Hi, I am Bobette, and I live in St. Louis, Missouri, in the USA.
This is my story of how (and why) I optimised my nutrition to score a perfect diet quality score of 100%.
What is your why?
I started this wellness journey after committing to improving my well-being and health. Even before transitioning to a healthier lifestyle, many foods caused inflammation in my system or were IBS triggers, so my diet is limited in many ways.
I wanted to see if I could get all nutrients from food and still feel well, and if not, which supplements should I take, and which would be a waste of money?
How did you find optimising nutrition?
I found Optimising Nutrition when one of its members mentioned it in a CGM Facebook group we both belonged to. I started my journey with Optimising Nutrition by joining the free community.
After a couple of months, I eventually signed on for my first Macros Masterclass. My first Macros brought me considerable joy and success, so I became a lifetime member. I’ve also done Data-Driven Fasting, but my personal favourite is the Micros Masterclass.
What approaches have you tried in the past?
Because my family history has a lot of hereditary diseases, I’ve always been concerned about health but didn’t always know what to do about it. It’s been quite a journey trying to put all the pieces together.
Weight Watchers
In the past, I’ve had weight loss success with Weight Watchers (WW). I soon reached my goal weight (at the time) on this program and became a lifetime member, but I made myself sick doing it.
The WW eating philosophy—eating anything you want if you keep your points low enough—was unsuitable for my health. I didn’t know what was happening with my health then. It took me many years to figure out how many foods I ate triggered food intolerances, sensitivities, and IBS.
Nutritionist
I later went to a nutritionist, who focused on more healthy foods and possible genetic reasons for my poor health. He tested for the MTHFR gene mutation, and we discovered I have a compound heterogeneous polymorphism. This means I have an impairment in the two most essential SNPs that make up that gene. MTHFR is important to methylation, the ongoing detoxification in the body. This causes a build of toxins in my system and trigger various conditions.
The nutritionist was a tremendous help as he guided me toward better food choices and whole-food supplements to help support my genetic shortfalls. Over time, however, I still gained weight. And the supplements were very expensive. Plus, every ounce lost was a struggle when I was losing weight.
Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)
Finally, I noticed my blood sugar was not behaving as it was creeping higher.
I was not (yet) diabetic, but there is an extensive family history on both my mom’s and dad’s sides. Additionally, I had not eaten the foods that most ‘experts’ warn us about in many years – processed flour, added sugars, fast-acting carbs, etc. I became so frustrated I decided to begin wearing a CGM.
I had an epiphany as soon as I saw my glucose response to food. So many “healthy” foods were spiking my glucose and causing symptoms. These symptoms, which were causing lifestyle issues such as tinnitus and light-headedness, went away when I limited the culprits. My weight also began to come down.
Even though I was having some success, the CGM was expensive and inconvenient. Additionally, the program that I was following at the time tended to focus on ‘blood sugar hacks’ and did not accommodate my dietary restrictions. I wanted a solution with a better and more flexible nutritional foundation.
Pieces of the puzzle were still missing for me.
How has your journey with Optimising Nutrition been different?
Optimising Nutrition solves the entire puzzle, not only bits and pieces. Unlike the other options I tried, Marty Kendall has developed a long-term approach that lets me easily adjust to my dietary limitations and personality and gives hands-on guidance for improving my metabolism. And the amount of research and material available is mind-blowing.
Consequently, I could start where I feel most comfortable and progress at my own pace. Best of all, this is not a “one size fits all” approach. Analytical me, for example, gravitated toward the Macros Masterclass and Micros Masterclass. Meanwhile, Muffy, who’s also had tremendous success with the program, is more intuitive and focused on Data-Driven Fasting. We were both able to craft our journey to success while accommodating personalities and lifestyles.
What positive changes did you see?
To steal a term from Belinda and say, “My energy levels went from dead slug to human!”
Like her, I became much more energetic. I can function through whole days now with less rest. In fact, after completing the Micros Masterclass, I became interested in doing maintenance and updates around the house.
After years of having no energy to do much beyond the basics, I’ve painted the bedroom and bathroom and begun a room-by-room reorganisation. The bouts of exhaustion that plagued me are far less frequent now.
I can also function longer with less pain. I have fibromyalgia, where my back, neck, and feet suddenly begin hurting, so that if I do not stop, I end up in bed for many hours. I can function longer now before that pain starts.
Finally, I have better understood how different foods affect my condition. I discovered foods are more intricately connected to some symptoms than I had previously thought. By focusing on nutrition, I’ve understood cause and effect and avoided “symptom avalanche,” as one symptom triggers the next, and so forth.
What did you learn?
Soon after the Micros Masterclass began, I started noticing how many ‘superfoods’ we think are good sources of a particular vitamin or mineral provide a very small per cent of our daily requirements (let alone what our bodies need to function optimally).
Common knowledge is sometimes not so knowledgeable, and ‘hearing it through the grapevine’—or, in this case, Healthline—isn’t so accurate. Thus, it pays to check for oneself. Teaching Optimisers in the Masterclasses how to combine Cronometer and the guidance of Nutrient Optimiser to really dial in my macros and micros has been invaluable.
My weight loss stalled for a couple of months, which was frustrating. The Micros Masterclass helped me lose a few more pounds, and I quickly reached my preliminary goal weight. However, I decided to move my goal five pounds lower. While my blood pressure and energy levels have improved, my biometrics aren’t quite where they need to be yet, so I know I still need to lose a little more weight.
What was your favourite part of your so far?
My favourite part of my journey to date was the process of optimising my nutrition at the micronutrient level in the Micros Masterclass. Here, I enjoyed solving the puzzle of mixing different foods to see how close I could get my Diet Quality Score to 100%.
I was amazed I could reach it most days during the final week, too! You can see it on my graph below towards the class’s end.
It’s impossible to unsee what you learn in the Micros Masterclass — you’ll always look at your food through the lens of the nutrients it will give you.
Did You Have A Specific Approach Throughout the Challenges?
My approach throughout these challenges involved eating a variety of proteins and non-starchy vegetables at each meal.
Instead of following or creating recipes, I found it was easier to improve my diet quality score by eating small portions of several different foods and piling them all onto one plate. In practice, this looked like an ounce of chicken liver, lamb liver, pork loin chop, beef sirloin, and an array of nutrient-dense vegetables. Each food added different nutrients to my diet while keeping energy from fat and carbs in check.
This personalised approach allows people to fine-tune their diet, regardless of their needs and preferences. After decades of trying different diets, I found my short list of foods I needed to get the proper nutritional support without supplements or fortification while also considering my health conditions.
When striving to reach 100%, a daily serving of sockeye salmon was a must, as well as red bell peppers, sunflower seeds, spinach, and eggshell powder. I was also pleasantly surprised that I could eat more protein daily without disrupting my digestion.
As you might have guessed, this made for some ‘interesting’ meals, some of which are shown below!
The Micros Masterclass was more of a time commitment for me than the other two classes, but this was by choice. In addition to planning and journaling, I even created my own spreadsheets. Aside from that extra analysis, I spent 2-3 hours each week planning, shopping, cooking proteins, and cutting produce. The tracking itself only took a few minutes each day.
Do You Have Any Goals You’re Shooting For?
My next step will be the Macros Masterclass. The first time through, I adjusted my diet to ensure I was getting enough protein while staying within my recommended energy limit.
So, this time, I will focus on understanding some of my persistent symptoms, like tinnitus and head pressure, that may be related to specific foods and swift blood sugar fluctuations.
Aside from starting another round of masterclasses, I plan on beginning short workouts with light weights, too. While I lifted weights for many years, it resulted in exhausted adrenal glands and a lot of pain from fibromyalgia.
I’m ready to ease into some resistance to gain lean muscle mass. My final goal is to work toward losing a pound or two of the last five pounds of excess body fat I’d like to lose.
What Advice Would You Give to Someone Just Starting?
If you’re starting, I’d recommend focusing on incremental improvements instead of jumping head-first into all the changes. Improving your health and lifestyle in a sustainable way is a gradual, long-term process that can backfire if you try too hard.
At first, the apps are a mystery and a little intimidating! But Marty walks us through the process, and it becomes easier to explore the different functions. So, take it one day at a time and use his help and the moderators’ help!
Read the new lesson each day, and follow the prompts found there. If you feel like you can do a little more, then explore! But don’t let it overwhelm you. You can always revisit the material, do another challenge, or introduce something that was too much later.
Each time through, you know more, have come a little further, and can take the following steps toward your optimal personal health!
If you’re ready to take back your health and make progress on your goals, sign up today! Our Welcome checklist will help you navigate the free resources and courses.
Join Bobette and our community of Optimisers who are changing their health one day at a time. See you on the other side!