Week 6 - Day 6 - Stress and Resilience Test

Today was a little interesting.  Since starting at Lifetime Fitness a few weeks ago, we've done some working out, but we've also been interested in some of the testing they offer.  I opted to try out what they call the Stress and Resilience test.

The Stress and Resilience Test measures your cortisol levels throughout the day.  Cortisol is commonly called the "stress hormone", and it helps regulate metabolism, blood pressure, and more.  Changes in your cortisol levels can affect your sleep, mood, eating habits, mental focus and metabolism.  Cortisol levels vary by individual, and everyone reacts differently to stress.  The purpose of the Stress and Resilience Test is to determine your personal cortisol levels throughout the day, and offer suggestions on how to get your cortisol level back in balance.

Unfortunately, this test involves spitting into a series of test tubes throughout the day.  This is a little messier than it probably sounds.  These tubes are pretty small.

Stress and Resilience Test

Here's what's in the box.  Lots of paperwork, some UPS shipping materials, and 4 test tubes.

I needed to fill 4 tubes with saliva through the course of one day.  First thing in the morning, just before lunch, just before dinner, and just before bed.  As I'm writing this, I've taken care of three tubes, and just have one more to fill before I head to bed.  Then, I have to finish filling out my paperwork, and drop it in the included UPS packaging.  I should get results back in a week or so.  Once the results come back, I will have a consultation with someone on the Lifetime staff to discuss the results.

Truthfully, I think I got talked into this test, and I think I'm regretting it.  It's expensive, and I'm not sure if I'll get much good information out of it.  But once I took the test home, I couldn't return it and get my money back.  I'm much more looking forward to my CardioPoint metabolic testing next week, which is a more direct test on my current fitness level.  I'll write more about that next weekend.

Part of the rules of the Stress and Resilience Test included not doing any exercise today, so it kind of felt like a waste of a perfectly good weekend day.  We did go to the gym again today, and my wife worked out for about and hour while I hung out with the kids at the rock wall.  Because I wasn't supposed to exercise today, I just watched and belayed when needed.  The rock wall is quickly becoming the kids' favorite part of Lifetime Fitness, which is just fine with me.  I miss climbing, so it was nice to bust out the climbing harness again.

So, I've mentioned my wife a few times on this blog.  I think she decided that my version of a blog wasn't funny enough, so she decided to start her own.  So if you want to get a different viewpoint on this whole fitness / nutrition thing, check out The Murphys Get Healthy.

Food:

• Breakfast:  Fruit / protein smoothie
• Lunch:  Turkey wrap
• Snack:  some dry roasted peanuts throughout the day, and an orange sometime this afternoon.
  Dinner:  Oh man.  We decided to try to get some extra protein, so decided to cook some steaks.  It was pretty cold, so we decided to pan-fry instead of throwing them on the grill.  I'm a fan of medium-to-medium well steaks.  These things were very, very rare.  I think I cooked them too hot, because they were perfect on the outside, but still moo-ing on the inside.  We ended up having to throw them back in the pan for a while to try to get them right.  It ended up ok, but it was kind of a pain.  And my wife decided to try artichokes.  Whoever decided that an artichoke was actually a food must have been extremely hungry or completely insane.  What a pain in the ass, and they tasted terrible.

Exercise:

• None, because of the Stress and Resilience Test.  Getting back into it tomorrow.

Today's weigh-in:  202.2

Well, that's disappointing.  I really missed working out today.