Zoe - would you recommend?

[chicka]

I've been looking at signing up for the Zoe programme for the last year or so and am still undecided. Obviously the cost is a driver but I'm happy to pay if it actually works and I get something worthwhile from it.
I excercise 5 times a week and get at least 10000 steps a day, so from a fitness side of things am Ok and happy with this.
But I know nutrition is playing a massive factor in how I'm feeling and I know I don't eat as well as I could do.
I am bloated a lot of the time and have been feeling really tired (I'm 48).
Can anyone tell me whether it actually helped with bloating/tiredness (mainly bloating that is bothering me). All the blurb talks about these symptoms and how Zoe helps but I'd rather hear it from actual success stories, or if you thought it was a waste of time.

I didn't actually sign up in the end, having been on the waiting list forever. I think it's very overpriced. You can get a cgm and a microbiome test yourself much cheaper. You would possibly then need a trustworthy nutritionist's advice, possibly via their book/website.

Have you tried decent probiotics for bloating already?

The fact that they pay Trustpilot for "extra features" says it all. Their overall score looks excellent, but I don't trust those any more. Look at the dissatisfied customers before committing:

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/zoe.com?sort=recency&stars=1

I did it when it was quite new (about two years ago??). I found it interesting, but not necessarily worth the money. It did confirm what I suspected (I have poor glucose response). The advice was pretty 'standard' and not that tailored, I felt - as in, it's the stuff we should all be doing: eat less sugar, cut out processed food, eat more fibre. They're big on beans too! It was interesting learning about the foods which (allegedly) were particularly suited to me and it did lead me to up certain things in my diet and reduce others.

So, I'm not sure it's worth the money and I think the 'personalised nutrition' thing is a bit of a con (as in, most people seem to get similar advice). But the app is fun to log food on (and try to up your score) and I found the test results interesting, if not life changing.

Long term it hasn't made any significant difference to my health or sense of wellbeing though and if I probably wouldn't do it again and would instead spend the money on something else.

It's an industry. That's the thing. They are collecting vast amounts of your data and monetising it. I'm not a conspiracy nut, but that is what is happening.

So I'd take on board the general good advice of eat more veg, a greater variety of veg, move more, avoid over processed food most of the time (80/20) rule. The guy who owns it drinks a couple of glasses of wine a night....

And see how you get on.