Nutrition Adventures with Zoe
ZOE
I'm an absolute geek (🤓) when it comes to health, technology, and data. From gadgets and apps to wearables, I live and breathe the tech life. So, imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon Zoe – a health science company conducting the world's most extensive nutrition study. I was absolutely intrigued and, upon further research, discovered that this innovative platform examines blood glucose, blood fat, and overall microbiome health. What also sets Zoe apart is its capacity to furnish a nutrition score and offer personalized insights & scientific advice based on your test results. Well, golly gosh, sign me up!
A few months later, I received my Zoe testing kit and gleefully unboxed the items: Breakfast muffins ✅, lunch muffins ✅, a continuous blood glucose monitor (CGM) ✅, a finger pricker with return packaging ✅ & a stool collection kit with return packaging ✅.
Now, all I had to do was select a kick-off date and apply my CGM.
CONFESSION TIME
Needles and I are not friends - to put it mildly 😳 - so the notion of applying the monitor onto my arm did not exactly spark joy. Yet, witnessing my husband effortlessly handle the process had me summoning my courage, pulling up my metaphorical big girl panties, closing my eyes, and starting the countdown to application. 3, 2, 1 and… Hold on, was that it 🫣?
Well, that was surprisingly anticlimactic. The application turned out to be a breeze and virtually pain-free. Color me impressed! With my CGM securely in place and operational, I was all set to embark on my first real test the following morning.
It's worth noting that as soon as you purchase Zoe, you have access to their app. The app is a powerhouse, equipped with pre-testing tutorials, calendarized goals & events, testing guidelines, and a nifty daily task tracker. Delivered daily, the app also provides engaging content and bite-sized lessons skillfully demystifying the logic, rationale, and science behind each testing phase.
MUFFIN MAYHEM
Of all tests lined up over the following weeks, eating the Zoe muffins emerged as the least appetizing challenge. Why, you ask? Well, these weren't your average baked goods, and instead, each had a very specific purpose, enjoyment not being one of them. The breakfast muffins were like secret agents testing my blood fat response, and the lunch muffins were on a mission to check my blood sugar.
Wooh wee, I have never struggled eating a muffin before, but these were a bit tough to swallow. But, you know, all in the name of science 🤷🏽♀️. With the muffin mission accomplished and one small finger prick later, it was on to the next challenge - the gut microbiome test.
OH POOP 💩!
Without going into too much detail 🤭, this seriously wasn't as crappy as it sounds. Guided by my trusty Zoe app, the included instructions, and a relatively quick bathroom "poop" stop (I mean "pit" stop), my sample was boxed up and on its way to the testing lab. Despite some reservations, due to a recent tapas-and-Aperol-Spritz-fueled trip to Barcelona, I was genuinely curious about the state of my gut microbiome.
FOOD, FOOD & MORE FOOD
The subsequent 2 weeks were filled with a variety of food challenges, each designed to test blood sugar responsiveness. It was eye-opening to see that eating a piece of white bread or drinking a glass of wine completely wreaked havoc on my blood sugar response. While munching on nuts or some avocado had minimal to no impact - fascinating!
All of this data was diligently recorded by my CGM and logged into the Zoe app through my daily food diary. Time flew by, and I learned so much about food sequencing and combining that the thought of removing the CGM felt like saying goodbye to a good friend. But alas, with the testing phase officially over, I removed my monitor and now all I had to do was wait for my results.
THE RESULTS ARE IN!
A few weeks later, I received my personalized Zoe scores, and I have to say that I was pretty chuffed. My overall diet score and microbiome scores were impressive, and my blood fat response was stellar. However, my blood sugar control score was absolutely awful 😭! The silver lining? Based on these results, Zoe offers a comprehensive "diet assessment" score and, through its app, serving up tailored food recommendations, pairings, and meal plans based on my body's unique reactions.
50 PLANTS x ONE DAY
What stood out during this adventure was just how crucial a diverse diet is for a happy gut microbiome health. Zoe suggested a goal of 30 different plants per week, but guess what? My daily food diary in the app revealed that I was already surpassing this goal like a champ! So, when I was creating goals for my 50 x 50 challenges, I thought why not 'Take it up a notch' and aim for 50 plants… in one day!
Armed with a colorful array of fruit, veg, and herbs from the local farmer's market, I was ready to dive fork-first into this challenge 🥗. I won't bore you too much with the nitty-gritty, but let's say micro greens, pumpkin, beets, and peppers became my plant heroes.
Needless to say that with a tiny bit of meal planning I nailed this challenge! And here's a fun tidbit: a chopped salad isn't just a salad but the perfect canvas to weave in a plethora of plant goodness into a single meal!
#thisis49 #50x50 #50x50challenges #zoe