Today I went to the doctors for my annual physical and this year was a totally different experience than last year.

Last year when I went in for my physical my period had stopped for a couple of months prior and I was testing for a pregnancy, my mental state was deep in grief, and my physical state was unhealthy and in pain. After leaving that appointment I knew that I needed to make a few changes.

For the next year I spent my time working out, processing my grief, growing as a person, and making small changes to my nutrition. Nutrition is one of the hardest areas for me, so I knew that I needed to get everything else in order before I could fully dive in there.

Not only have I seen changes on my blood tests between June 2023 and June 2024, but I have also seen changes on my Dexa scans.

If you’ve never heard of a Dexa scan, it measures bone density. I get mine done through Body Spec. Body spec measures your body’s bone density, lean mass, and fat mass.

Over the past year I have dropped 0.3% body fat, 5.9 pounds, and 0.62 visceral fat. Although not extreme changes, these three areas meant a lot to me to see reductions in.

From a physical perspective my back pain has gone away, my period has regulated itself again, and my fitness level has increased.

In regards to my blood tests and doctors visit we saw my blood pressure in normal ranges, decreases in my cholesterol levels and liver enzymes, and bettering of other panels.

There are some areas I still need to improve upon, so my doctor and I have set up a game plan for the coming three months, at which point I will take another blood test and revisit what next steps need to be taken.

Last year was scary and made me nervous. Seeing some of my results and having just gone through my mom passing away sent me into a state of fear. What if there were serious things wrong with me? Would I be able to live a long life, or have I completely screwed myself up?

The beautiful thing about being human is that we get to decide to make changes. Could I have made more drastic changes? Yes, but I also needed to be gentle with myself. I’ve had historical trauma when it comes to weight loss, I was grieving, and I knew that I could not do extremes.

If you are in a similar boat, please reach out to your doctor and begin taking your health more seriously. It won’t be an overnight thing, but improvements are improvements. When you get started now you guarantee a better future than if you hold off more.

As my friend always reminds me, 1% better each day!

My plan is 1% better each day, but it will also be sticking to my game plan and seeing what changes happen between now and September.

I can only hope that by June of 2025 there will be even better results on my panels and scans 😊.

Love always,

Jess