WOW! My visit to Eleve MedSpa was enlightening! As I’ve written in previous blogs, I had two assessment appointments to determine baselines that the doctors use to determine a plan to help me live healthier longer.
The Results and the Plan:
Prediabetes – The glucose test revealed that my glucose and insulin levels are too high. This tells us that I am at risk for developing Type II diabetes if I don’t make adjustments now. Changes in diet and increased exercise will help turn things around here.
Cardiovascular Screening – My HDL, the good cholesterol is at a good level, but my LDL, the bad cholesterol is too high. We can make improvements here with changes in diet and exercise too. One thing that was discovered was that my Lp (a) was significantly high. This increases my risk for blood clots, heart attack and stroke. Heart disease does run in my family so it’s something to be concerned about. Besides that, I have another condition called Factor V which also increases my risk for blood clots which could cause stroke. So, Dr. Babiarz recommended a baby aspirin daily and a cholesterol medication.
Body Composition – Visceral fat is the fat around your organs. This is the most dangerous fat therefore I need to focus on losing fat. Again, this can be accomplished through diet and exercise.
Metabolic Health – My VO2 Max score needs some improvement. The goal will be to increase this by creating an exercise habit.
Other Health Risks – Vitamin D deficiency which is common in people living in Wisconsin especially in the winter. Taking a supplement will help improve mood.
Interventions: 5 Pillars of Health
Exercise/Mobility – Prioritize low/moderate intensity cardio.
- Heart rate 120-130 BPM
- 4 hours per week, minimum of 30 minutes daily
Nutrition – Focus on eating lean meats and vegetables.
- Skip breakfast – have coffee with MCT oil (Bulletproof Coffee)
- Eat protein first
- 120 grams of protein per day spread out over 3-4 servings
- Supplement with protein shake with 1-2 scoops around workout
- Eliminate simple carbs, no pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, and sweets / soda. Substitute zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice, egg wraps, etc.
- No eating 2 hours before bedtime, fast 12-14 hours per day
Sleep –
- Bedtime routine one to two hours before bed
- Turn off as many lights as possible
- Stop screen time, eliminate blue light
- Stop eating and drinking
- Avoid exercise
- Ideal Bedroom Conditions
- Set room temperature to 65 degrees
- Make room as dark as possible
- Consider using a weighted blanket
- Important Tips for Sleep Optimization
- Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and wine within two hours of bedtime.
- 30 to 60 minutes before bed take a sleep aiding supplement. They hooked me up with TriMag Supreme Night which is magnesium.
- If trouble sleeping, get up and wait until sleepy
- Regulate sleep to match your type, early bird vs night owl. I am an early bird so I should go to bed early and wake up early.
Stress management – exercise
Supplementation
- Creatine Monohydrate – When losing weight people often lose muscle mass. I have good muscle mass, so this is to maintain that while trying to reduce fat.
- Pendulum Glucose Control – this is a pill that I will take with meals.
- Vitamin D – to improve mood
- Magnesium – for sleep but could also help with migraines.
- Protein shake – just whey protein to help me get the allotted amount and stave off hunger.
Next week I have a call scheduled with Katrina to talk about how things are going. Then I have a coaching appointment in a month, and we’ll talk about progress.
What I’m most concerned about is fitting the exercise into my already busy schedule. I understand that this is an important aspect of the program, so I have to do my best to figure it out, but it is going to be the most challenging. I can’t go in the morning without messing up my sleep, I can’t go in the evening because the doctor says not to exercise within two hours of bedtime, I can’t go earlier because I also can’t eat dinner within two hours of bedtime. I can’t go in the afternoons because after work it is run run run to get the girls to their stuff. I might be able to sneak in a half hour workout while they’re at dance, but that’s only 4 days a week and we’re supposed to find time every day. I am stressing myself out! Even my best friend asked me when I am going to find time to work out. My husband wants to go workout, and it would be great to have a partner, but as much as we say it, we just haven’t found the time! I am not opposed to exercise, in fact, I used to work out every day sometimes twice a day if I had a racquetball partner in the afternoon. This was before I had kids, and I had free time. I like working out and I like the way I feel after a workout. Using my kids as an excuse makes no sense because working out will keep me around longer for them, but I also want to be a good, present, mom now.
I start today so we’ll see how this goes. Here’s what my schedule looks like for today:
Wake up 5:45am
Get ready until 6:45am
6:45am go downstairs, feed cats, clean cats water fountain, make coffee, make sure my oldest daughter has everything she needs for school.
7:00am oldest leaves for school with dad
7:10am sit down with coffee take meds, do some work (started this blog).
7:30am wake the twins, pack up what I need for work, help pack lunches, sign planners, make sure they have what they need for school.
7:50am leave for work.
8am to 4:30pm work – 10am mid-morning snack (protein shake) today I had yogurt with granola because I didn’t have a protein shake. 12:30pm lunch, I had a chef salad with no dressing.
4:30pm to 6:00pm twins dance (dad takes them)
4:40pm home from work change
5-5:30pm Workout
5:45pm make dinner
6:30 eat dinner / take meds
7:00pm sort cookies for weekend Girl Scout Cookie booths
7:30pm relaxation time
8:45pm kids get ready for bed
9:00pm say good night to the kids
9:00pm to 9:45pm get ready for bed, talk over tomorrow’s schedule with my husband, do some work.
9:45pm settle in for bed.
Monday, Wednesday, and every other Thursday the days are much more difficult. I’m still not sure how we’re going to manage, but we’ll figure something out. It sure is easier to create a habit when you can do something at the same time each day, but we do not have that luxury.
Comments