diets

The Zone really works! I was always a thin child and as an adult have never really learned how to maintain my weight. At the rate of a pound or two most every year, over a period of 20 or so years I found myself in a size 16 in my mid 40's. My energy level was low, clothes didn't fit right and I felt really out of control. I tried dieting but the awful cravings I'd get caused me to reach for something sweet and give up after a day or two. When my husband brought home a copy of the Zone, I opened it up and started reading. The book is educational and approaches eating and nutrition more from an overall health perspective, rather than as a fad diet. I decided to give it a try. Yesterday I went shopping for some new suits as I'm now 25 lbs lighter. I found I now fit beautifully into a size 10! I look better, have a much higher energy level and, the best part is, I know I can eat this way the rest of my life. I've finally learned how to maintain my weight! You can't imagine how good that feels.

My tips for the Zone are: Don't worry about eating exactly Zone perfect! For me I now know which foods are good and which are high carb and I know about how many calories and grams are in the foods I eat most of the time. Since I need about 3 to 4 zone blocks for each of the meals and a small snack at 5:00, I just know that means 27 grams of carbs and 21 protein grams. The fat grams come in many of the meals I buy (such as a little dressing on the salad), but if they don't I eat a few almonds.

I recommend this book for everyone. It could change your life.

The system MIGHT work for you. There is no plan which is right for everyone, regardless of what the author tells you.

The zone tends to work for athletes who have large enough protein requirements that they will get sufficient calories under the diet formulas prescribed here.

For most people who are sedentary or only moderately active, this plan is simply not sustainable in the long run. It's just not possible to count your proteins at every meal and ensure the ideal fat:protein:carb ratio. Plus if you are sedentary, this plan results in calorie deprivation and you will be HUNGRY!

Even the biggest supporting reviewer here reported "weight fluctuation" and "intense carb cravings" on this plan. Huh?! Few people have the willpower to live with the latter in the long run.

This system encourages you to focus on the macro-ingredients in your diet (fat, protein, carbs) at the expense of the micro ingredients (vitamins, minerals, essential fats).

This book has interesting info but the plan just won't work for most people in the long rung. Look for a system which lets you make long term sustainable changes or accept that when you get off this plan you will gain back all the weight you lost and probably a bit more.

If you plan to buy only one diet book, skip this one. If you are building a fitness library then include this in your collection along side Atkins, Eat Right 4 Your Type and all the other popular diet plans out there. Knowing more doesn't hurt - just apply healthy scepticism to all diet "gospel."

"The Zone" is a good instructional manual for people who have extremely poor diets, but for the average person with a modicum of common sense, it's quite useless. This is the first diet "manual" I've read and no doubt it will be my last. I picked up a lot of good information reading "The Zone," and indeed, I did loose three pounds in about three weeks. Many of the recipes are tasty - if you have an hour to cut up eight cups of fresh broccolli, that is. But counting out the various "blocks" took an inordinate amount of time and energy from my already busy schedule. Once I replaced the time I spent planning Zone menus, grocery shopping, prepping my meals, and other minutiae with daily cardio exercise, *that's* when I started to notice results! Now I just follow a simple routine of limiting my caloric intake. One thing that was very misleading about "The Zone" is that the authors claim that the dieter should not feel hungry. Not so. Make no mistake: this diet hinges on portion control and calorie counting, and I, like many people I know who are on the Zone diet, was famished beyond belief, particularly during the first two weeks. Bottom line is, if one is healthy and fit, nixing carbs from your diet doesn't matter, 'cause ultimately, it's about how many calories you put in your body and how many you work off.