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!

Today I had my breakfast at normal time and since then, I’ve been trying to be more aware of whether I am hungry or bored or what. I’ve not been hungry so I’ve managed not to have anything else to eat since breakfast. Which is good going for me!

That's great. I used to be terrible for eating when bored. I've found that if I spend a few minutes logging the snack I fancy on the app, I can distract myself enough to not eat it. Helps if what I fancy scores poorly!

@ErrolTheDragon the bread I make is similar to this:

I used to make this years ago - it is delicious & easy to make. I will start making it again.

I'm finding Zoe meals very easy - its a very natural way for me to cook & eat. My minimum daily score since I've been "on plan" is 73. I'm hitting 30 plants a week without any effort.

The issues I am having are:
I eat too much volume - but I'm playing along not focusing on calories and just maintaining the zoe way of eating for now.

I am realising how strong the post dinner call to snack is inside me. So I'm focusing on not responding to that.
I need time/space etc to prepare each meal. I usually have leftovers from dinner for lunch. Its going great 2 weeks in but I need to keep this up for a long period of time & its the consistancy that worries me.
My eating window could do with refining.

I need to find a couple of really quick "I need to eat NOW" meals for those moments when I'm not so organised.

Sadly I am the heaviest I have ever been at need to lose at least 30 kilos.

That's odd, in the app your message has nothing after the colon, @hippospot , but as @TheClitterati was able to see something to respond to I had a look in the browser where the link and photo are visible.
That recipe or one like it is in Zoë I think? It looks good but not much like 'bread'!

Are any supermarkets likely to stock the psyllium husks (not something I've used before) or would I need to go to somewhere like Holland and Barrett for it?

Zoe has the receipt too.

I get psyllium husks from health food shop. H&B probably have them. Its the binder.

This was the OG recipe.

https://www.mynewroots.org/2013/02/the-life-changing-loaf-of-bread/

• THE LIFE-CHANGING LOAF OF BREADINGREDIENTS1 cup / 135g sunflower seeds
• ½ cup / 90g flax seeds
• ½ cup / 65g hazelnuts or almonds
• 1 ½ cups / 145g rolled oats
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• 4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husks 3 Tbsp. if using psyllium husk powder
• 1 tsp. fine grain sea salt add ½ tsp. if using coarse salt
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup for sugar-free diets, use a pinch of stevia
• 3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil or ghee
• 1 ½ cups / 350ml water
• INSTRUCTIONSIn a flexible, silicon loaf pan combine all dry ingredients, stirring well. Whisk maple syrup, oil and water together in a measuring cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick (if the dough is too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until the dough is manageable). Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight. To ensure the dough is ready, it should retain its shape even when you pull the sides of the loaf pan away from it it.
• Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.
• Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing (difficult, but important).
• Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days. Freezes well too – slice before freezing for quick and easy toast!

I need to find a couple of really quick "I need to eat NOW" meals for those moments when I'm not so organised.

I'm starting to get a few things in the freezer - the chickpea and lentil curry I made a couple of nights ago turned out enough for 4 portions (I quite like being able to assemble a recipe in Zoë, see how many calories the full thing ends up as and then decide the portions accordingly) . Two nights in a row is enough (dh is away) so the rest is frozen. Quite a bit/of soup stashed. Today was an easy lunch - half a can of Heinz five beanz with smoked paprika and chipotle Tabasco to liven it up, with an egg poached in it. Homemade oat flatbread, a bit of Flora and a satsuma came out at a score of 80.

I've never put in the sweetner and sometimes use olive oil.

half a can of Heinz five beanz with smoked paprika and chipotle Tabasco to liven it up, with an egg poached

sounds delicious. I'll get some of those beans. thx

I'm signed up and scheduled to start in February.

One question - I hate pulses. I'm not allergic, but there is something about the texture that makes me gag - nuts, beans, peas, lentils, the lot. All the suggested recipes that I've seen on this thread included pulses as a way of increasing the score. Will I struggle with this way of eating if I don't include pulses in my food choices?

@TheClitterati re: “I need to find a couple of really quick "I need to eat NOW" meals for those moments when I'm not so organised” I have a similar issue, especially on days when I have a lot of meetings and no leftovers”.

Today I had a quarter pouch of pre-prepared mixed wild rice from Lidl (heated in the microwave) which on its own scores a poor 46 for me. By adding chopped cucumber, tomato, olives, some feta and a handful of spinach I got it up to 60 which I’m content with given my breakfast score was 90. More importantly it took 5 minutes to prepare, tasted good and I feel full.

Exactly how various foods are scored is individual of course.

IME liking pulses, nuts and seeds makes it very easy to score highly which leaves more wiggle room for some lower scoring foods if you want them. But there should be plenty of other foods to choose from. E.g. I've found some chicken puttanesca in the freezer which scores 76 for me - the chicken is 50 ish for me but there's a lot of veg as well so the overall score is fine. If I have that with green veg it'll bump the score higher and then I can decide if there's enough leeway for brown pasta (below 50) or higher scoring pearl barley.

I’m taking time to get used to the app. I’m continuing logging it all on Nutracheck and it feels a bit faffy on Zoe. I guess I will enjoy it more when my results are in and I have scores.

I'm starting the Zoe experience in a few days time, but am a little anxious about the blood testing , as the instructions refer to a finger prick system and sample collection on a card. But I have received a blood sample tube to collect about half a ml. And some sort of collection device that I haven't unwrapped yet ( to keep it sterile). No info about where I take the blood sample from - and how. No response to my messages from Zoe. YouTube videos all refer to fingerprick test. Help !!

I got my box yesterday and the blood collection one had very detailed instructions on how to do the collection. I think you do it on the upper arm. You really need the instructions. Are you sure they aren't in the box somewhere?

Thanks for replying. Oops ! Yes, there is a leaflet in the box - didn't see that - think I'm flapping a bit.
Hope it's easy to do 🤞

I was in a bit of a flap when I got mine but I've decided to start next Friday so I can look at everything and be organised to start. I have a spa day booked this weekend and I really want to use the pool so not point starting too soon.

My blood sugar sensor fell off overnight! Day 11. Woke up and tried to scan it but it was gone. Found it in the bed. I guess that solves my unvoiced query of how to remove it.
The plaster came off (I had used both from the box as first one came off a week ago) during night, and I assume I then dislodged the sensor. Bit annoying as I wanted to experiment with flattening the curve.
Asked the chat function but just got a useless generic response that sometimes there are unforeseen issues.

I made a 'life changing loaf' today, having gone to Holland and barratt and bought some (expensive!) psyllium husk powder.
It's ok but tbh not as tasty as I'd expected - I didn't put any syrup or other sweetener in and maybe underdid the salt. Perhaps a bit of yeast extract would help another time? (another B&b purchase - I've only had marmite or Vegemite before, which are too salty for me to use in cooking for DH)

I was a bit nervous about the blood-sampling, but it was ok. It’s also the last thing you do at the end of the cookies/fasting, so I bribed myself with my first meal/junk.

I have started to use Sunday afternoons as my food prep time. It really helps me stick to my goals during the week. Am on holiday in five weeks and determined to break the next stone barrier.

I made one yesterday too - I found some very old psyllum husks I had here from when I used to make it years ago.

Had some for breakfast topped with avocado & tomato - very nice too. Fresh pesto would be good. I like it - I used to like it with pate. Now I will like it with other toppings.

Think of the receipe as a starting point. I have used different nuts seeds etc - as long as the proportions stay the same and you keep the oats/psyllum & flax seeds it will work.

Its not really bread though lets face it. More like those fancy crackers they charge a fortune for. I will experiment with double baking - baking again after slicing to make extra crunchy crackers.

I used to buy psyllum husks from one of those bulk bin stores but I've moved away from that now.

it scores 90 for me so I see a lot of it in my future.

I am trying to get my protein scores up and I'm hoping this loaf will help with that.

Double baking might help, but 'crackers'sounds like you managed to cut it quite thin.
I probably need to use this one with tastier toppings.

Has anyone lost weight? I’m currently sitting at 4lb more than I weighed before I started 😬

I’m going to have to keep an eye on the calories and fat that I’m eating. Today I’ve had 1600 cals and 75g fat. Is that a lot of fat for one day? Looking back at the last few weeks, my fat seems to vary between 60g and 100g.

I am so depressed about how I look just now, my belly is HUGE. I need to do something about it. I do a decent amount of exercise every week (a mix of Pilates, yoga, weights and walking) so it’s my diet I need to change.

I've lost three kilos since the start of January but I've only been eating between 12pm and 8pm, so I think it's cut down my calories a lot and I don't have time for snacking, which I did a lot after 8pm. Interestingly, I no longer have acid reflux. I guess that must have been from fatty foods later at night.

I've also lost 3kg but I think that might have something to do with Dry January as well as cutting out sugar. My fat intake is higher than I expected but I'm eating far more nuts and seeds than ever before, as well as Greek yoghurt rather than fat free. I feel a lot healthier for it and my skin is certainly better, so I'm going to trust the process for a bit longer. If I start to put weight back on I'll have a rethink 😁