Metabolic health
Lab Guide
Your blueprint starts with your numbers
Your numbers tell the story.
We look at recent labs you already have and talk through what may be missing, so you can decide with your doctor what's worth testing. This isn't a full functional medicine workup — it's a focused set of numbers that give real insight into your metabolic health. Each one points to something you can act on: food, movement, sleep, or stress.
Blood sugar
HbA1c
Your average blood sugar over the last three months.
Fasting glucose
Baseline blood sugar, best understood alongside fasting insulin.
Fasting insulin
How hard your body works to keep blood sugar steady.
Heart health
Lipid panel + ApoB
Cholesterol levels, plus ApoB — the number of cholesterol-carrying particles, which adds context beyond LDL alone.
Lp(a)
An inherited cardiovascular marker, often tested just once in a lifetime.
Inflammation
hs-CRP
Low-grade inflammation often has no symptoms — this simple test can reveal it so you can act on it.
Energy & nutrients
Iron, TIBC & Ferritin panel
Iron alone can look normal while your stores run low — the full panel shows the whole picture behind energy and fatigue.
Vitamin D (25-OH)
Context for bone health and overall wellness.
Body composition
Waist circumference
A simple tape measure that says a lot — where you carry weight matters as much as how much.
Visceral fat
The deeper fat around your organs that drives metabolic risk — it doesn't always show on the scale or the waistline.
Helpful baseline numbers
Your doctor may already check these at a routine visit. They add general context, but they aren't the focus of your Blueprint.
Other markers to consider
Getting labs done
If you've had recent lab testing, we'll start with that. For additional testing, you can work with your medical provider, order through me using Fullscript, or use a direct-to-consumer service such as Ulta Lab Tests or Function Health. Fullscript, Ulta, and Function Health samples are typically drawn at Quest — you can find a Quest location near you.
Lab testing, DEXA and InBody scans are arranged separately from coaching.
I provide education and coaching, not medical care. I don't diagnose, treat, or prescribe testing. Decisions about which labs to order and what your results mean belong with you and your doctor.
Common questions
What are biomarkers?
Biomarkers are measurable signals in your body that simple bloodwork can reveal — like blood sugar, cholesterol particles, and inflammation. They can identify areas of concern years, and even decades, before a problem or diagnosis. Elevated ApoB, for example, is one of the clearest signals of cardiovascular risk — and one most routine physicals never check. A type 2 diabetes diagnosis shouldn't come as a surprise either: fasting glucose and HbA1c have been quietly climbing for years before anyone calls it a disease.
Why does tracking them over time matter?
What you can measure, you can act on. Biomarkers shift with your diet, sleep, stress, and activity — often quietly, so a single lab draw is only a snapshot. Tracking the same markers over time shows what's changing and whether your habits are moving you in the right direction, giving you the opportunity to make changes before you'd ever notice a problem yourself.
Will this program help me lose weight?
Many women do lose weight — but weight is not the goal we chase. What matters more is body composition: the ratio of muscle to fat that shapes your metabolism, strength, and long-term health. Muscle drives how your body uses blood sugar, protects your bones, and keeps you strong as you age, so we focus on building and keeping it — through protein, strength training, sleep, and stress management. For many, this data-driven metabolic approach opens the black box — finally reaching body composition goals in a way that's sustainable and supports your overall health.
How can I tell if I'm improving my metabolic health?
From the inside out. Bloodwork is your clearest signal: repeat testing shows whether fasting glucose, HbA1c, fasting insulin, ApoB, and hs-CRP are moving in the right direction — often within weeks of changing your habits. As your body composition improves, the scale often follows — but the more telling signs are your waist circumference at home and, if you'd like to see it directly, a whole-body DEXA or InBody scan showing visceral fat going down while muscle holds steady — and may even improve (a DEXA also measures bone density, which matters especially for women in midlife). In everyday life, your clothes fitting better and feeling stronger count too.