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For years I’ve heard about Inside Tracker but never purchased their plan. My latest blood work was done in August but I was curious to know where I stood now. I looked into the various plans, reached out to someone about it, and purchased the Essentials Plan. It isn’t cheap but I told myself I wouldn’t buy more running shoes. 😄 I used a coupon and I paid $136 for it.
I answered a few questions about nutrition, supplements, exercise and lifestyle. Once I completed it, I made an appointment with Quest Diagnostics for Monday, March 7th. I was off that day and went there after doing a few errands. Luckily I didn’t have to fast.
Two days later I got my results. I had already downloaded the app to my phone and was excited to see my results. The first thing I had to do was select my goal. The options were overall health, lose fat, metabolism, gut health, energy, heart health, endurance, aging, sleep, and cognition. I picked overall health. The point of it is to get recommendations (exercise, nutrition, supplement, and lifestyle) based on the results and my goal.
Each biomarker is categorized as optimized, needs improvement (could be low or high), and at risk. And yes they’re also identified by those colors.
My results:
LDL
Glucose
HbA1c
Hemoglobin
Iron
HDL
Triglycerides
Vitamin D
Calcium
Folate
Creatine kinese
Total cholesterol
Magnesium
Based on the results and my goal, the following thing were recommended.
➡️ Level up my aerobic workouts
➡️ Incorporate more olive oil
➡️ Take an ALA supplement
➡️ Eat one serving of a probiotic food everyday
➡️ Take a psyllium supplement
➡️ Take spirulina
➡️ Continue to sleep 7-9 hours daily
What’s next? I was definitely overwhelmed with all of the information and recommendations. I compared my results from my last blood work in August and did notice an increase in my triglycerides, HDL, and HbA1c levels, but a decrease in my glucose level. My doctor tested for other things as well. She told me my results were normal/negative and that my cholesterol was pretty good. She also mentioned that my HDL was a little low.
These past couple of months have been hectic. I haven’t been taking care of myself and haven’t kept up with a consistent form of exercise. I know I did a lot of Peloton cycling classes but then didn’t keep up with it either. My mother and I cook every weekend and, well, Mexican food is not healthy. A lot of food we make is fried. Cooking with her is a special thing we do. We make a lot of her favorite dishes and it makes me happy to see her eat the food we make.
I have purchased a few of the supplements but I know that I need to do more than take supplements. But at least it is something to start with. The information/results on the website are more thorough than the app. On the website you get food recommendations for each group that needs improvement or is at risk. As an example below are some recommendations for my high LDL. I’ve never heard of bulgur, spelt, kamut, or teff. I clicked on the icon on the right of each image and the image turns around to give me more information about it. I click on the image on the left and I get a recipe.
I did find it interesting that my iron and hemoglobin levels was low. I already take an iron pill. I wonder now if that is the reason why I am feeling more tired than before. I don’t remember being this tired last year when I was running everyday! My coworkers tell me that this school year is taking a toll on everyone (especially with my one student that is giving me a lot of trouble). I rarely drink coffee in the evening because it keeps me up at night. Now there are times that I drink a cup of coffee and can still fall asleep at night.
I mentioned earlier that all of this is overwhelming. However, I am glad I did this to get a better understanding of where I am health wise. I do want to avoid getting diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. My cholesterol level goes up and down but never high enough to be on medication. Once my doctor told me I was pre-diabetic and that freaked me out.
Will I use Inside Tracker again? Absolutely. I want to check my progress. It was recommended that I get tested again in June. Hopefully I will see more biomarkers in green.
Topic for next week –Things you saw on your last run. Feel free to write about this or any running related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!
What a great tool, Zenaida! It’s a very thorough analysis.This will help you to do all the right things to stay fit and healthy.
I did something similar a few years ago, but it was very basic, never as solid as yours. It was only an app where I logged my food. The app then told me what was missing.
I’ve never heard of Teff before, I will need to look it up.
Do you know what happens with your private data after your analysis?
Good question and I have no idea. I should probably look into it as well.
Definitely a lot of information.
I would find it overwhelming.
I don’t like to take medicines or vitamins or supplements.
But that’s me.
I just try to be active. And get enough sleep.
I completely understand. I don’t want to take many supplements either.
Wow, this is interesting. I’ve heard about Inside Tracker a lot but didn’t really know the details. It’s really not that expensive (although I imagine it can get pricey if you do the other plans.) I get my blood drawn every six months because I’m on a thyroid med, and they check lots of other things as well. I know that my vitamin D is very low unless I take a supplement every day, and I never would have known that without the blood test. So I think tools like this can be really valuable.
I get my blood drawn every couple of years so this is very helpful and handy for me. I doubt I’ll purchase the other plans because this is gives me more than enough information. I don’t want more! 🙂
I think I’m in the same boat as you are. I try to take care of my health because I’m Mexican and diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol definitely runs in our family. I think it’s interesting to get this information and have the ability to make changes. It’s probably a lot of info right at the start but it can help you develop a plan for improvement where you can!
Exactly!
This is really interesting but the medical provider in me looks at the data and the advice and thinks…I do this for my patients! Clearly i’m in the wrong business…lol. Seriously tho, if this is helpful, I think it’s a good tool. I hope it motivates you!
Good to know Wendy. It is motivating and hopefully will see improvements in the next one.
This looks really solid but I can see why you’d find it overwhelming. Whenever I find something overwhelming, I try to tackle it one step at a time. So don’t worry about changing too many things at once, rather one thing at a time.
That is a good point! Thanks!
Low iron could definitely make you feel more tired! Couple that with stress — it’s just not surprising.
I have heard of many of those foods. But I’m an amateur nutritionist, LOL!
I had neve heard of Inside Tracker, so now it’s good to know what it is! I think Shathiso’s advice is spot on. And always look to things you can add, rather than what you need to avoid — it just feels much easier.
You learn new something everyday!
I used Inside Tracker years ago and really liked it, but I almost felt like it gave me too much information because I was pretty overwhelmed!
I agree. But I think once I learn more about it then it won’t be as overwhelming. Hopefully! 🙂
It can be really overwhelming to get a bunch of information all at once. Like Wendy said, your regular doctor should be able to test for and monitor all of these things at your regular visit
I get a physical every year but my doctor orders blood work done every 3-4 years. I went in August 2021 and prior to that it was September 2018. I wonder if it will be more frequent as I get older.
I’ll use Inside Tracker 1-2 more times and then once or twice a year.