Anyone starting Zoe in November?

[alloutofcareunits]

Not just about weight loss but thought this might be the best place to post the thread. I've just signed up and should be starting in November, wondering if anyone else is and wants to share experiences?

Mine is also arriving this week and I'm intending to start on Sunday since I've got nothing on that day. Thanks for all the info re what to do which is very helpful. I don't have a sweet tooth at all so dreading the cookies!

@alloutofcareunits i did my 1st day last week which was uneventful! I did get bored logging everything that i ate for the 3 days but so interesting to see the peaks & dips after I've eaten carbs. The readings when i first put the cgm were a bit strange so i wonder if it was just settling down!! I'm doing the blood sugar tests now & the protein only meal didn't affect my blood sugar at all & i was surprised that 2 slices of cheese kept me full all morning. Wonder what the test results will show

Mine was supposed to be delivered today but doesn't appear to have arrived at the drop off place, hopefully DHL will manage it tomorrow

Yeah I've found it really interesting so far. I've just been eating and exercising normally, I haven't done any of their proposed tests yet. I've eaten the same meal under different circumstances and had different results so context is definitely applicable beyond just the macro constituents. I'm finding my morning latte is giving a big spike, so think I'll move this to 11 or so and see what happens then. I had a hefty carb breakfast after a run this morning and got hardly any spike, ditto last night after a gym session, so if I want to cram my mince pies in, I should do it then, I've concluded! Guess that's not rocket science. I usually end up eating cake mid afternoon and that seems to be the worst time to do it, I end up having a big crash afterwards and need a nap. Fruit seems to be the answer there. I make juices and smoothies when I feel in need of a boost quite often, it will be interesting to see how they perform. Might do one of those later.

My bowel movements are regular, every morning like clockwork after my coffee, so the blue dye came straight through from the second lot of cookies.

I messed up my blood test - i just stuck it straight in the cardboard box, I didn't have my glasses on so didn't realise it needed to go in the bag first. Oops. Hope it's still useable.

@79andnotout that's interesting about different circumstances affecting your readings. It looks like DHL have passed the parcel to DPD and it should arrive at the drop off location on Friday

I'm starting tomorrow. A bit nervous at how my glucose might spike with these horrible looking biscuits. Interested to know what happened when other people ate them. I'm doing it because there is pre/diabetes in the family and my HB1AC has been steadily climbing over the years. I have too much body fat and too low muscle mass so I need to do something.

@Memeapple - I didn't get a spike from the biscuits at all - I think they were too fatty. It was more of a slow rise and fall.

Oh and my tip for getting the morning biscuits down were to have them with a large black coffee. Bite of cookie, sip of coffee, swallow while trying not to hit too many taste buds, repeat. Managed to choke them down in about five minutes.
The lunch ones were pleasant in comparison, as long as you don't look at them.

@Memeapple Here is my CGM reading from 'muffin day' (up until just before I ate something other than the muffins - no biscuits, as this was back in August).

8 am - breakfast muffins
12 pm - lunch muffins

I found eating the muffins fine, but didn't feel particularly good that day (may or may not be related!). Hope today goes well for you!

I maxed out at 8.8 nmol/l on the breakfast cookies. I don't generally have a sweet tooth so it felt like I would be diabetic by the end of the day ;-) It is interesting to see how your body copes.

My kit is due to be delivered today. Not sure when I will start as we've got a lot going on as a family at the moment. Need time to think and prepare.

My weight has rocketed in the past few years and my visceral fat is really concerning. I'm hoping this will help keep me motivated and accountable. I imagine my husband will love looking at all of the science around it...

Yeauch. That was horrible! I don't want to eat sugar ever again! The second biscuit was poorly controlled! It took 3 hrs to get back to 6!

They are grim, aren't they?

I've moved onto the random test phase. I had a bowl of porridge this morning and had a big spike, a rapid drop, and now I'm starving. Think I might end up eating a lot of eggs on toast going forward instead, that was a much gentler rise and fall.

Anyone know how long it takes them to process the tests? I presume they've got them in the lab now, but maybe they have a backlog. I think the microbiome tests will take a while but the blood tests should be a simple process.

I’ve got my kit. I keep putting off starting, not sure why. Plan to start on Monday now, as that’s a quiet day.

I had the same problem with a spike after my usual porridge & fruit breakfast. I don’t want to give it up so am trying some variations. Adding peanut butter instead of fruit fixed the problem..but needs work to make it a nice breakfast. Using giant oats and whole milk instead of regular oats and water has also improved the spike.

I'm part of the December crew so I'm waiting patiently.

I've always found porridge makes me very hungry a few hours later so I don't eat it despite really liking it.

Yeah I usually pad mine out with nuts, seeds, desiccated coconut, whole milk, and stewed fruit. will have that in a couple of days and see how it compares. it's a lot more calories than gruel, though! so guess it wouldn't be a fair test but is more akin to what I eat.

I do like eggs on toast as well though. I draw the line at a plate of eggs and spinach for breakfast with no carbs, which is what every other diet seems to lead to.

Remember if youre only looking at glucose the temptation is to ignore the benefits of foods that might spike eg. As long as spike not too big fibre from porridge might be worth it by comparison with increased saturated fat from eggs?

Count me in! I'm on day 6 of wearing the CGM. I've long suspected I'm sensitive to blood sugar fluctuations and this is mainly why I'm doing Zoe. I have no weight to lose. The cookies gave me what felt like big spikes and crashes (feeling jittery and quite unwell). Do we get feedback from Zoe on how we reacted to the cookies? And if so, when? I'm also interested in knowing when to expect the microbiome and blood fat results.

I had a big spike from eating an apple this week. I haven't had the time or inclination to do many "challenges" but I really should do some this weekend as I won't have the CGM forever :)

Porridge is something I've avoided for years as it doesn't "keep me going till lunchtime" at all, contrary to what people around me say!

I tend to do time-restricted eating and what's interesting is seeing my blood sugar stay really flat overnight and until noon or so when I eat. It's a very interesting exercise and I'll be following this thread with interest. Good luck everyone.

My kit arrived today, got a few things on tomorrow so I'm starting on Sunday as I've the day free. I hope I don't screw anything up and have to retest, I'm really looking forward to seeing my results and doing the challenges!

I've got my kit too. Starting Monday because I'm out tomorrow night and I don't fancy try to attach the sensor after a few drinks!

I've had the cgm on just over a week & seen that eggs with no carbs keep my blood sugars stable but its interesting to see the fluctuations after I've eaten. I had a g&t this evening which sent my blood sugars up to over 10 😮on the positive side i had some dark chocolate ritter hazelnut earlier which didn't have such a dramatic effect!

Excellent news on the chocolate front! It's reminded me of a very stupid question - is it is easy to keep the CGM on? I've got visions of it falling off after a day and having to gaffer tape it on!

Easy to keep on. I had a sauna yesterday and jacuzzi bath in the local leisure centre and it was fine.