Why we’re starting Guut, a personal story.
When you’re building a new company the advice is to go and solve a personal problem. Well, I can assure you this problem has been a struggle. I started to dig deeper a couple of years ago after a severe incident. And that’s how it typically goes. We have to experience something life changing before we take action.
Five years ago, I suffered from regular migraine attacks. I had put on a lot of weight but didn’t connect the dots. At the time, I combined a tech startup job with a nightlife DJ gig. Meaning, eating unhealthy, not sleeping enough and drinking heavy at the weekends. In 2013, after the end of the year shenanigans, my body collapsed. It took more than four weeks to recover, but I was determined to change my ways.
Adherence
The obvious choice was to start working out. To prevent injuries and learn from the best, I enrolled in a personal training center. It helped me to adhere to the gym sessions, but I didn’t transform the way I had hoped. To improve, I needed to adjust my nutrition and sleep patterns too. That proved to be the biggest challenge. Once you start looking for nutritional advice, it’s unbelievable how much conflicting information one finds.
I literally tried every diet you can imagine. Dukan (who remembers the Dr.?), high protein, Tim Ferris’s slow carb, Paleo, Intermittent Fasting, Keto, even Carnivore (which is absolutely ridiculous). What I noticed is that these diets provided short term benefits, yet most of them did not produce long term gains. The main reason for this is the adherence to these diets usually requires a big change in your lifestyle. Try to combine an intense social life with intermitted fasting, or keto. It’s difficult for most of us, and certainly for me.
Mister quantified self
Looking for more science-based answers, I consulted physicians specialized in bloodwork and hormonal treatments. They advised a whole range of expensive supplements and treatments, but nothing really stuck with me. The doctors don’t provide you with a how-to, and most certainly don’t follow up.
I tried new methods such as DNA testing. That turned out to be a disappointment as in the EU the health reports are locked. Even when I linked my data to local DNA platforms, it made things more complicated and confusing. Additionally, I enrolled in a multitude of diet and weight loss apps. From tracking steps to logging meals to actual coaching platforms, I was mister quantified-self. Despite all my goodwill, after a while, I disregarded the notifications or even deleted the apps. Again the adherence proved to be an issue.
Old habits
None of the methods or programs I tried took into consideration who I am. What lifestyle I led was not acknowledged. How I set my goals did not matter. You want to lose 30 pounds or 15kg’s? OK, here’s your meal plan. What I learned over the years as a sales director and coach is that ‘setting goals’ is a skill. When you set ambitious goals, you have to live ambitious too. If you’re too ambitious, you risk never reaching a goal at all and easily default to bad habits. Asking why you are setting goals is often overlooked. It’s hard to solve this problem just with an online program or an app. This is where Guut comes in to play.
A different route
At Guut, we’re developing a program that takes into account the context of your life. By acknowledging your characteristics and lifestyle, we help to define objectives that are measurable and linked to a positive outcome. We focus on higher energy, increased focus, better sleep and balancing stress. Together with you, we develop a system that works for the long term.
We just launched the v1 of our website. Take a look and tell us what you think.
We embrace technology, science-backed research and focus on the best experience you’ve had with a coach. We are devoted to helping you succeed. Clearly, we can’t do this alone. Are you a trained dietician, nutritionist, physician or food scientist? We’re looking for a nutrition scientist and many other positions to join us. It’s time to get off the scale and focus on what’s Guut for us!
