Yuki’s Metabolic Reset

Drafting wireframes felt heavier than it should. Yuki Tanaka had always been quick on her feet, daily runs, long walks around Green Lake, yet her energy had flattened. The scale crept up despite the same meals, the same miles. By afternoon, she needed coffee to think and something sweet to keep going. Her cheeks flushed after rice bowls; her fingers swelled after late-night ramen. She called it water weight. Her body called it metabolic friction.

A routine check flagged A1C 5.9%, fasting insulin 18 µIU/mL, triglycerides 204 mg/dL, HDL 43 mg/dL, ALT 49 U/L, ApoB 106 mg/dL. The word prediabetes hovered. Her doctor said, “Move more.” Yuki already moved. What she needed was clarity.

In a design review, she lost her train of thought mid-sentence. Brain fog washed over her like static. She laughed it off, then cried in the restroom. On the bus home, she searched 'weight won’t budge insulin resistance normal labs' and found . The headline read: It felt like relief. She ordered the that night.

The dashboard colored in her hunch: A1C 5.9%, Insulin 17.5, HOMA-IR elevated, Triglycerides 202, ApoB 104, ALT 48, hs-CRP 3.2 mg/L, Vitamin D 22 ng/mL, Leptin high for body weight. The AI summary: “Insulin resistance with hepatic strain and low-grade inflammation; focus on protein-forward meals, fiber-first order, postprandial walks, and resistance training. Re-test at Week 7.”

“It wasn’t a character flaw,” she told herself. “It was a chemistry problem with a protocol.”

Yuki redesigned her days like a product flow: protein + fiber first at each meal; 10–12 minute walks after eating; two 30-minute lifts weekly; phone off by 10:30. White rice shifted to mixed-grain bowls; boba to sparkling water; nights of snacking to mint tea and a novel. She logged meals and mood in the app; the scatterplot of spikes became a set of calm arcs.

At Week 7, re-test: A1C 5.6%, Insulin 11.8, Triglycerides 158, ALT 37, CRP 2.0, Vitamin D 31. Her face looked less puffy in morning light; her rings fit again.

By month 9, her dashboard looked like a new interface: A1C 5.2%, Insulin 7.8, ApoB 80, Triglycerides 114, HDL 56, ALT 26, CRP 0.8, Leptin down, waist −3.2 inches. The scale dropped 16 pounds, but the real shift was predictable energy. She presented a redesign calmly, no caffeine surge required.

“I didn’t shrink my life to lose weight,” she said. “I grew my capacity, and weight followed.”

Now Yuki teaches her team 'decision design' for biology: walk the block after lunch, aim for color on the plate, lift like you’re future-proofing joints. She still loves noodles, now paired with salmon and greens, and a walk with a friend.

She keeps her first red-lined report pinned behind her new one. The comparison isn’t a before/after. It’s a blueprint for maintenance.

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