Habit Nutrition: An Honest, Unbiased Opinion

Back in March, I got my results from Habit— a company that analyzes your blood and DNA to create a personalized nutrition plan for weight-loss and/or overall health.

I heard of it through a commercial, and paid for it with my own money, so I figured I would share my experience so that if you are considering trying it for yourself, you can know exactly what you’ll be getting! (This post is in no way sponsored, so I swear this is my own opinion)

The Cost:

$299

I got mine on sale at the beginning of the year when they were running a “New Year’s Resolution” kind of deal. So I actually got mine for $199. I consider both of those prices to be a little steep; however, you can pay for it with your Heath Savings Account (HSA), if you have one. My employer gives me a lot of free $$$ in my HSA every year, so that is essentially how I justified it.

The testing:

First of all, once you get your test, mark a day on your calendar when you can do it where you have absolutely nothing planned for the morning and early afternoon. The test takes about 2.5-3 hours and you have to fast prior, so just wake up decently early and get it over with on a Saturday or Sunday.

You’ll open your box to find yet another box and a shake. Go ahead and put the shake in the refrigerator. You’ll thank me later.

Go to bed.

Wake up.

Good morning! Ready for testing? Good! Hungry? Wonderful. There’s a chilly 950 calorie “meal replacement shake” that you will be chugging shortly. But let us not get ahead of ourselves.

Open up the box within the box. Thankfully, this test has incredibly clear instructions, as well as an interactive website that moves along with you as you go through the testing. It has actually great directions.

You’ll turn the first page in your fancy box to find a tape measure and some DNA swabs. You’ll enter some basic measurements into the website and then swab your cheeks for your DNA (they walk you through exactly how to do it with videos).

Then, you’ll turn the next page and get your first blood sample. This part horrified me, and I initially thought I was going to have my husband prick my finger for me. You would think that being a nurse and all, with as many fingers that I prick a day, that I would be unfazed.

You would be incorrect.

Once you prick your finger, you have to get a pretty decent amount of blood onto a card. Not going to lie, I totally screwed up the first one, but luckily they give you some extra supplies!

One blood prick done, two to go! Next is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Food!

According to Habit, the shake is a “metabolic challenge” meal and is nutritionally equal to a large American breakfast. They must be talking about a breakfast buffet in Las Vegas because this sucker has 61 grams of fat, 26 grams of saturated fat (THE BAD KIND), and 75 GRAMS OF SUGAR.

The point is to see how your blood results will respond to fats, proteins, and carbs so that they can tailor a diet plan to best fit you.

Basically you have to chug this shake that tastes like melted lard mixed with 62 packets of sweet & low in the name of health (it will feel contradictory). The first sip isn’t so bad, but then you realize that you have to drink the whole thing in 5 minutes and the thought of that starts to gross you out.

Once you down it like a champ, you take another blood sample after 30 minutes.

Then you sit on the couch and think about all of the calories you consumed for another 90 minutes before you take another blood sample. Plus the shake just makes you feel horrible.

But that’s it! You send off all of your DNA and blood samples in the included pre-paid, pre-labeled bag, and await your results.

The Results:

First of all, I took the test on January 20th, and was emailed my results on March 7th. So there is a bit of time that it takes for them to process your results.

Once you get them, you can view them on your app, or the website.

They break down everything tested in your blood like your fasting blood sugar, triglycerides, cholesterol, etc. as well as your sugar and triglycerides at the intervals after you chugged the shake of doom.

Next, it breaks down a number of genes analyzed in your DNA.

I came back positive for two obesity genes, which was extremely alarming!

I also came back positive for a caffeine sensitivity gene. This was essentially my worst nightmare imagined.

Back in college, I used to drink around five cups of coffee a day. I don’t drink that much these days, but I still rely on 1-2 cups a day.

One study says:

“Among slow-metabolizers, those who drank two or more cups of coffee daily were at least 36 percent more likely to have a nonfatal heart attack than those who drank little or no coffee. Even higher risks were found for younger slow metabolizers — those under 50. They were up to four times more likely to have a heart attack than slow metabolizers in their age group who drank little or no coffee.”

Yeah so that terrified me. Since finding out my results, I’ve tried to switch to half-caff coffee and green tea. It’s been hard, but I have felt better!

There are a number of other genes that I was tested for. It’s actually really interesting information, and some of it actually really explained some health issues I have had in the past.

Basically, Habit takes all of the information, your measurements (BMI), your blood tests, and your DNA and formulates the best diet for you. Mine is to be high carb, high fat, and moderate protein. I thought this was actually very interesting and not exactly what I expected to hear!

It also recommends how a certain amount of nutrients, what your ideal plate should look like, and your “hero foods” (aka the best, most nutrient packed foods that you need).

I have been trying to follow the plan as much as possible and definitely make a point to incorporate more of the “hero foods” into my everyday diet.

I haven’t necessarily lost any weight doing this but I’m also a normal weight to begin with (actually closer to the low end of “normal” with my BMI), so I didn’t really expect to lose too much. I do feel healthier though and feel like I have more energy when I adhere to their recommendations. Maybe it’s a bit in my head, but maybe it’s real. I’m going to be an optimist and believe that it is the latter.

Either way, I recommend the experience if you’re looking to change your diet, potentially lose weight, and have more overall energy. Because as we know, exercise is important, but if your diet sucks, you won’t see much of a change. If you look at all of the diets out there, and have no idea which is best for you or where to start, this is a cool way to kind of have one tailored for you without having to go to a doctor for blood and DNA tests, or having to meet (and pay for a nutritionist). In the end, not every diet is healthiest for everyone, but at least this one you know is made for you.