Waiting for my results and plan

September 13: I received an email saying they got my results and I’ll get my personalized recommendations on October 13th.

I’m really looking forward to my “Genetically Tailored Workout and Nutrition Plan” but it’s taking SO long to get them. The skepticism of the results being accurate and actually helping me is running high, especially since I haven’t found any results online from others who have tried this program. Well, we will see...

Exercise Guide Thoughts

As I wait for the test results to come in, I keep posting on my blog. I am weak. I am pretty damn lazy. I want something fried. What do I do? I go and look at exercise guides. I don't know if this is healthy for me to do since it's almost lunch time.  But I found some interesting things on fitnessgenes.com.  Here is a little snapshot of one of their cute tools:

The way this tool works is you click on a body part of the little person to the left and then on the right, you get the best workout solution for that area of the body. One thing I noticed, and this is silly of me, is that there were just the typical things you would find at a gym here. Nothing particularly special, but it is a nice quick guide to get an idea of what to do if you're at the gym.

But what if you're not interested in just going to the gym for exercise? What about walking, or dance class, or swimming?  I'm not saying the tool is bad, but because it's just a guide, I guess I was expecting something a little more realistic or budget friendly but just in shorter details.  Also, being female plays a role in these thoughts. Most men probably don't consider something like Zumba class, for example.  

And then there is stuff like Yoga, which is pretty popular in general.  Where are the proper stretching guides?  Maybe this is something they can add later because this is still a fairly new tech-science thing.

Fitness Genes: Genetic Guide to Food

So I realized that even before I signed up to Fitness Genes that I downloaded a book from them called Genetic Guide to Food.  The e-book gives information about how genetics influence your eating and exercise, sorting out facts from fiction, samples of their technology, and other useful information about how they decide what a person looking to get healthy should look for.  I haven't read the book, but obviously, the book is heavily based on genetics and what you should research.  If I decide to read the whole book, I'll update this post. I'm lazy.

Fitness Genes

Today I plan on revitalizing my foodie blog. I've been dieting on and off for a couple of years now and some things seem to work while other things don't work at all. Clearly, I need more information to understand why that is, so I am turning to FitnessGenes.com to find out more about my DNA and what I can and cannot tolerate, what kind of exercise will work most effectively and just, in general, a little push in the right direction. 

Fitness Genes is an organization that collects saliva samples, similar to Ancestry DNA, etc., and identifies various types of genes. Many people have certain tolerances to food and exercise, and therefore can determine what is best for them, however, if you're like me and you grew up in an environment where you were not really taught how to eat properly, this test might help. Furthermore, questions like, "how much exercise do I need and what type is best for me?" can help me as well.  

The last time I lost a ton of weight was in high school and I had to work very hard for it. I had to exercise three times a day for a minimum of 30 minutes and put myself on a very strict diet. When I went to college, everything went downhill. The diet I had created for myself was mainly salad based and college salad bars were gross. I couldn't afford to go food shopping outside of campus. It sent me spiraling back into old habits.

Every now and then I was able to get back on track but exercising had become more and more difficult to maintain. I didn't have the time to do as much exercise because of my job and commute after a while. I can maybe squeeze in 30 minutes of exercise a day right now but even that is a pain.

I've tried weight watchers, fresh diet, nutritionists, doctors, and much more. I don't like shakes, smoothies, or anything similar. I like eating most vegetables and fruit but I'm not really into meat unless it's deep fried or BBQ. I love cheese though -- anytime, anywhere. ❤️ 

I don't like coffee or soda of any kind. I barely like tea. I mainly drink water and juice.  I also don't consume alcohol unless it's a celebration or holiday. I rarely eat fish, but that is because I am worried about cross contamination with my husband's food, who happens to be allergic to seafood.

The fitness genes test results will hopefully tell me more about how much I should be eating of these things, what to stay away from, and what I am tolerate/intolerant to.  Obviously, I stay away from the fried foods but if I make my own BBQ on our George Foreman grill, that's usually healthy if it's chicken or fish.  In general, I eat healthy in my perspective.  Yet I've noticed that I don't go to the rest room as often as others do. I switched to a high fiber diet on my own and started having some pains in my stomach and side. I'm up and down losing weight and kind of fed up.

Lastly, I don't want to follow what other people are doing. I want a diet and exercise plan that will work for me. Anytime I try what my friends or family are doing, I don't feel like it fits my lifestyle. Obviously, I need to adjust but there are some things I refuse to adjust.  I am hoping that Fitness Genes will give me the insight I need to create my own diet and exercise that will work. 

My first impression of fitness genes is that it's pretty expensive. At $230 for the starter plan for one month, I debated on whether this was a good decision or not. Other plans that were similar are cheaper and even take your previous DNA result, but this plan is rated the best everywhere.  

They clearly have an excellent SEO team because it is hard (not impossible) to find anything negative about them.  I read several blogs from people who have tried them, but most are people who are editors/reviewers at popular magazines or websites. I only found a few blogs that give information about the starting process of fitness genes but nothing afterward.  I hope to fill in that gap and post everything I understand about this program.

Let's start with the saliva sample. I didn't take pictures of the case, that's easy to find online. One thing I noticed though was that I didn't have to send it internationally like most. I had to ship it to Georgia and just pop the sample in the mailbox.

I had access to the website but it has no information about my DNA because that process takes a while. I received and mailed the package for the sample on Thursday (before Labor Day). The package came very fast because it was coming from Georgia (like 4 business days).

One thing that kind of worries/scares me is the books on exercise. The books have men on the cover that look like body builders. I don't want to look like that, especially since I'm female. It's nice that they have a library section, but it's not good first impression for someone who constantly says, "Exercise is against my religion" as I do. I was hoping for something that was a little less aggressive to look at in their library since all I want to do is lose weight. I'm not sure if I'll be concerned with toning yet.

One good thing about all of this though is that the doctor that markets this program is directly involved with ensuring the people who signed up for this are getting the right nutrition and exercise. It's not just a customer service person. There is also a private group where he responds directly to people with health questions. 

I haven't asked any questions in the private group yet so this will be an interesting challenge.  Overall I'm interested in seeing my results. Most bloggers that have taken the test and already received their results had healthy lifestyles and knew what their results would most likely be.  I am hoping this will reveal some problem areas and help me get back on track.