Blood Testing: The missing link in health & fitness

1. Blood Testing: The missing link in health & fitness My Story If you’re like most people, getting a blood test is probably the last thing you think of when you set out to lose some excess fat, gain muscle or just get healthier. It was most certainly the last thing on my mind when I sat out to transform my body and health several years ago. At 32, I  found myself in the worst shape of my life. Things were hectic both professionally and personally and I failed to make healthy eating and exercise a priority. I woke up one day and set out to make some important changes. My health became the top priority.

2. Blood Testing: The missing link in health & fitness Six months into my new habits I hit the habitual plateau and it felt like someone hit the “pause” button. I stopped seeing results from diet and exercise and had constant fatigue. Like most people in the digital age, I turned to Google to figure out what was going on. I stumbled across an article about blood testing and wellness and was immediately intrigued. After a couple hours of research, I devised a list of about 15 blood tests and immediately called my primary care physical to get an appointment. That`s where you go to get blood tests, right? You should have seen my doctor’s face when I presented my blood test wish list. After a little debate as to why I was wanting them, he finally agreed to order them. I received a call several weeks later to schedule an appointment to go over the results. After two doctors appointments (and two co-pays), a month of waiting, and fifteen blood tests, the only advice he could give me was. “Everything Looks fine. You certainly aren’t dying.” Well I was fairly certain I wasn’t going to die but I was looking for a lot more than “looks fine,” especially from a well-known and respected physician. I left frustrated only to get even more frustrated when I received a bill the next week for $2,500 after my insurance had denied the blood tests claiming them as exploratory and unnecessary.

3. Blood Testing: The missing link in health & fitness Turns out things weren’t fine. After turning to Google and talking to a few friends in the nursing profession, I uncovered some pretty serious imbalances that were slowing my progress in the gym and causing significant fatigue. Turns out I was insulin resistant, had hormonal imbalances, was overtraining, had low omega 3 levels, less than optimal vitamin D, and had elevated cortisol levels from adrenal fatigue. While many of the biomarkers fell within the lab’s normal range they were still low or high enough to cause noticeable side effects. Needless to say, after working to optimize my blood results I started looking and feeling like a completely different person. This personal experience is how the idea for INDUR was conceived. I believe that we all deserve to have access to the tools necessary to understand what’s happening in OUR bodies.  We need to be in the driver’s seat of our health and not let an ineffective healthcare system take control of our health. Doctors are extremely important but far too often they focus on reactively treating problems instead of proactively optimizing health so that problems never occur. It’s how they are trained and how insurance companies allow them to operate. I was having a conversation with a nurse practitioner recently and he indicated that in their practice they won’t order the types of comprehensive panels INDUR offers because they know insurance providers will deny them and the patient will be left with a large bill.

4. Blood Testing: The missing link in health & fitness This is why we must take an active role in managing our health. Guessing: It isn’t effective The reason that diets and exercise programs fail is that people are guessing. We guess at what might be causing our problems and are guessing at how we should fix them. I can tell you first hand that the guesswork got me nowhere. The analogy of throwing something on the wall and seeing if it sticks comes to mind. I think we can all agree that it’s not how we should manage our health. Once I figured out exactly what my body needed and set out to make very specific changes, I immediately started seeing progress in the mirror and felt as good as I’ve ever felt in my life You might be curious as to what you could learn from an advanced blood test. Here are some examples of frequently identified issues:

5. Blood Testing: The missing link in health & fitness Hormone Imbalances Many people and medical practitioners still believe that hormone imbalances happen in older people. Wrong. We’re seeing hormone imbalances in people in their late twenties. Imbalanced sex and metabolism hormones can destroy one’s sense of wellbeing. Chronic Stress Many of us live a life full of stress. From fatigue, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, weakened immune systems, muscle catabolism, and insomnia, stress is a leading contributor to health issues. Insulin Resistance Sadly, the majority of people have issues with blood sugar and insulin. Diets full of sugar and refined carbs can be blamed. Issues with insulin can read havoc on our health and make a six-pack virtually impossible.

6. Blood Testing: The missing link in health & fitness Leptin Resistance Leptin is the master hormone. It’s our body’s natural stop sign when it comes to eating. It’s supposed to signal our brain to not eat when there are adequate fat cells to produce energy.  Leptin plays a huge role in weight management. Overtraining You don’t build muscle in the gym, you break it down. Building muscle happens as we recover. Finding a happy balance of training and recovery is instrumental for getting results.   Dieting and exercising without the insight obtained from a specialized blood test is like dragging a car behind you. You can walk, but the progress will be VERY VERY tiring and slow!

7. Blood Testing: The missing link in health & fitness INDUR Blood Testing Indur’s testing platform gives people access to the testing services necessary to understand their body. We’ve created specific panels to help people reach specific goals. An athlete or fitness enthusiast can learn how to increase strength and endurance with our Perform Panel, whereas someone seeking to lose significant weight and gain muscle would benefit from our transform panel.  There’s nothing more frustrating than getting information that you don’t know what to do with.  Don’t worry, INDUR IQ, our analytics platform, gives customized lifestyle, activity, nutrition, and supplementation recommendations to help you optimize your levels. If you’re not happy with the your progress or if you’re looking for a more scientific and effective approach to getting healthy and fit you should consider getting your blood tested.

8. Blood Testing: The missing link in health & fitness Learn More About Brandt Beal https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandtbeal https://twitter.com/brandtbeal http://brandtbeal.com/about/ https://growthhackers.com/members/brandtbeal https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/indur-ceo-brandt-beal-announces-new-in-home-service-300900023.html