MY PLACE – POETRY , AFFIRMATIONS & MORE

Arggggg Still struggling ..ugh!

So here we go!. I think it’s important to provide some insight & personal reflection on this new metabolic device that I had recently purchased.

I call the Lumen device my accountability tool ; as it seems like all this tool is actually doing for me at this time is reading a printout of my current metabolism, and not that much more.

It’s been just over  two months since I began blowing in the lumen and started as recommended the “eating every day lifestyle”.

I say eating everyday because I typically practice (ADF) alternate day fasting, a lifestyle I followed for approximately just under 5 years; a lifestyle which directly followed my 3year keto journey and low carb lifestyle. So eating every single day for these last couple months is quite a change for me,  as I haven’t done that for many years.

Just in case anyone’s curious. Yes I have gained approximately 2lbs more, that’s not so bad considering I usually don’t eat everyday , and not so bad as I am trying to follow the Lumen guidelines.

Truth is , I purchased the Lumen on a whim ( like most things in my life). And it actually caught me off guard a little bit with the cost as it turned out to be much more expensive in CAD than I would’ve liked. 

The Lumen also comes with an app in the form of a monthly membership ( I just received my bill and it’s approximately $26 Canadian a month, again more than I would like to pay).

I really believed upon purchase that this app part of Lumen( the plan basically) was optional, however, it turns out it’s Lumen recently changed their rules and the membership is no longer optional and you cannot opt out of the app support. It’s now a must have to go with the device or else the device is basically redundant.

So as it’s too late for me now, I would suggest reading all the fine prints before you invest.

On the day I purchased the Lumen device; my overly excited pointer finger punched that purchase button so fast I didn’t even realize at first that the product was offered from a US site, and a few minutes later I realized that the exchange rate would have me paying a much higher cost than I initially thought.
Even then when I realized the cost was in the U.S.funds, I was still curious and excited about the Lumen thinking that it was somehow a ketone reader. 

I knew the cost would come through on my credit card soon enough and I would have to look at it; however, for now I soothed myself by saying that it’s okay to treat myself with the money that brother had given me for Christmas. 

I have great hopes that this Lumen device would assist me with my health journey, yet 2 months later, I’m still not so quite sure of that.

The idea of an additional tool/device in my life was not really something I was looking forward to, however with that being said, I was still super hopeful that this device would give me some answers, answers to why my metabolism is such a jerk.

Every morning I blow into this little device and with the combination of the paid app, of course , it gives me a reading that provides me details of how my metabolism is operating and “tells me” if I’m in fat burning, sugar burning or a mixture of both. The numerical value on the breath reading represents where my metabolic system is at that time and based on your morning reading, the Lumen identifies which macros would work best for you and whether it’s a low carb, high carb or a boost day, which is super duper high carb day .

As a person who is definitely insulin resistant, I only realized after I purchased the Lumen, that it was not a ketone reader, but instead a metabolic reader.  I was still very excited for the first month to see whether or not I had a flexible metabolism.

In some ways Ive learned to absolutely love Lumen because it is 100% accurate in telling me that I am not in fat burning and when I am in fat storage mode.. and of course, most people who have been following the keto diet or low carb diet also can tell when you are probably not burning fat because of your consumption of food, however, what I find very helpful is that being a keto low carb lifestyle person for almost 8 years, I always wondered how long it would take me to get back into ketosis once I stopped eating sugar or once I had a better day that was more low carb or healthy.

The Lumen device really surprised me in learning about my own metabolic flexibility, and I truly believe that the numbers and readings that it provides are 100% accurate.

There are many, many people who have been using the Lumen for many years to help them with their weight loss goals, metabolic flexibility and just overall health. I do believe that it provides all of these features and it’s not a weight loss tool. It’s just a reader that provides you with insight on what’s going on with your body and for sure I have learned a lot in the last 2 months.

But I also learned that my body is still very different from other people and even though I may be following the macros correctly according to their Lumen when it comes to protein and fat, I certainly can’t always eat the amount of carbs that it suggests because I know I’m insulin resistant. Some people may have a metabolic flexibility that when they are high in flexibility they can still burn fat easily, but because I’m insulin resistant it seems that my fat burning is not that easy and that in order for me to burn fat, I still need to stay either keto or really not eat anything after 4:00 p.m.

The end of the story of this story is that I do believe the Lumen is extremely helpful to my overall understanding of what’s going on in my body,  which I really love.  I’m also not regretful that I purchased this device , which turned out to be over $200 CAD. However I am  pretty pissed about the fact that I have to pay $26 a month just to get a reading from this device. I’m going to do a little bit more research but I understand that it can’t be used without the app and it’s not really fair. If you already know what those numbers represent when you blow into the Lumen device, to continue to pay for the membership ongoing is really not really that inspiring, and I actually feel mad about it.

If you know that you’re blowing high numbers and you’re not in fat burning then naturally you would just reduce your carbs for the next few days until you blow a low reading,  therefore not needing the app to consistently tell you what to eat because it’s based on the reading. Eating low carb usually means that you will blow a high fat burn and a high score means that you are not burning anything… Pretty simple science. 

However even with knowing the science and how the Lumen works and how it can work for me without this app,  I am still forced to be paying over $300 annually to use this app. And of course I’m going to have to keep investing in it for a little while because I paid close to that cost alone just for the Lumen device.

Knowledge is power but reading to fine prints is also important.

Written by

Corrina