Experiences with Zoe

[MrsLeBon2]

I’m thinking about signing up to the Zoe app. I’m a ‘normal’ weight though at the top end but with a lot of bloating/flab and I’d like to find out more about how I react to food to I can try and minimize the menopause weight gain. It’s pretty pricy but wondering if it’s worth it?

I'm definitely losing weight. I and about 2 stone overweight, but that's not why I joined. Diabetes, stroke and heart disease run in my family and I want to reduce my risk.
The weight loss is a happy side effect.
I'm not weighing myself, because I find that quite triggering, but I've gone down a jeans and bra size. I had to enter a weight when I signed up (I think), so at some point I'm sure I'll find out exactly what I've lost.

Messages customer support again and finally had a response. They offered to repeat test day, work with blood test results I already had, repeat blood test or predict with data they already have.
I opted for repeat just blood test.

No way am I doing those cookies again.

And on the data point, yes, I feel a bit shifty about this as I really did not check but my assumption is I'm paying them handsomely to add my data to the mine they already have which is certainly a very valuable asset. I should have checked and have friends who do research into these practices so feel a bit foolish that I did not investigate this further.

quick update - it's getting messy. I can't access the instructions to the 'blood sugar challenges' which I'm meant to be doing as I hadn't ticked the blood test as complete (because I need to redo it) so this means I have no idea what to do so am not able to follow the programme. I contacted them and they said they'd reset it but that didn't take and now it's a mess. I ticked the bloods as done but now I'm having to look ahead to get some info on what to do but as it only gives you step by step and the info is on timed release it's hopeless.

and the chat is down all morning - not back for another half an hour.

so - if you do all the tests properly and on time, it's fine
if you don't - it all falls apart and they don't seem to be able to flex

people are messy so this rigid system is unhelpful.

I've just signed up to Zoe. Whilst I need to lose some weight and hoping this well help, for me improving gut health is something I am particularly keen on doing. At one point about a decade ago I had two bouts of food poisoning a year apart, and my gut hasn't been right since (if I ate a bit of pork fat such as bacon, or with a roast, I'd be doubled over with cramps about half an hour later). It's improved a lot over the years, but I do still suffer from almost daily bloating.

Test kit not due until Nov though, which still feels miles away!

The blood sugar challenges are for your own info, they don't affect your Zoe scores at all. I stopped doing them after a couple, as the carb levels were making me feel wretched! I just watched what happened as I ate normally.

I signed up for November too. Perhaps we can get a chat going on here for those of us starting at the same time. I'm a bit sceptical but I like the scientific approach....

ah, I did not realise that.
How does Zoe advise you which foods are 'bad' or 'good' for you as an individual, if the blood sugar tests aren't part of deciding that?

ps: is the score based on your fecal sample, and do they say you can't change your fecal microbes too, so basically because you have xyz microbes you should eat more of A and less of B....

The scores are extrapolations based on the results from the blood test and the glucose monitor (calibrated by their now vast dataset) the diet assessment is from the first three days I think (from a short period where they tell you to eat as normal, can't remember exactly) and they give you a list of gut suppressors and promoters, that's tailored to what they found in the gut test, when you get your results. You also get a detailed breakdown but obvs the top line list is more useful if it's something you're just dipping into day to day.

They've def offered some people gut retests, I assume to measure how effective the diet is at altering the microbiome. So there is an expectation that you can change it.

The glucose monitor results are just from the muffin/cookie day, as obvs that's measured amount of fibre/carbs/fat etc. So it's important to try to do that with the right timings and stuff because the rest of it hangs on that.

Ah, so PP was wrong to say the scores aren't at least partly based on the blood sugar challenges? Or are the scores based on all the data collected outside the blood sugar challenge points?

I thought the scores were entirely based on the blood sugar challenges, which rely on eating the disgusting muffins on an empty stomach after no exercise.

That wouldn't be my usual way of eating, so right away not my usual way of living, is why it caught my attention.

Does anyone know if Zoe has any overlap with the blood type diet? I read that book and thought it was interesting although I know a lot of scientists have said it’s not proven

The scores are just on the muffin/cookie tests, not the rest of the two weeks. You don't have to do the challenges as I understand it, I'm due to start in October.

As I understand it, the parameters pertaining to the test are to measure your bodies natural response to fat, carbs etc without influences such as exercise etc. No one is suggesting anyone eats like this in real life 😁

I exercise a lot, sometimes fasted, sometimes not, and I believe that your bodies response to exercise can be monitored in the Libre app, given during the two week testing, which I'm more interested than the challenges as this is my reality.

I was the pp. The testing day with the cookies/muffins is a different thing to the blood sugar challenges which are optional.

I’ve signed up for November too. I signed up on a bit of a whim and I’m regretting parting with so much cash.

Scores are not based on the challenges, these are completely for our own benefit, you can do them or ignore them it makes no difference.
Gut retesting has now been rolled out. It looks like they are expecting if you follow the plan with average daily scores of 75 for 4 months you can expect to see a change in microbiome and therefore in some personal food scores

So when people say "I've signed up for november" ie the4e a bit of a choice with starting dates?

And once you get it do you have to do cookies on a set day (just thinking practically I work outside the home and can't do blood tests while teaching!)

I'm trying to reduce upf and would like to start January - does this mean I need to sign up nov/Dec time then?

When you sign up and pay the initial sum it gives you a start date a couple of months in the future. You are then given notice when your test kit will be shipped nearer the time. You can defer this on the app if you need to.

When your kit arrives you have about 3-4 week window to do the tests so you can definitely choose when you want to do them.

I did mine over the bank holiday in August.

I signed up towards the end of April and was given July as my starting date. I then deferred this to August

Thanks that helps I can delay it so can do initial bits around work!"
How have you found it?

I have done Zoe now for several months and would say it’s not personalised to a significant enough degree to warrant paying for the program .. I have friends with very different results to me but guidance is pretty similar .. eat an almost plant based,UPF free diet low in wheat and rice .. if you have to eat the latter, adding nuts seems to correct it

it is not a weight loss diet as not looking at volume of food, just nutritional density.. I have gained as easy to do with nut butters, avocados etc being so encouraged..

it is good if you need insight and support moving away from a highly processed diet but most of the benefits can be gained without forking out money and working on the diet principles..

anyone who has seen what Tim eats in a day in you tube would say he is not eating enough calories even if his meals are nutritionally dense

https://joinzoe.mention-me.com/m/ol/dx8ue-911ed96cc4

I’m doing it now…the first 2 weeks…it’s an effort but I hope it’s worth it…my discount code is above

Tim Spector does look scrawny. Was he always manic? He keeps popping up on ads on my SM, it's a bit like playing whackamole to hide the ads.

Ha yes it's like Whackamole on my ads too probably subliminally making me want to do it.

@Queenonfleek that's really interesting thankyou. I'm slowly working my way through ultra processed people and zoe videos so I guess I'm accessing some of the content.

I'm being lulled in by the testing... and ongoing whether there's things that "spike" me /my blood fat/microbiomes... but maybe I could pay and jusy do the first month or two?!

I am not sure logistically I want to be weighing food long term (or at all really)

I am very large so doubt I'll put on weight. I do really want to lose about 1/2 my body weight though... so hoping it would help

The advertising is relentless and I'm increasingly sceptical about the 'we're doing this for the good of the people' line which is often repeated (eg on the podcasts they claim to spend a lot of time and effort making the content but make it available for 'free' because they care about health so if you, the listener would just forward the content to a friend that would be payment enough), failing to acknowledge it is a for profit company with ambitions - I should probably say intentions - of leading the global market and Tim Spectre is making money.

ZOE platform funding piece here

I have no issue with a commercial business turning a profit - good for them, but I do feel a bit twitchy about the constant trumpeting of their 'values' (we want to teach the world to eat nutrient rich food and care for their gut biome because we are just so passionate about health) and precious little said about the fact that their business model is built on 'big data' i.e. our data and our subs.

ZOE has £6m in the bank and this is only the start - the UK launch is relatively recent. Confirmation statement here and annual statement here
And yes, £6m isn't a lot in the grand scheme of global start-ups, I get that.

Again, I don't resent them making money, I signed-up of my own free will and understood that my subscription was supporting a commercial enterprise, but I find the tone of their content patronising (all those obligatory 'let's go!' and 'tell me more' replies in the 'quizzes' which are just a way of delivering information to paying customers who clearly aren't considered to be able of reading more than a couple of lines of text at a time so they break it into 'fun' 'quizzes' to help us) and I suppose I'm waiting for them to do some good for the people who can't afford the subs to show they are really serious about their values.

I know I'm sounding grumpy, and I'm not so excited about this but I'm just feeling a bit twitchy. Maybe I just don't like being talked down to by a bright yellow 'platform' 😝