Zoe Nutrition Testing

[Wombat27A]

Not sure this is the right place for this...

Anyone else doing the Zoe Nutrition Testing?

My results were poor, so now I'm tackling my diet. I thought it was pretty good but it's clear it needs a major overhaul. So much information but finding it good.🙂

520g bread flour
500g water
2 g yeast
10 g salt.

Mix in a bowl, leave overnight, tip into an well-oiled pan. I use a square tin, liberally sprinkled with semolina if I have some and I do a couple of folds but that's optional as it's a very wet dough. Let it rise to double then poke holes in it with wet fingers and whack it in an oven for 30 mins at 230c.

Can also make it with sourdough starter but you get a heavier bread. The long fermention should make it easier to digest. I sometimes put a bit of starter in it with the yeast too. You can sprinkle with seeds or rosemary or sea salt or add olives, all sorts of things.

Credit for the recipe to Ma Baker, who runs fab baking courses!

Thanks very much @Wombat27A - I'll give it a go. I do like baking so I'd like to find some go to recipes that won't cause me too many issues.

I'm definitely noticing more about how foods make me feel. I had jackfruit chilli at work for lunch on Friday, very nice, but there was only long grain rice with it. I could definitely feel how much more tired I was in the afternoon than I have been. It was quite subtle but definitely there.

I think I'm actually having quite bad reactions to foods I omitted for a while. Ate rice pudding and felt well-rough. Also potatoes, tho we have some stuff going on, so been eating comfort chips. I've got some inflammation in my hands atm, so it's pretty noticeable.

Interesting Wombat.

I am struggling (again!). Had a pretty poor week last week with only one day over 75.

It's the eating out and about which gets me I think. I went out with my mate to itsu for lunch last week. Nothing scored over 50 but it was bloody itsu! I went for a walk with dh yesterday and we stopped for a drink and a snack at the end. Best I could do was a KIND bar. Then my whole day is thrown out as I need to eat nothing but beans to bring me back up......

So the all or nothing approach I was trying so hard to work through is causing me a lot of struggles.

And I'm not seeing heaps of benefits. Yes lost a touch of weight but half a stone be max. Still sore, still tired. Admittedly I have just come of a week of antibiotics for an ear infection but STAMP FOOT

A week of antibiotics will affect your gut. But ear infections suck, so best to take them.

Half a stone is epic.

I don't think it's a magic bullet. More a journey, to use a cliche...

If your day isn't going to be a particular Zoe number because of circumstances, I wouldn't try to fix it with extreme measures. Just do the best, most palatable option.

I don't think I do many days over 75, probably none but breakfast & lunch are better. I like my puds!

I'm on day 2 and the blood glucose readings are so interesting. We've been on a 4 hour bike ride and it's been fascinating to see what happens when we eat.

I know it will all make sense as I get further on with it, but can I ask what a "massive spike" is? So far all my readings are in the green zone, is that good? Have no idea what it all means but am transfixed.

@BishyBarnyBee I think @MassiveSalad22 asked and its something like a jump of 1.5?

I was always in the green even with spikes but my glucose level still came back as a bit crap! It's interesting

I've definitely had jumps of 1.5...I thought that might be just what happens when you eat! Probably not then. Muffins are tomorrow, I'm sure it will all become clear soon.Thanks.

Yeah, I was all happy about being in the green but I don't process sugar well, apparently. I didn't really study my peaks enough but I didn't know what I was looking at.

@Wombat27A that sounds rough, I hope it all settles down for you soon.

I had exactly the same feeling about Itsu a few weeks back @lugeforlife. I went to Wagamamas yesterday and just scraped over 50, thought I'd be ok there but only if I stuck to the edamame beans! Hope you're feeling better after the ear infection, horrible.

I only had two spikes into the red @BishyBarnyBee, once when I had cake at lunch. I was fascinated by the readings but I wish I'd eaten more of my normal foods, I was so caught up in experimenting. Enjoy the muffins today!

I've theoretically lost two kilos since I started 4 weeks ago but I don't think that's real loss as I was just back off holiday and it normally takes a couple of days to settle my system. Probably less than a kg really, which is a bit frustrating with no real shift the last couple of weeks, although I feel a lot better so I'm focussing on that.

I've manfully struggled through the muffins. I'm a big eater generally and do wonder how people who eat less would cope with that quantity.

I'm also a big tea and coffee drinker so not having my normal milk will be noticed but at least I can have it black.

When you talk about testing foods and meals, does that start tomorrow? I have a fairly predictable routine around meals so do have some standard recipes I want to test.

Had a bit of a shock last night with a huge spike to over 8. We'd done a long bike ride and I'd done some gardening and cooked tea. Fitbit was giving me over 3000 calories for the day so I had veg and bean stew, 1/3 naan with cheese, apple crumble and ice cream. Then slumped on the sofa for the rest of the evening. The reading climbed up to nearly 9 and took nearly 2 hours to come down.
Still, this is the info I wanted and I'm really up for understanding what it all means

That's exactly the sort of info that will help you. My DH is super-lean and I've always found his way of eating really irritating. He's one of those people who eats food in order, leaving the best things until last...turns out he was doing exactly the right things for his blood sugar. Bah.

Hah! I eat in order too. Made me laugh when I read that was beneficial.

I loved the cgm. Really interesting. Do
Make sure you have a few days or meals eating normally to get yourself a base line. I did a lot of experimenting and trying to manage the spikes but actually I needed to see what a real day would be like. Pizza is better for me than McDonald's ;)

And MaccyD's sausage brekkie has less impact on my blood sugar than a banana & a glass of milk. 😳

It appears I've finished the course...

I've missed a few tho, so need to go back.

I think I'm content that it's been a useful exercise. 👍😁

I'm now on day 3, had all my muffins today. The am ones were a bit of a struggle! In relation to the cgm readings, I've went out of the green area (up to 12) both nights after my evening meal. Is this bad or do other people go out of the green too?

I'm no expert on the glucose stuff, so hang in there & hopefully someone will be along with a more useful comment. 👍

@Wombat27A how do you feel? Really good that you feel like a positive experience. What do you think worked best?

I feel pretty good. Which considering I've just found out I'm one point off anaemic & last week was "interesting" is pretty good.

Definitely been nudged into changing some stuff.

More seeds, nuts, variety. Less one-off fruit snacks. Movement after meals, etc.

Tho I did have breakfast, 2nd, breakfast, first lunch, second lunch, cake yesterday so I might not be the best exemplar. 😁

I'm glad you've found it useful @Wombat27A you've been our guiding light!

@caramelchaos I only went into red a couple of times. My glucose control isn't great, most foods gave a spike of some sort. Well done on getting through the day 3 breakfast, I still remember chomping through those.

I'm feeling quite smug. Had a works networking thing tonight which I knew would have delicious canapés - I took something to eat before hand and didn't touch a single snack and didn't really feel I was missing out. Did have a small red wine - got to think of those gut bacteria 😀 Ended the day on 84.

My test is on its way! And I managed to convince DH to get one too… “can’t put a price on health”. Going to wait till his arrives so we can do it together.

I really need to get my head in the game, I’ve fallen off the wagon big time! We went away on holiday and I got a week behind on my articles and I never caught up. Now I have about 4 weeks of reading to do and have missed basically a whole module I think! I might just admit I’m never going to read the backlog and take it from today. I have fed back that they need a pause feature, can’t believe they didn’t already to be honest!

That and the fact I don’t feel much worse or better either way/they’re such small changes, makes it hard for me to get the motivation to get back on the wagon! Blah. I have been having my 75+ lunch as standard, and no breakfast, so that starts me in good stead. It’s the constant making of after school snacks and the general stress of the witching hour that gets me! But haven’t had ‘crap’ eg crisps, choc bars, for weeks.

How exciting @psed - it'll be really interesting to have you both doing it, especially with the glucose monitors.

It must be hard focusing on nutrition in the evening @MassiveSalad22 - I don't remember the witching hour with any fondness. I do think it's worth reading the lessons - is it a real pain scrolling down so you could do a couple a day? I couldn't do many more, too much to take in. Completely agree about the pause function, I hope they take heed.

I'm trying to catch up my missed lessons by looking at the list & doing one I like the look of, tho it's a bit of a struggle.

I tend to eat loads between 4 & 6 as I'm usually very hungry then, so trying to eat more in the daytime now.

I definitely find having more at lunch is really helping those late afternoon hunger pangs. That's always been the time everything goes to pot for me.