My Longevity Testing with Dr. Lindsey Jackson

Today was the day for all of my longevity testing with Dr. Lindsey Jackson. We were just waiting on all of my blood work to come back. What's the point of testing? I'm getting older and my body is changing in more ways than I can count. I needed some answers and to figure out what my options are based on those answers. There is nothing like heading into your 40's, working out solid for 3 years and your still not where you would like to be. That's me.

The first test is an InBody 520 scan. You take your socks off, step up on the machine and you hold a handle in each hand. The report will give you your body composition broken down by
weight: lean body and body fat mass
body water balance: intracellular, extracellular and total body water
obesity analysis: body mass index and percentage of body fat
segmental lean analysis: right and left arm, right and left leg and your trunk

What does all of this tell me? I'm 169 pounds and my lean body mass is 110 and my body fat is 58.9. I have 80 pounds of water in my body. My BMI is 27.3. I have more muscle than fat but the fat that I do have hangs out in the trunk of my body. Paleo is what I have personally seen decrease the trunk portion of my body. If it works then why do I still carry weight in the trunk of my body? Possibly because after the 30 Day Paleo Challenge was over it was a free for all. I have yet to get back fully on the wagon again. Couple that with my herniated disk that I have been recovering from since last year because I haven't been able to get a good calorie burn.

Next up...

Dr. Jackson is getting the Resting Metabolic Rate Analysis System programmed and ready for me. 

That's right, I get to breath in and out of this tube for 10 minutes with my nose plugged. This test is going to tell me my energy balance results, precisely how many calories my body burns and how much to eat to maintain or lose weight. My goal weight now is 140 pounds. At my age it is longer feasible for me to be my wedding weight of 125 pounds. Although the number sounds great it's not a good fit for me now. Today my body is the result of a woman that has had four children and two of them in her 30's when a woman's body is going through changes any way. Today my body shows the results of some serious exercise over the past three years and 1.5 years in Crossfit. What does that mean? I have some muscles that are hiding under a lot of water weight. I'm so much stronger, faster and healthier than 14 years ago and not smoking for many years also helps that healthy progression too.

The results? I have a very slow metabolism. My resting metabolic rate is 778 calories everyday at rest. That's NOT good. At that rate I should be eating around 1100 calories a day. Obviously something is wrong. The lab didn't run a Thyroid test. The test results are showing that there could be some complications in that area. I'm an active person so this doesn't make sense. Even injured I'm still working out. I'm still moving! 

Next up....

Bring on the VO2 Max. What you do is get on this cycle and put another tube in your mouth with a sort of mask to hold it in place while you cycle through as many resistance levels as you can. Level 9 was my magic place to stop! My heart rate started out at 78 beats per minutes and it took a while to reach my aerobic threshold (burning fat spot) which was 131 beats per minute and my anaerobic threshold is 139. My peak heart rate was 150. What does all of this mean? According to this test my fitness level is "Very Low." Seriously? Not what I was expecting at all. I need to spend time with in the 130 - 140 range to get that fat burning going.

Dr. Jackson has sent me a treatment plan with diagnoses and suggestions on how to get my body balanced out again along with several prescriptions. 

 

Seems a little overwhelming right? Well luckily I don't have to take these forever it's just to balance me out, hopefully. 

The wine is to lower my triglycerides. How fun is that? Drink 8 ounces of red wine in the evening. Actually this is really hard for me because I'm not a lover of red wine. Nor do I really feel the need to drink on a daily basis and try to function the next day. Sounds silly doesn't it? I'm going to do my best.

One of these is a multivitamin to take care of my mild anemia, vitamin B12 deficiency, folate and pyridoxine multivitamin. Another is to clear my body of excess fluid that is being stored due to hormonal imbalance. There is also some Metformin to help with insulin resistance.  These other prescriptions are based on the thyroid test results. My plan has several pages with suggestions on how to fix my issues. A step by step program all spelled out for me. 

It will be interesting to see what the results will be when we do this again. Is this covered by medical insurance? Sadly it is not. You can pay for it using a health savings account. It's not a cheap process but I think the information is well worth the cost. Now I know what is working and what isn't. There is no more guess work in what I'm doing. I'm hopeful now. Onward and upward!