Metabolic Health
What Blood Tests Are Included in Metabolic Health Screening?
You asked your doctor for a metabolic screening and got back a stack of numbers you don’t recognize. Or maybe
The Adapt Lab is a naturopathic and functional medicine clinic in Solana Beach, California, focused on metabolic health. We work with patients across North County San Diego who are tired of guessing about their bodies. The fatigue, the stubborn weight, the brain fog, the bloodwork that comes back “normal” while you feel anything but: these patterns are not random. They have causes, and those causes can be measured.
Our work starts with data. Before we recommend a treatment, a medication, or a meal plan, we run the testing that tells us what your body is actually doing. That’s the foundation everything else is built on.
We help adults restore metabolic function when conventional care has run out of answers. Most patients arrive after years of advice that did not match their biology: cut calories, exercise more, take this prescription, try this diet. Some of it worked for a while. None of it solved the problem.
The Adapt Lab takes a different approach. We test first. We interpret the results in the context of your full health history. Then we build a clinically aligned plan around what the data shows. That plan may include medical weight loss, hormone support, nutrition counseling, GLP-1 therapy, or a combination, but only when the testing supports it.
Metabolic health testing is the entry point for almost every patient at The Adapt Lab. Our panels go beyond a standard physical. We measure HOMA-IR to assess insulin resistance, full thyroid markers, sex hormones, inflammatory markers, micronutrient status, and body composition when relevant.
This is not screening for the sake of screening. Every test we order has a downstream decision attached to it. The data tells us whether your symptoms trace back to insulin dysregulation, hormone shifts, nutrient gaps, or a combination of all three. From there, treatment becomes specific instead of speculative.
Medical weight loss at The Adapt Lab is a doctor-supervised program for adults whose weight has stopped responding to diet and exercise alone. We’re best known for our work with GLP-1 and dual-receptor peptide therapy, including semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound), the latter being our preferred option for non-diabetic adults pursuing sustained fat loss.
What sets the program apart is what surrounds the medication. Patients receive baseline metabolic testing, body composition tracking, lab follow-ups, dose titration based on response, and integrated nutrition support. Telehealth providers who prescribe a peptide after a five-minute questionnaire are not running this kind of program. We are.
Nutrition counseling at The Adapt Lab is built into every weight loss and metabolic restoration plan. It’s also available on its own. Our clinical team works with patients on case-specific food strategies that account for blood sugar response, gut health, micronutrient gaps, and the realities of a busy life.
This isn’t a generic meal plan handed to you on day one. Recommendations are calibrated to your lab results, your medication regimen if you’re on one, and your goals. The aim is a way of eating you can hold for years, not weeks.
Effective care starts with seeing each patient as a whole person. The Adapt Lab does not rely on generalized protocols or surface-level interventions. Instead, we combine clinical experience, advanced diagnostics, and individualized strategies to create precision-guided care. Our process is built around one goal: identifying the root causes of dysfunction and addressing them with evidence-based solutions that lead to measurable, long-term improvements.
Plenty of clinics will write a prescription based on a brief intake form. We won’t. Patients at The Adapt Lab receive comprehensive lab work before any peptide, hormone, or supplement is prescribed. The data drives the decision, not the other way around.
There is no template plan at The Adapt Lab. Two patients with the same goal can leave with very different protocols based on what their HOMA-IR, hormones, and inflammatory markers show. That’s the point. Generic plans produce generic results.
We measure progress in lab values, body composition, energy, and sleep, not just the number on the scale. Patients who finish a peptide course leave with the metabolic foundation to maintain their results. The work doesn’t end when the medication does.
The Adapt Lab serves adults in Solana Beach, Del Mar, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, and across North County San Diego. Most of our patients fall into one of these groups:
Meet one-on-one with a licensed and board-certified clinician to review your health concerns, discuss your goals, and explore your next steps. There is no pressure—just professional insight and actionable guidance.
The Adapt Lab is led by Dr. Chad Larson, NMD, DC, CCN, CSCS, a board-certified naturopathic doctor and chiropractor with more than two decades of clinical work in metabolic and functional medicine. Dr. Larson is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, which shapes how our clinic integrates testing, medical therapy, nutrition, and movement into a single coherent program.
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