Anyone improving their health following the Glucose Goddess hacks?

[Inkpotlover]

I'm putting this in Weight Loss Chat for traffic, because it's not about losing weight. I'm currently reading the GG book and finding it really interesting, because I've recently had blood tests show I might be insulin resistance and pre-pre-diabetic. My symptoms are many, but the worst are chronic energy slumps and needing daytime naps to recalibrate. Suddenly I'm very aware that my health is on its way to be compromised, if it's not already, so I'm looking at ways to improve it, and was wondering if anyone else has followed the GG hacks and felt better for it?

I tried a glass of apple cider vinegar before my mail evening meal last week and realised after I felt amazing! However, I don't know if it was because of the water, or the ACV too? However, I tried again the next day but just couldn't face tasting it again. I have found this recipe since:

1 tablespoon ACV
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Stevia
2 cups of cold water
Haven't got round to trying it yet, must do so!

*Main evening meal.

I don't mind drinking it because I'm the kind of weirdo that likes drinking the vinegar in the pickled onion jar! I'm finding the food sequencing pretty revelatory - I have bags of energy and feel full for hours afterwards.

No, not yet - but your thread made me remember that I bought this book in two forms (paperback and audible!) about 7 weeks ago😳. I made the rush-hour egg cups, shoved it in with the rest of the cookery books and promptly forgot about it.

I'm a teacher (and DC older teens) so I have plenty of time to read and get on with it now though! I'm also due to start ZOE in August (not sure when). I'm going to go and listen to 20+ mins whilst I do some housework...

The book is brilliant - so easy to digest the info and I love that you aren’t expected to follow all the hacks religiously, just adapt to whatever situation you are in. From what I’ve read, Zoe is very similar in approach. I sadly can’t do Zoe because I can’t eat gluten and the muffins they send for the spike test aren’t gluten free.

I've listened to some now and found the page in the book with the hacks you talk about! Just realised the pdf that comes with the audible book is basically the book (minus a few pages - although crucially the one with the 10 hacks, so...) - in full colour too!

I think I probably wasted a load of money on ZOE but time will tell. I signed up for the full year. I'm hoping it comes at the start of August rather than then end - I've waited long enough now!

Thank you @Inkpotlover - I am feeling very motivated to start now. Are you following the four week plan or diving straight in with a few?

1. Eat foods in the right order (fibre, then proteins and fats, then starches and sugars)
2. Add a veggie starter to one meal a day
3. Stop counting calories
4. Have a savoury breakfast
5. Eat any type of sugar you like - they're all the same
6. Pick dessert over a sweet snack
7. Have one tablespoon on vinegar a day before the meal that will the highest in glucose
8. After you eat, move
9. If you have to snack, go savoury
10. Put some "clothes" on your carbs (avoid eating starchy or sweet foods on their own - "clothe" them with protein, fat or fibre to slow down glucose absorption. For example, have Greek yogurt with your brownie, or ham with your bread)

I'm not thinking I should've got the Glucose Revolution book instead. I'm not sure what #1 means practically. One step at a time I guess though! As the audible book is only 3 hours long (I've listened to 30 mins so far) I may even finish it today...

I don't know the Glucose Goddess, but I highly recommend The Sugar Solution, by Dr Mark Hyman, and it's follow-on The 10-Day Sugar Detox Diet, which includes a lot of sugar-free recipes. [Redacted by MNHQ]

As you can probably guess, I do not agree that we can "eat any type of sugar you like - they're all the same". Yes, they are all the same in terms of their effects, but cutting out or severely reducing all forms of sugar is the key to a healthy diet. Basically, sugar should be an occasional treat, i.e. an icecream or a cookie or a piece of chocolate 2-3 times a week, in moderation.

Since I dropped most sugar from my diet and instead eat mostly vegetables and protein, plus some healthy fats and complex carbs, I feel much more satisfied and rarely get any sweet cravings. Life-changing!

Because I have so little patience that I'm diving straight in!

I've just realised I have the Glucose Revolution book, not the one you have. Not sure how they're different – those are the same hacks listed – but GR really explains the science thinking behind it all and how our bodies manage glucose and what happens if there's an overload of it.

I'm a fairly healthy eater aside from crisp cravings so it doesn't feel like too much of a stretch to just eat my usual plate of food sequentially. This morning for breakfast I had a glass of apple vinegar (hack) followed by spinach and rocket (greens first), a poached egg (protein) and some avocado and strawberries (fats and sugar).

I'm not doing it to lose weight though, just to improve my energy levels and how I feel in general.

That sounds great and good that it's working for you. I might check it out at some point down the line, as I don't want to get overwhelmed by too much information at once. I've done that in the past and end up giving up entirely!

I haven't got to #5 Eat any type of sugar you like - they're all the same @Tulpenkavalier but I was thinking she mean something along the lines of this by Tim Spector (of ZOE) :

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsV2u6BIqFS/

So not eat sugar - it's fine! Just don't kid yourself that when you're having a sweet treat that having maple syrup is 'good' for you. I may have to buy the Glucose revolution to find out what she actually means by this as it isn't one of the four focuses of the glucose goddess book.

I fully intend to cut out/vastly reduce sugar in my diet too (and have read many books on this, so I am sold).

Chef AJ introduced the concept of eating veggies for breakfast to me a few years ago. Just need to find a way to do this when I'm at work...simply having a savoury breakfast feels more workable!

That's another half hour listened to (and a kitchen cupboard cleaned and decluttered!). I'm quite sold on this idea of moving after eating...

Interesting , I have just ordered the book.

I hope you find it as interesting as I have!

I made the wrong decision early afternoon, after lunch - thought I would have a lie down on the bed for half an hour with the ipad (did exactly the same the last two days and this resulted in a lengthy nap). Crossed my mind I should be moving instead (I was not tired) but...inevitable result and I feel fairly rubbish now. Hopefully, that is the motivation I need NOT to do this tomorrow! I don't have any choice but to move when I'm at work but at home, on holiday...

The audible book has gone a bit irritating and she is reading out the blurb for every single recipe (and I have the physical book too). Definitely NOT a full 3 hrs of content. I'll have to skip ahead past those. Nothing ground-breaking here, but I didn't expect that, I wanted a clear list and motivation. I've tried the apple vinegar before meals before and there is still some in the cupboard...will have a go again before my evening meal - and move after eating this time (maybe a walk and finish listening to the book at the same time). Glucose revolution is 6 hrs but I really don't feel I need to read all of that to pick up the main points of what to do? Still got Tim Spector's 'Food for life to finish'...

I definitely need to go shopping!

That's really good you went to lie down and didn't actually feel tired though! Tomorrow you'll know not to give in. I know it sounds crazy, given I only started yesterday, but I can feel my energy improving and this is the first day in many weeks that I haven't needed a nap! And yesterday I didn't even follow it properly, because we went out to dinner and it's hard to eat Mexican food sequentially! But today I've stuck to it and not only have I not napped but I also haven't snacked apart from some cheese and raw broccoli about an hour ago as I was preparing dinner to cook later. I haven't felt like eating crisps at all, which are my major downfall.

The audiobook sounds annoying – the Glucose Revolution book might be better because it clearly explains all the science.

I still managed to fall asleep though!

I've finished listening to the book now. I warmed to how simple it was in the end - even the double page spread about how to freeze vinegar in cubes, or add some to water! I need simple. Definitely lots of simple habits to pick up, and reassuringly they confirm rather than contradict advice I've picked up from different sources over the last few years. This makes it feel very do-able!

Just had a tablespoon of cider vinegar in a glass of water with ice (with a straw!) and I enjoyed that! Definitely plan to try the recipes out now I have plenty of time/the headspace to do this.

In addition to this I'm also a few months into (slowly and not uniformly!) reducing my alcohol intake and, of course, follow the ZOE advice too. All sounds like it will work well together! 😊

Great that you're feeling the effects already @Inkpotlover!

I've not read the book and have been keeping carbs to a minimum for a while now because I was obese and needed to lose weight. But I love listening to the glucose goddess!

I'm starting to introduce carbs back and I need to take her advice. She was on a Diary of CEO podcast and she was really interesting talking about her hacks. She's on loads of other podcasts too so I just keep listening to her and trying to take the tips in.

I plan to listen to some of those tonight (bedtime you tube habit! ) @IrisBearded ! I started following her on instagram tonight and I love seeing the comparison graphs for the glucose spikes.

I’m going to have to ditch my morning oat milk coffees! Apparently the worst milk for glucose spikes.

I was definitely more keen to get on with the washing up and a few other housework jobs after dinner tonight as it counts as moving!

@breithaupt yes I try and fidget a bit more after eating, calf raises are really effective apparently, so I do those too when I'm pottering.

Almond milk (no sugars version) is good for coffee/tea if you can get used to the taste. I find cows milk really sweet tasting now as I hardly ever drink it.

I hope you enjoy the podcasts, I like the way she talks and puts her research across.

The hacks are SO simple to follow. Like, ridiculously so. And you don't even need to follow all of them all of the time, just some of them as much as you can. I also like drinking the ACV!

I'm also eating more, which might be of interest to you @IrisBearded, since you're planning to up your carb intake. For dinner tonight I had teriyaki chicken with rice and broccoli and I followed the sequential eating hack and had the broccoli first (fibre), the chicken (protein) and then the rice (starch) and for the first time in a long time I had loads more rice than usual. I feel great now!

Time to write a shopping list!

I'm more than happy just to have the ACV in a glass of water so I'm not going to attempt to change that for now. I was surprised by how much I liked it. I think I must've had it far too strong previously.

We have hello fresh evening meals (4 x week) at the moment - tend to go for the calorie smart ones. I'm going to stick with that for now and add in the hacks (really don't like that word - it has been completely overused in the last five years or so...might have to start calling them tweaks or habits) around it.

I'm going to get the ingredients in to make: savoury jam on toast, Tahini greens and Jesse's Nicoise salad. I shop frequently so that's enough for now!

Starting to follow this has made me feel more positive that I have in ages😀

I don't mind the word hack because it's not one I'd ever associate with dieting/weight loss, unlike 'count' and 'points' and 'rules'!

What do you mean by savoury jam?

Glad it's making you feel positive. I cannot believe how energised I feel after just a few days. I slept so well last night too - I had a lie in until gone 7.30, whereas normally I wake up around 5 and can't get back to sleep and then just toss and turn until it's time to get up. My mind feels so much sharper too!

That's great you have so much more energy and your sleep is better!

I won't be having a nap this afternoon - no desire to at all!

Savoury Jam is one of the recipes in the book (attached as a photo). I've just made it and had it for a late lunch - very nice!

I had some steamed veg with miso butter (buy that frozen in portions from Waitrose) and a 3 egg omelette for breakfast which kept me really full. This used to me my go to veggie based breakfast. Will be good to try out some new ideas!

Yeah ok - I'll stick with the word hack then!

Just reminds me of those ridiculous articles - 'hack for getting a hot dish out of the oven without burning yourself - use oven gloves!' 🙄

Just read this (Marie Claire article linked):

So many people opt for a cup of coffee to wake them up in the morning, but by the same logic, caffeine spikes glucose levels if consumed before food.
Try this: Avoid caffeine on an empty stomach, instead enjoying your caffeine fix after your breakfast.

This might be a step too far right now. I'm ok with ditching my oat milk instant coffee first thing - simple swap with a Nespresso lungo but...

I tend not to eat breakfast until later (10-11ish) and usually have two, or even three, cups of coffee before that. Having a lungo right now. One to think about I guess.

When the ZOE parcel gets here then I guess I can find out to what extent this is true for me.

https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/life/health-fitness/glucose-goddess-hacks