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!

Not sure where DH is getting his extra ones from - I don't think Amazon (i signed for a package with his next 2 delivered by the postman not Amazon van). They're a newer model than the Zoë ones which doesn't need scanning 8 hourly

New week, new start! I have oat bran with milk, cherries and seeds for breakfast with some water and coffee, scoring 86 for me. I often have a Diet Coke with breakfast but I didn’t today. Time to break those bad habits!

Mine are the Libre ones but don't need scanning either (unless I leave my phone behind and the connection fails)

Yes, DHs are the newer libre ones too.

Mine from Zoe didn’t need regular scanning.

after my good start yesterday, it all went a bit wrong. I was doing well with a good score until about 3pm when I was ravenous! I ended to having a wispa and a packet of crisps. I never eat crisps! I ended the day with a score of 51.

@Greenthread i now chomp through dried figs, apricots and prunes (apricots and figs don’t score so well for me but they have a wonderful laxative effect!) plus a handful of nuts and find this to be an ok substitute for an afternoon snack. Would that work at all?

I find if I stuff myself full of dried fruit, even better if the nuts come first and then a cup of something hot, tea or coffee then it hits the mark. Sometimes not even hungry for dinner but then I do eat a lot because they’re so tasty.

But it’s hard I do know. I found it really hard to swap things out at the start.

Dried figs score 18 for me. A Wispa is 28! I keep meaning to make some Zoe-friendly cookies but I’ve not got round to it yet.

I really need to lose some weight but I am ravenous on this way of eating! I need to find alternatives to my usual chocolate and cake that don’t leave me feeling so hungry. I am miserable about the way I look just now. I know I feel better about myself when I weigh less but I can’t seem to motivate myself to do anything about it.

We don't have kids in the house and DH really needs to control his sugar so we simply don't have crisps or chocolate (other than the 100%) in the house now. So if we want a snack it's likely to be fresh fruit, Greek yogurt (usually Fage 5%) and about 20g of nuts.

I'm finding eating a lot of bean, lentil and veg based meals very satiating. You really may find you feel less hungry if you manage to ditch more of the sugar/white carbs.

I had a break from logging over the holidays but I'm back on it now. I signed up for four months and I think this will be enough.

I honestly think my diet before Zoe was pretty good, and my weight is healthy, but Zoe is helping me change habits that I didn't realise were bad beforehand, such as "bad fats" too close together, and eating too many wholemeal carbs that I thought were good for me, but actually score pretty low (because my blood sugar control is poor).

It's hard finding carb substitutes that fill me up and keep me going, I feel your pain! On the upside, my energy levels are more stable than before, I'm not getting the hunger shakes nearly as often. Everything takes a fair bit of planning though.

My best bread alternative so far is Ella Woodward's seed/nut bread loaf, which I bake, slice and freeze, so I can get out two slices at a time. No one else in the family will go near it, so I can't get through a loaf before it goes off!

My best bread alternative so far is Ella Woodward's seed/nut bread loaf, which I bake, slice and freeze, so I can get out two slices at a time. No one else in the family will go near it, so I can't get through a loaf before it goes off!

I'm interested in trying to make some alternative breads, do you have a recipe for that?

My Zoe kit is hopefully coming today. I will do it either Friday or Sunday.

DH and I are doing it together and today's Day 1. We choked down the breakfast cookies with black coffee and thank goodness we're doing it together as I think DH would have given up there and then. I had to make him watch the Bruce Bogtrotter song from Matilda to get him to finish his second cookie.

I think my DH must be just about the only person who actually quite enjoyed them.

Doing this together is good, it does help if you're both on the same page when it comes to making better food choices etc.

😂 I managed the breakfast ones fine but the blue ones were a struggle.

What sort of daily scores are people getting? I’m getting 55-65 most days. I’m pretty much eating what I was before Zoe, but I’ve cut out carbs with my dinner. My meals generally score over 70. It’s my snacks that bring my scores down!

After Jan 1st I've been able to stay over 75 - mostly in the 80s. But I've got no kids at home, and as I wfh part time I've got more ability to control what I eat than many people. And DH is onboard - he's been away most of this time but came back for a few days eager to eat the Zoë salmon traybake and suchlike.

I'm eating a lot of beans, lentils and veg!

Re snacks - we don't really have much 'snack food' in the house now, so it really is the Greek yogurt, fruit and (weighed!) nuts. Although I am gradually getting through a pack of cinnamon raisin bagels I'd bought for DD when she was home - I halved them before freezing so I'm having half rather than a whole one and maybe having some nuts or seeds with it or just balancing it out with a high scoring dinner.

Today I bought a couple of little kvarg pots which score over 75 ... I didn't have my glasses with me so didn't read the ingredients. Turns out I've developed a bit of a dislike of artificial sweeteners so I think I'll stick to the Greek+fruit in future instead of seeing this sort of thing as a 'treat'!

My scores are a bit all over the place - generally over 70 but I do struggle when working away from home. Too many carb and sugar laden treats in the office. And I feel sluggish and awful afterwards.
Pleased to end today on a score of 81 - definitely feel better for it. I am finding g myself going to the shops more often these days though - eating so many vegetables (broccoli, courgette, spinach and feta this evening)!

I am on 58 today, my lowest score since I started logging again after Christmas. Let down by eating some chocolate and a bit of cake at the school open evening (because it was 6-8 and I didn't get to eat before and got hungry).

My favourite lunch today though - tom yum soup with prawns, and a side of edamame beans, from the Chinese restaurant near my work. Love tom yum and it scores in the 80s :)

I have tried a new snack today - dates stuffed with nuts and a bit of dark chocolate. It was delicious! I had one big date, 4 almonds and one square of dark chocolate. It scored 70 for me.

Results are in - great blood sugar control 74 & low blood fat control 32 and microbiome is good at 72.

my meals tend to be pretty good anyway.

I do have a lot of weight to lose and I'm still not sure how this is going to work.

Do you mean they're good re Zoë scores ?

Tbh I think that if you want to lose weight, despite what they say there's no escaping from being aware of calories in and out. DH has found it helpful, partly because it makes logging fairly easy and partly because we're finding high scoring meals do tend to be more satiating. I'm hoping to lose a bit of weight (thoigh that's not my primary motivation) , I think I find the logging and thinking about food swaps helps. I'm not doing any mindless snacking at the moment.

I made the sesame cookies today, they are lush! So tasty.

@Greenthread is that the Sesame Tahini cookies?

it sounds like you’re really finding your stride. So pleased for you 😁

It can take quite a while for things to click I’ve found. I was still craving chocolate tonight though despite eating 6 prunes, a fig and some nuts.

I’m between breakfast and lunch cookies. Not looking forward to trying to get through the lunch ones. The breakfast ones were a chore. Missing my milky coffee. Waiting for the first of the day. 😂

How long did it take to get results after sending off the samples? I read 6 weeks somewhere but surely not that long?