one is close to the last. A year of stable weight can hide:

• Lean mass quietly dropping (2–3 lb), with fat replacing it.
• Visceral fat creeping up while subcutaneous holds steady.
• Bone density declining if you stopped resistance training.
• Regional asymmetries developing from a chronic injury or training imbalance.

A year-over-year DEXA review surfaces all of it.

How to set up the review

Step 1 — find or schedule your January baseline

If you scanned in January, pull up that report. If you didn’t, January-of-next-year becomes your new baseline — and you’ll do this review for the first time in 12 months.

Step 2 — book a December scan

Same studio, ideally same time of day, similar conditions. Wear similar clothes. Hydrate normally.

Step 3 — open both reports side by side

Or pull up your BodyStats dashboard, which graphs every metric over time automatically. Compare:

• Total weight — directional only.
• Total body fat % — the headline change.
• Lean mass — the most important number for longevity.
• Fat mass (lb) — the absolute fat change.
• Visceral fat — direction matters more than absolute number.
• Bone density (T- and Z-scores) — should hold steady or improve with resistance training.
• Regional symmetry — left vs right limbs.

Realistic year-over-year ranges

Metric	Modest annual change	Aggressive annual change
Body fat %	±2–4%	±6–10%
Lean mass	±1–3 lb	±5–10 lb
Fat mass	±5–10 lb	±15–30 lb
Visceral fat	±100–300 g	±500–1,000 g
Bone density (T-score)	±0.1	±0.3

If your year-over-year change is bigger than the “aggressive” column, we’d recommend pausing to confirm — usually it’s a measurement artifact (different scanner, very different hydration, scan position issues).

Common year-over-year patterns

The “stable but worse” pattern

Same weight, but lean mass dropped 2–3 lb and fat mass climbed by the same. Common in busy professionals who stopped training consistently. The fix: resistance training, 3 sessions/week, for the next year.

The “successful cut” pattern

Weight down 8 lb, lean mass down 1 lb, fat mass down 7 lb. Visceral fat down 200 g. Excellent — a high-quality cut with minimal muscle loss.

The “sneaky bulk” pattern

Weight up 6 lb, lean mass up 2 lb, fat mass up 4 lb. Mediocre muscle/fat ratio. Could’ve been leaner with a smaller surplus.

The “training plateau”

Lean mass flat, fat mass flat, weight flat. Often a sign you’ve stopped progressing in training. Add a new stimulus — different exercises, intensity, frequency.

Most year-end reviews surface one or two surprises. The data is rarely what people expected — and that’s why it’s useful.

What to do with the review

1. Pick one metric to improve. Don’t try to fix everything. Visceral fat down 100 g, or lean mass up 2 lb — concrete and tractable.
2. Set a 12-week intervention. Specific training and nutrition changes aimed at that metric.
3. Re-scan at week 12. Confirm the intervention is working before committing to a full year.
4. Repeat. A year of four 12-week interventions, each guided by data, is the most reliable route to actual physical change.

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