Your body scan, explained. Then a plan to keep your muscle.
Free lean mass calculator and self-paced courses for adults over 40 holding a DEXA, InBody, or Bod Pod report and no plan.
Example numbers, worked out from lean mass
Run your own numbers- Lean mass
- 128 lb
- Resting burn
- about 1,620 calories a day
- Protein target
- 128 g a day
$149 course, $24 guides, paid once, no subscription.
What each line of your scan report means
Most reports print the same few lines, whatever the scanner.
- Weight 172.0 lb
- Your total weight on the day of the scan.
- Body fat % 25.6%
- Fat as a share of weight. Compare a scanner only with itself.
- Fat mass 44.0 lb
- The same fat, in pounds.
- Lean mass 128.0 lb
- Mostly muscle, organs, and water. The number your plan is built on.
- Resting rate 1,624 cal
- What you burn at rest, worked out by the scanner's own formula from your lean mass.
An example plan, not yours: a scan on day 0 and a rescan on day 90.
This example starts at 128.0 lb of lean mass. The day 90 rescan is measured against it.
A mark is an estimate until the rescan.
Calories and protein from your lean mass
Type the lean mass from your scan and the calories and protein update as you go. Your numbers stay on your screen.
- Resting burn
- cal a day
- Daily burn with activity
- cal a day
- Calorie target
- cal a day
- Protein target
- g a day
Katch-McArdle: 370 + 21.6 x lean mass in kg
Educational estimate. Talk to your doctor before a big change to how you eat or train.
A mark is an estimate until the rescan.
Use the full calculatorWhy weight-only targets cost you muscle after 40
Most calorie apps start from weight, age, and a goal. They cannot see how much of you is muscle.
Eat below your resting burn for weeks and your body covers part of the gap from lean mass. After 40, that muscle is slower to build back.
- Weight-only app, a common floor
- 1,200 cal a day
- From the sample lean mass
- 1,898 cal a day, never below 1,624
FitNoggin starts from your lean mass and never sets a target below resting burn.
The Lean Mass Course, module by module
Eight self-paced modules, in the order you will use them, from your first scan to your rescan.
- Module 1 Scan literacy
- Module 2 Resting burn and TDEE
- Module 3 Calorie targets after 40
- Module 4 Protein targets
- Module 5 Strength training basics
- Module 6 Eating around training
- Module 7 Holding steady through a deficit
- Module 8 Planning the rescan
$149, one time
One-time purchase, lifetime access, self-paced.
Start your orderWhat each module coversGuides for one question at a time
Free
Reading Your First Scan
Read the free guide$24
Your DEXA Report, Line by Line
See this guide$24
The 90-Day Rescan Plan
See this guide$24
Real Change or Noise? Reading InBody Swings
See this guide
Stories from scan to plan (illustrative)
Dana, 58, InBody
Two InBody scans a week apart disagreed by two pounds. Dana moved her scans to the same hour and now reads the trend.
Illustrative, written by us, not by a customer.
Ray, 61, DEXA
An app had set Ray 1,200 calories a day. His DEXA lean mass put his resting burn well above that, so he planned around a protein target instead.
Illustrative, written by us, not by a customer.
Lena, 47, Bod Pod
Lena worked through the first module with her Bod Pod report beside her, wrote down her baseline, and booked her rescan for day 90.
Illustrative, written by us, not by a customer.
One price, no subscription
- The Lean Mass Course
- $149 one time: eight modules, lifetime access.
- Each guide
- $24 each, one time: one topic, yours to keep.
- The calculator and Reading Your First Scan
- Free No account, no limit.
Example order
- The Lean Mass Course
- $149
- Your DEXA Report, Line by Line
- $24
- Digital, no shipping, no fees
- $0
- Total, paid once
- $173
No renewals, and no upsell to coaching or supplements.
Start your orderWhat FitNoggin will not tell you
- That you are sick or well. This is education, not medical care, diagnosis, or treatment.
- How much weight you will lose. No weight loss promises, no guarantees.
- To buy supplements or a meal plan. We sell courses and guides only. No coaching.
- That you are now certified. The FitNoggin Academy is a name for our library, not a school. No credits.
Questions people ask after a scan
How big a calorie deficit is safe for my muscle?
Ours caps it at 15% of your daily burn or 500 calories, whichever is smaller, and never goes below resting burn.
Why do scanners give me different body fat numbers?
DEXA uses a low-dose x-ray, InBody a small current, Bod Pod displaced air. Compare a scanner only with itself.
When should I rescan?
Around 90 days, at the same time of day, eating and drinking the same before it.
Is this medical advice?
No. It is education. Talk to your doctor before a big change to how you eat or train.