I Took a DNA Test for a Personal Metabolism Analysis—Here’s What Happened

By now we can all agree (right?), that there are generally more important missions in life than trying to be thin. If you and your doctor have established this as a goal for your health, or if you’re just trying to trim down to move easier and feel healthier, then 100% by all means. But if you’ve set different priorities these days—say, showing up for your neighbors or causes you care about—or if recent headlines have woken you up about the faults in the systems that for decades instilled our collective hunger for skinniness, then you’re thinking like I am these days.

Having that kind of love for myself also meant that there were matters I wanted to have nailed down before I settled down, and ways I needed to raise myself before I became a parent. I spent a decade traveling. I bought my own house. I met my spouse in my late thirties, and now in my forties we’re preparing to become parents. All this is quite normal: 2025 CDC data revealed that for the first time in history, the number of women who’d given birth in their forties was greater than those who’d become mothers in their teens.

Many in my cohort have discovered there are important health considerations as we navigate later motherhood. In my case, blood tests for hormones have been run multiple times. My A1C, too. The morning that I wrote this, I’d undergone two tests related to my heart—all clear, thankfully. But I’ve heard about the recent Stanford research revealing that ages 44 and 62 are the points when our bodies take the most sudden leaps in aging. And, okay: when it comes to body image, I was definitely comforted to see how many models in the Project Runway Netflix docuseries had matured over time, in all the most natural, beautiful ways.

We’re not clinging to our youth, but we want to know where our health stands. So when I saw a social media promotion for an inner-cheek swab test for my DNA designed to pair with a wearable device and coach me on my metabolism, sure, the intel seemed compelling.

The AlterMe biometric ring

AlterMe was offering discounted $29 pricing, the kit arrived in a small package in the mail in about two weeks, and administering the test—by gathering saliva from the insides of both cheeks, down by the lower gums—took just about 30 seconds. I smoothed on the sticker labels they’d included for my sample and the return shipping, and walked it straight out to the mailbox. I also answered a questionnaire that took me about three minutes to complete. It covered how long I tend to sleep each night, aspects of my typical mood, energy levels, diet habits, and exercise. I commented that calm walks with the dog and yoga are much more a part of my routine than long runs and anaerobic spinning classes used to be in my earlier adulthood.

After about a week, I received a text that my sample had been received and was under analysis. Then, a “fitness advisor” for the company reached out to me to schedule a 30-minute phone session. She was flexible when I needed to reschedule because a work matter popped up last-minute.

The results

Since I wasn’t yet a member, the advisor sent me guest credentials to access my initial profile results.

When I got there, one of the findings suggested I’m intrinsically motivated to take care of myself, not out of a need for approval from others. That sounded true—”But, you were able to determine that from my DNA sample?” I asked. She assured me that was the case.

A couple of the main findings were—while a lot of thought leaders emphasize the need to strength-train for women around my age—I actually need to also keep cardio as a primary focus. I learned that I can shed weight at a pretty normal rate to most people (that was encouraging, if surprising), but I have a harder time keeping it off (yeah, pretty accurate).

On diet, my body needs healthy fats—no surprise there; saturated fat and fat from processed food aren’t ideal—but sometimes life (cough, marriage, cough) can make that a little tricky to obey.

Another finding that I could have predicted is that I need a lot of protein. That’s something I’ve known since college, when I first experimented with a high-protein diet. She ventured that I probably carry more muscle than most people do, which anecdotally I believe is true. I come from generations of Europeans who farmed in the mountains. My ancestors must laugh down from the skies, seeing how I chose the most sedentary career possible when I’m optimally built for physical work.

Two major revelations

“You need more sleep,” she said.

Yes, I agreed. Yes, I do.

“And less stress.”

Well, that too, but has she seen the headlines?

She explained something I’ve been hearing around the wellness space: stress has way more of an influence on our physical composition (read: ability to trim down) than has really ever been discussed before.

As she spoke, it occurred to me that maybe the ways I’ve taxed my body with what I thought was discipline was actually poor for my wellness: those challenging cardio classes, the times I’ve dabbled in long windows of intermittent fasting, the times I’ve missed out on sleep so I could squeeze in more exercise. “It’s cumulative,” she said, meaning, essentially, that the effects of stress compound over time and eventually catch up with us.

How I’ve changed my behaviors

I am eating more protein. In recent years, even as a health editor, I’d been swayed by the plant-based recommendations into believing that meat is bad—so, I was probably getting a quarter or a third of the protein I needed. I’ve always been pretty disciplined about eating five servings a day of fruits and vegetables, but I’ve gotten back to my more youthful habits, like going light on mayonnaise in my tuna salad, and folding in some cottage cheese in its place.

I haven’t set a bedtime or anything quite so structured—that’s goals, but I’ll readily admit that lately bedtime is for intensive scrolling before I feel convinced that I can quiet my mind and sleep. But in the mornings, I’ve been letting myself sleep in more. That’s easy to say for someone without kids (again, mind you, not by choice—we’re working on it). Lately, throwing off the covers is no longer done from a feeling of obligation. It’s done when I truly feel rested.

Taking this DNA test called me to contemplate: if I made my choices based strictly on taking care of myself, instead of what I think I should do in a given moment, what would that look like? I now take more recovery days from working out—maybe not the three days per week that the consultant said might be needed—but when back pain got in the way of a jog one morning this week, I turned right around, went home, and did some core exercises to strengthen and stretch that area instead. My days of pushing through pain are over. That’s a great part of getting older.

I didn’t join AlterMe’s monthly plan for $99 per month (or even $57 with the consultant’s discount), which would have come with a custom-fit biometric ring. Like many Americans, we’re watching our budget tightly right now. That said, the initial analysis was worth the $30. I still don’t know exactly what the consultant’s credentials were, but some of her points invited me to change habits in ways that are kinder to myself and actually better for my health. Some of us need more rigid guidelines for our health—but maybe, for others, what we need is more flexibility.

For more wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook and Instagram. Keep reading:

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