Welcome newcomers! To add to this "set" of messages, hit "New Reply," NOT "New Thread." It's confusing at first, but you'll get the hang of it!

I started "Zoning" a couple weeks ago and have been utterly amazed by the results! Within three days I felt like a totally different person! I had energy, was sleeping better, and am not hungry at all any more.

It's hard to tell about the weight thing - I'm much more interested in how I look and feel! - but I did notice the scales have dropped a couple pounds. The big difference is that I'm not all bloated anymore, so I definitely look thinner.

I started the Zone because of its reported advantages for hypothyroidism. I totally agree with that recommendation!

Post your questions & comments here; let's keep this thread going!

I would like to further investigate the zone diet. I also have a underactive thyroid and have read this is a great diet for hypo people. I have read alot of info but can't really figure out how to do this. How many blocks to you eat a day? How do you eat these? And could someone give me a example of your daily diet. I am sorryy to ask so many questions but I need help.

Thanks

Thre's no such thing as asking too many questions!!

At first The Zone seemed VERY complex and confusing. That's actually why I dismissed it nearly a year ago when I first checked it out.

MOST people find it "too confusing," which is why he has re-written several versions of it. The most helpful by far for me was "A Week in the Zone," a very short paperback that just lays out the basics. "Mastering the Zone" goes into more detail about why the Zone works, but I'd highly suggest starting with "A Week" I carry it in my purse & it made everything seem very easy!

Actually, The Zone is VERY easy to follow! It only took me 2 days to get to the point where I didn't have to look anything up!

The "Blocks" idea didn't register at first, but very quickly makes a LOT of sense & makes the Zone easy to figure. How many blocks you need depends on your size.

Go to Zoneperfect.com and ZoneHome.com and Zoneful Thinking Between these sites, you can find all the info you need to get started! ZoneHome is pretty cool. ZonePerfect is the official Zone website & is more confusing to use.

Here's a shortcut to figuring blocks:
ZonePerfect Analysis OR Zone Thinking Analysis

Good luck!

I am thinking about trying the zone right now i am on ww. i was reading the old post and some were saying there were combining the the zone with ww can someone tell me how you do that?

can you also tell me how to start the zone i don;t have the book right now and i am unable to drive because i just had surgery but I would like to start and lose weight.

If anyone can help me i would appreciate it.

ncmom - check the websites I mentioned in the psot right above yours...they will supply you with all the necessary info to get started!

Good luck!

Hi Zone-ettes,

Well it's Week 6 of being laid off and it's REALLY starting to get to me. My redeployment ends next week, and then I have to start living off my severance, which I really didn't want to do. But there are no immediate prospects for a new job, even though I've certainly been out there applying and attending career fairs, informational interviews, etc. I've always been very dedicated to my career and not going to work every day is a real source of stress for me. I know it probably sounds weird to some people,
but I miss the 8-5!! I even miss the business trips, can you believe it?

What does this have to do with the Zone? Well, feeling sorry for myself and being in the house all day, I've had a horrible time with my diet. I recently recognized this and so I've made more of an effort to get out for at least a few hours a day. I don't think I've lost any weight at all. On the upside, I have been exercising at least 3x a week, but usually 5.

Wanted to second Liz's endorsement of the "Week in the Zone"
book. I recently picked it up at Borders and carry it with me. It's great and explains the program in a nutshell.

Well, better get going. I'm off to the gym and then to my old office, to start packing up my cubicle.

TTYL
Sabrina

Hi Everyone.
I had been in Atlanta for almost 3 weeks and just returned on Wed. I had to go to help take care of my mother who has been ill.
Needless to say, I wasn't in the zone while I was gone. Fortunately, I held my own and hope to get back into the zone again soon.
Sabrina, I am sorry to hear you were laid off. I can't imagine how frustating it must be to be out there pounding the pavement. I remember how dedicated you were and the long hours you had put in the job,too. They just don't care anymore do they?
I hope everyone has a nice weekend.
Maureen

Hi everyone. I just ordered the zone book, having been motivated by your post. I should have it by next week. I hope you don't mind if I post with questions as it looks a bit difficult. I've also downloaded several things from the sites recommended that I think will help with my journey. Well that's all for now, just wanted to say hi. So, hi.

I just want to give my endorsement to the Zone. I lost 50 pounds in 8 months on the Zone a couple of years ago (from 215 to 165). It was the most successful diet I've ever used, very little hunger or craving. It really is a moderate, sensible way to eat. My cholesterol had been in High Risk range. Six weeks in the Zone lowered my cholesterol to the Lowest Risk range. My doctor could hardly believe it because I had only lost 16 pounds, and she had said it was unlikely that I would have seen any change yet.

Dr. Sears encourages you to modify the plan within reason to make it work for your body. I actually do better with slightly fewer carbs than he recommends per meal. I also had to up my number of blocks occasionally, probably because I was becoming more active.

I failed to maintain because I slowly let myself slip consistently out of the Zone. I hit 190 and was able to hold there for 7 months. Then I had some medical problems and eventually ballooned up to 240.

Controlled eating and fewer carbs got me down to 215 again and I decided to give the Atkins diet a try. But I lost control again when I got to 198 and I started to go crazy on the fat allowed. I needed portion control, too.

I am currently using Weight Watchers on line to help me with focus and portion control. However, I'm creating Zoneful meals with my points. In the first week I dropped from 223 to 215: 8 pounds, of which the bulk is probably water. But I probably dropped 2 or 3 pounds of fat (I hope). I have my second weigh in coming up on Wednesday.

Don't forget to drink lots of water -- fills you up, cleans you out, and helps everything work better. Very necessary on a higher protein diet.

Good morning everyone!
I'm now in my second week of zoning and I've already lost 2.5 pounds (despite TOM!). I'm really happy about that and the best thing is I feel really satisfied with what I'm eating. It's so much easier to feel full when you actually take the time to prepare something with real food than snack on cereal or low-fat cookies (like I used to do when I was simply counting calories). Anyway, I just wanted to share my success so far with you all because you were part of my inspiration to get started.
I also started exercising this week (40 min. on the elliptical trainer and starting with weights next week) so I'm hoping that I'll continue to get good results.
~Donna~

PS: Has anyone tried the new Balance Gold Caramel Nut Blast bar? It is to die for! It actually tastes like a real candy bar (somewhere between a Babe Ruth and a Milky Way). I highly recommend it--though it'll be hard to eat only one a day!

Hello Zoners,

Sounds like everyone is inspired. It is extremely hot here in Northern CA so not a lot of movement and working out. Just want to sit and eat popsicles!

Sabriana: It can be tough not working. Unfortunately our self worth gets tied up with the job. Plus work can really be an adrenline rush, so staying home gets old after a while.
Maureen: Hope your mother is doing better. This summer we are having an 80th birthday party bash for my Mom. I consider myself lucky as she is very healthy but things can change overnight.
Donna K: YES! I have discovered the Golden Nut Blast Balance bar. It is right up there with the Zone raspberry choc. bar. On work days that is my usual breakfast. I find them both very filling.
All you others: Keep up the great work on the zone.

My kids are all at camp this week so I am eating my all time favorite frozen entrees. I selected them based on the zone so it is a mix of WW, Healthy Choice and what ever else fits the profile. Think that I will do a nice walk tonight once it cools off. We don't have airconditioning here so when it gets over 90 degrees the house becomes oven like.

Good luck everyone.

Hi everyone. I'm new to the board. I'm not zoning as yet, but I sent for the book and have been reading all the post. I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kathy and I have over 100lb's to lose. I expect to read and lurk frequently, and ask a lot of questions. I hope you don't mind. The zone sounds interesting and what I've been looking for, but from what I've read, it sounds difficult to stay in the zone. Is that true? and if so. Any heads up on how I might avoid going out of the zone. Also do you need to be in Ketosis to know your in the zone, or don't we judge by that. As you can see I haven't read the book yet, but am paiently waiting for its delivery. Has any one lost a lot of weight on the zone? Does anyone have a lot of weight to lose. I sure would like an e-mail partner. Thanks for letting me ramble.

Hi Everyone.
Welcome Kathy. I don't know which book you ordered but when you receive it. Give yourself time to read it and get the plan straight in your head. It isn't really difficult. At first read it may seem so but then you realize most meals are low fat protein accompanied by some veggies and fruit. If you ordered Mastering the Zone there are about 150 recipes included. No you do not need to be in ketosis for this diet and it is not recommended. Feel free to post any questions you have and we will do our best to advise you.
Toodler, I'm sure as you go on you will lose all your weight again. My story is similar to yours although I didn't quite put all my lost weight back on but it was close enough. You can certainly count your points and follow the zone, that's what Amy has done and has done quite well.
Donna, congratulations on you 2.5 loss. You are off to a good start.
Ann, we are having a cool few days here which I appreciate after having been in Atlanta. My sister took my mother to the physical therapist last monday and she gave my mother 5 different types of wraps for her are and exercises. She showed my sis how to put the wraps on and Mom has been wearing them almost 24 hours a day and the swelling has gone down a lot. I hope your mother continues in good health. That's great that she's hitting 80 and still going strong.
I finally got back on the Zone this week (Thurs) and am feeling the benefits already. Why I slip off is beyond me when I feel so much better when I follow the plan.
Kathy, it isn't really hard to follow the plan. We all have a problem with unfavorable carbs and if we give into them and have too many it causes cravings which we then have to work to overcome.
Maureen

I'm into my third week of zoning now and I'm still going strong. I lost another 3.5 pounds which is probably a lot of water because of TOM last week, but it makes me feel good to see the scale move nonetheless. I started exercising last week and I think that being in the zone is the most beneficial for me in this area. Exercising used to always stall my weight loss (or even make me gain weight!) which I'm now chalking up to my body's inability to burn fat because of my high carb diet. I'm really glad that zoning seems to have solved this problem and that I can now enjoy the benefits of exercising without sabotaging my weight loss.

However, I had a little bit of a slip-up today because I made Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies out of "The Balanced Diet Cookbook" and ate way too many. But I figure at least they where balanced and I only had a light soup for dinner so I should be alright in terms of overall blocks for the day.

I'm going to do a little expirementing with favorable vs. unfavorable carbs this week. I haven't really paid attention to that part of the Zone yet and that might be why I haven't felt the giant amounts of energy many of you have reported (but at least I'm not hungry ). So tomorrow for breakfast, I'm going to trade in my two slices of light bread and cottage cheese for some yogurt with fruit and protein powder. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

~Donna~

Hi Everyone,
I'm starting the Zone again, I've been trying to all last week. I get really hungry in the afternoon and I don't know why. I eat my 3 blocks for breakfast, 3 for lunch and 1 for afternoon snack, but by supper I'm really hungry and really mess up. Can anyone help me. I'm only supposed to have 11 a day. Should I cut my breakfast to 2 and add another one in the afternoon? Please help me, I really think this is going to help me with my weight lose. I do really well until late afternoon, no hunger or anything. Also any ideas on traveling on the Zone?