Zoe 2024 - a clean slate

[thinkofablinkingnamewoman]

Hi all - new year, new thread 😁 Will try to link to this from the previous one but not sure if I can do it from the app.

In keeping with good beginnings I am off to have berries, nuts and yoghurt. Could murder a load of toast though!

Found you! Thanks for starting the thread. Was going to have a spinach and berry smoothie but fancy something hot so off to make an omelette

HNY everyone!

Hello thread, today is day one of the post-results phase for me.

It seems to me that adding nuts improves any meal score. Is there anything else that acts similarly?

Thanks for the new thread. I’m feeling rubbish after over indulging last night. I’ve only had water so far today so my eating window will be good 😂

I’m definitely feeling pretty motivated for a fresh start with the new year. I wonder how long that will last!

I'm due to receive my test kit in the next few days, planning on being 'sensible' and following my normal diet for the two weeks of CGM.

Excited to get started though.

I am starting my Zoe kit on Wednesday this week. I've previously had success with intermittent fasting and stayed at a good weight for a couple of years but covid lockdown put paid to that and I really want to tackle it this year.
im slightly disturbed by the bright blue cookies! Not sure why they have to be such a weird colour.

Pleased to find this. My kit ships some time before 5 January so should have it very soon.
I'm excited about the patch to monitor blood sugar as that is the root of my problem. Less than a stone to lose but it's a struggle and if I have a chocolate treat my weight goes haywire for about 6-8 weeks during which time I have to be very careful and eventually my weight stabilises and I can slowly lose weight again. (Until I have a treat).
I've only ever been borderline type 2 pre-diabetic and have a test each year to check I'm not there again, but sugar really messes everything up for me. Very interested to see what Zoe recommends and the results.

Today is my first day of Zoe, applied monitor yesterday so on test day now. OMG those cookies, I only managed one of the lunch time ones as was gagging so badly

@BaileysAllRound erm... they are blue so that you can't see when they come out the other end and log it in the app! Measuring gut transit time!

Be really interested to see other's first day glucose results. I am longing for a jacket potato with loads of butter, cheese and tuna, only an hour left til I can!!

My kit is due Feb

Well done on cookie-eating!

I will try to attach my CGM graph from cookie day, and would be interested in seeing others too. (Not sure what you can deduce from mine).

Hi, here from the Nov thread.

I have been eating this bread, I make it in my bread maker. It apparently scores 94 for me but I am skeptical. It's lovely - chewy, seedy, filling. Can you guys check it on your apps?

https://www.bodyandfit.com/en-gb/Products/Food-%26-Bars/Home-baking/Baking-Pre-mixes/Protein-Bread-Mix/p/p_11295

@Peae
This is mine attached so far, put monitor on yesterday evening. First cookie at 7.40am, next 11.40am

So after finishing my second fasting, doing my blood test, and completing all tasks for today I presume allowed to eat normally? Hope so as I am, do we log food from tomorrow?

Glad to find you here. I finished the blood glucose monitor a few days ago and now waiting for results. I suspect my Christmas scores will be low low as I just ate as I would usually eat over Christmas.

Feeling really motivated though as I’ve realised just how lacking in plants my diet is. I mostly subsist on bread, cheese and potatoes 😬🫣

This is mine from cookie day. You can see the cookie peaks - the one in the evening is me rewarding myself with a pizza and some wine!

I have poor blood sugar control but good fat control. This is excellent for me as a cheese lover and a dried fruit hater 😁 I do miss toast though - am going to make one of the seeded breads and hope it is edible!

Can I just check I’m signing up for the right thing? Am surprised it’s so expensive. There’s the monthly fee and then the cost for the tests?

That looks interesting. It scores 92 for me.

We've been making a sort of flatbread of my DHs devising which scores 79 for me.

It's made from:
325 ml water
1 tsp sugar
360g oatbran
90g stoneground wholemeal bread flour
4 tbsps olive oil
2tsp dried yeast

Then use the bread maker 45 min pizza program.

Roll out dough into a squarish shape somewhere between half to one cm thick - it doesn't really rise and want it thick enough to slice in two but not too thick and cut into 9. (Each piece is roughly the size of a slice of pre sliced cheese). Bake at 200 °C for about 15 mins. Slicing takes a sharp knife and a steady hand. Freezes well. We like them for sandwiches while walking as you can fit one or two into the map pocket of a walking jacket.

It seems to me that adding nuts improves any meal score. Is there anything else that acts similarly?

Green veg. Pulses are good for me too - we've been finding some nice bean recipes. Having the quick cook pearl barley mix I mentioned on the November thread instead of rice or pasta helps my scores a lot too.
Improving score by adding nuts is tempting but although Zoë doesn't focus on calories, as a small 62 yo woman I can't ignore them! Also I get told off sometimes for too much fat, I think nuts must contribute to that even thought they're 'good' fats. So to some extent nuts probably need to be a swap rather than an addition iyswim?
I've just had 20g of mixed nuts and an apple which came in at 200 cals and scored 94 - that feels like a better balance to me than 200cals of just nuts would have been. And better than a couple of biscuits for sure!

Green veg. Pulses are good for me too - we've been finding some nice bean recipes. Having the quick cook pearl barley mix I mentioned on the November thread instead of rice or pasta helps my scores a lot too.

Yes, I have bought some pearl barley on the back of that but not yet cooked it (due to it needing an hour and I am used to cooking rice in 15 minutes). Sounds as though a Glucose Goddess green salad first might be something to do. And I have just had butter beans for the first time in my life 😇

Improving score by adding nuts is tempting but although Zoë doesn't focus on calories, as a small 62 yo woman I can't ignore them! Also I get told off sometimes for too much fat, I think nuts must contribute to that even thought they're 'good' fats. So to some extent nuts probably need to be a swap rather than an addition iyswim?
I've just had 20g of mixed nuts and an apple which came in at 200 cals and scored 94 - that feels like a better balance to me than 200cals of just nuts would have been. And better than a couple of biscuits for sure!

Yes, I appreciate we're not counting calories (which is fine by me) but as you say, it still feels unwise to eat nuts with everything! I'm enjoying an apple and nut butter as a pudding at the moment.

Thank you for your reply!

I've also got some pearl barley. Am planning to do a butternut squash risotto type meal with it, along with a salad and some seeds....

Yes, I have bought some pearl barley on the back of that but not yet cooked it (due to it needing an hour and I am used to cooking rice in 15 minutes).

The thing I particularly recommended is a quick cook pearl barley mix which only takes 10-15 minutes! The one I've got is Waitrose 'love life quick cook barley mix' - it's got some dried peas and lentils in though mostly barley, I assume parboiled. Not sure if similar is available elsewhere.

Not great scores today (apart from the apple+nut snack) because it's my birthday so we were out at lunchtime and then DH took me to a branch of the Ivy this evening. The AI estimates from my descriptions scored 49 for that, but I did manage to rack up 8 fruit and veg today so not too bad!

Oooh that scores 91 for me.

Please can I join? It's my test day today.
Worried I've already done bits wrong! I didn't realise you had to apply the sensor the day before so didn't put that on until 8 last night.
Had my breakfast cookies, really struggled to eat the whole amount and now I feel very sick!
Looking forward to feeling healthier going forward

Hello! I'm in now, I'm trying to commit. Weighed myself yesterday and I am so heavy, about 10kg above what I have been for decades, and at only 5ft1 that's a lot of extra baggage to carry around.

@OtterandPuffins don't worry, that will be enough for the test to calibrate. I found the morning cookies utterly disgusting but the afternoon ones a lot easier as long as I didn't look at them.

I've had a few days off from logging and I haven't gone wild but I was staying with family and didn't have access to my usual food options. I definitely feel worse if I have sugar or bread in any meaningful quantities, and my psoriasis has flared. So that motivates me to stick with Zoe-approved foods even though I'm not going to be too strict for life. I don't want to become obsessed or miserable!