004: Vitals - The 18.5-Pound Pivot (Auditing the Executive Comeback)
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A model of the volume of five pounds of fat versus five pounds of muscle.
By April 2025, I was checking every box in my professional life, but I was failing to check a single box for my body. I was fully leaned into my role as an Executive, pouring 100% of my bandwidth into work … and leaving exactly 0% for my own biology.
From the outside, the professional lights were all green, but a baseline DEXA scan on April 4, 2025, showed that my internal dashboard was already starting to flash yellow. As the professional KPIs were trending in the right direction, my physical (28.8% body fat) and mental (stress levels) ones were heading the opposite way.
At the time of the scan, I was entering what turned out to be the toughest season of my career yet, and with a system that was already compromised. By the summer of 2025, under extreme professional pressure, my health didn't just slip; it tanked.
Today, exactly 362 days after that baseline scan, and with many months focused on bolstering my biology, I went back to the clinic to audit my physical KPIs.
The Annual Report: 18.5 Pounds of Functional Proof
In day-to-day business, we use dashboards for directional cues, but we rely on the audited annual report to know exactly where we stand. Today was audit day for my physical KPIs.
The Comparison (April 4, 2025 vs. April 1, 2026):
Lean Mass: +12.1 lbs
Fat Mass: -6.4 lbs
Body Fat %: 23.6% (Down from 28.8%)
Total Recomposition: 18.5 lbs
DEXA summary comparing April 1, 2026 to year prior.
To go from the "low" of Summer 2025 to an eighteen and a half pound recomposition is a clinical victory. Today provided me with proof that my system - suppressed by extreme stress - could be rebooted. To acheive this goal, I had to become a champion for my internal infrastructure, talking to medical doctors – accepting some of their recommendations but pushing back on others - while exploring the advice of functional medicine experts as complementary advice – to address my hormonal health and the metabolic markers that had started flashing red.
The Tech Audit: Directional Dashboard vs. Absolute Truth
This morning, I conducted an "Apples-to-Apples" test: a same-day Hume home scale weigh-in ~ 6:45 AM followed by a DEXA scan ~ 8:15 AM (fasted, no exercise, no supplements in-between readings).
The resulting data revealed what I generously call an "Optimism Gap."
The gap between my same-day Hume and DEXA results.
My Takeaway – Frequency and Fidelity
The Hume scale is an excellent directional tool. It correctly identified my favorable trajectories for lean mass gains and fat mass loss over the last four months. However, the DEXA scan – which has been referred to as the Gold Standard for body composition testing - provided me with my true absolute numbers.
I'm certainly not throwing my Hume scale away—I'm just calibrating my data dashboard. As I have much more work to do, moving forward, I’ll be using the home-tech for frequency and the clinical-tech for fidelity. My strategy is for the weekly Hume data points to keep me honest about the immediate impact of my nutrition and training, while the annual DEXA audit assesses the degree to which my inputs are having the desired impact.
The "All Green Lights" Conclusion
Coming out of that 2025 "low" has taught me that a pivot is always possible, even when it feels like a crash is inevitable. My biggest takeaway is a change in how I lead myself. I’ve learned that when a professional storm hits, my first instinct is to stop measuring my vitals and focus entirely on the work. But this audit proves the power of data - to manage what I measure. I’m moving forward with the belief that I don't have to sacrifice my biology for my career. By choosing to audit instead of guess, I’m finally giving myself the same level of due diligence I give to my organization.
Next up in the Lab
We look under the hood at the hormonal and bloodwork shifts that changed the color of my biological lights.
🚦 All Green Lights.
The N-of-1 Disclaimer:
I am an executive and a mom, not a doctor or medical professional of any sort. The content shared here—including biometric data, protocols, and "Vitals" — is for informational and experimental purposes only. It is a documentation of my personal journey and should not be taken as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health, diet, or supplement routine.
April 1, 2026: A day off of executive duties to check the color of my biological lights.
DEXA: the surprisingly comfortable machine that completed my scan in < 10 minutes.
