Anyone Want to Try The Zone Diet With Me?

I'll diet with ya, but I'm not into buying diet books. The Zone is low carb, right? I'm doing low carb with reduced fat (no fatty meats, no fried food, not a lot of butter). Sort of winging it. I'll be happy to be your diet buddy, though. I'll be starting my healthy eating blog back after the New Year, so we can link to each other too, get some backlinks in.

Im game, i started back at the gym but not trying to kill myself, one day at a time so it will hopefully stick this time. I figure get a head start, so this is starting my second week of working out and i feel better and with the efforts of working out, i have the holiday snacking under control..

Back around 2000 I went on the Zone diet when I picked up one of those little mini mags at the grocery checkout that featured the plan and some of it's recipes.

It was a lot of work to prepare the food. Actually Zone meal delivery was the first diet meal delivery services I heard of. Which I am a big fan of meal delivery since I joined Jenny Craig.

If I did Zone again I would definately do their meal delivery if I could afford it. Good luck to you!

Thanks for joining in..one week until Christmas. I think I'm going to spend the holidays just trying to cut back from what I would normally consume over the holidays and try to start exercising. Going to start with walking the dog twice a day for half and hour...boy it's cold outside and I have a new eliptical trainer. I'll start with 15 minutes maybe twice a day on it and increase by 5 minutes a week until I can get up to an hour a day at least. Hoping for a gym membership for christmas but it's not in the budget right now. I did the prepackaged meal thing years ago with Nutrisystem..worked pretty good until I went off the food so I think I'll just try to do the logical...lean meats in small portions with lots of veggies and try to keep the potatoes, pastas and breads to a minimum. I know I should start seriously right now but I know I won't stick with it because christmas is here this year and I'm already preparing so I'll get more serious after christmas day is over and then even more so once New Year's is over. Have a friend witht the zone book and something called GI Diet I might read for some ideas but it's really just common sense isn't it. Last time I lost a lot of weight I counted fat grams...stayed under 50 a day and lost 60 lbs and walking was a big part of that weight loss...once 30 was off I had the energy to actually get into exercising and loved it. Wish I'd never stopped. Welcome aboard and you'll have to show me how to link into your blog Deborah. Lets do it.

Where are you all from. I'm in Ontario, Canada

I lost 56 pounds this year by just not eating anything white (bread, cheese, potato) and no sugar.
My son does weight watchers and lost 70 pounds counting points. good luck on Zone.

The Zone diet is one of the only *diet* diets I support as a Health Counselor. Dr. Sears has done some great research and his findings have shown a correlation between inflammation, insulin, health, and weight. I have read his book called "A Week in The Zone" and I suggest reading it if you have not already.

I'm 43 and about 80lbs overweight! I have been trying to lose weight for over 20 years, 20 very frustrating years of constantly yo-yoing...I am so ready to eat healthy. However, I do not like to cook. I am a bad cook. I would love to have an "eating healthy" companion. Thanks, Deb

Okey dokey..let's just try to cut back and behave over the holidays and give it a whirl starting after New Years. I've been layed off from work for almost four months and gained back ten of the fifteen pounds I lost for my daughters wedding. I feel like I'm going to pop and am down to one pair of jeans that I can wriggle into and they aren't very comfortable. I'm going to spend this time trying to get into the routine of drinking my water and walking my dog again to prepare for the New Year. I know they say to do it now and not put off until MONDAY...but I know I'm going to blow it so why create more stress in my life. My goal right now is to gear up and be prepared. I'm going out tomorrow to get a notebook or journal to write down what I eat because I know it does work, going to start drinking my water, walking my dog two or three times a day for 20 minutes or half an hour and start clearing the junk out of my cupboards...I'll probably eat it but I'll try to give some of it away as well if it's unopened it's now a christmas gift or I'll put it in one of the charity food hampers for the less fortunate. Back on track seriously on the Monday after New Year's...who's in??? Let's do it...my first goal is 25 lbs by the end of April. I think that's realistic..that's 6 1/4 lbs per month..then the second goal is a further 25 by the end of August.

1. Increase water consumption
2. Minor walking as a beginning to exercising
3. Writing what I eat down.
4. Preparing food ahead of time.

Can you think of anything else that might help to get us going???
Kathy K

Sounds interesting..think about it...

Well I'm blowing it like crazy. The only thing I've been doing is trying to consume more water. Company here until after the New Year and so much food. New year can't get here soon enough...I feel like I've swallowed a basketball. I'm sitting down today and writing out a plan for myself and going shopping for the stuff I will need to get back on track. First week back at work is going to be all seminars so I have to take a packed lunch...might be a good thing that I won't be able to get out and about at lunch time. I'm getting ready...anyone else willing to join in to help motivate each other.

Hi kitkat 59 (and everyone here)!

Great decision to do the Zone! It's been fantastic for me! Have you started yet kitkat? Sorry I didn't reply sooner (houseful of visiting family over the holidays!). I'll be happy to help and to share Zone tips and experiences here. The Zone is really quite easy to do once you understand the basics. The most convenient ways to do the Zone are with the plate method (it doesn't involve tedious counting or measuring) or with the new SuperZone plan. I love the foods, the ease of the diet plan and lifestyle, and the way I'm feeling 'in the SuperZone'. I lost my 100 pounds in the Zone with the plate method, then I switched to the block method for a number of years, and now I'm totally enjoying the freedom of the SuperZone plan.

kitkat, I highly recommend reading TOXIC FAT, by Barry Sears PhD. It will give you the most up to date picture of the Zone. The Zone is all about lowering inflammation and maintaining hormonal control (specifically insulin control). In the meantime, to start right away you can go to Zonediet.com and check out all the info in Quick Start Guide, found in the EATING tab. The other option is to go to the SUPERZONE tab on that web site adn follow the SuperZone plan. It's even easier than the original Zone and gives you the best hormonal control and weight loss.

Good luck and keep in touch!

Happy New Year everyone!

Hi...I'm going to go out and buy the book and thanks for the encouragement and the suggestions. I'll take a look for those as well. I obviously don't know yet until I read them but for starters in January while I read them I'll be cutting out the white stuff, rice, potatoes, breads as well as fats and getting my water into me to get me started. I'll have to check into this plate method...I think I'll post my weight and measurements in the New Year and go from there. I look forward to any help or encouragement I can get and I hope I can help encourage some of you others struggling with getting moving on a new lifestyle and a healthier future.

Anyone else interested in daily or weekly check in's come on along and if you like post your weights and measurements if you like. Hoping we can help each other.

Hi KitKat,

I'll start by sharing mine. I's at 25% body fat today(determined by the body fat calculator on ZoneDiet.com). That's down from 25% where I was two months ago. I've been 'in the Zone' for 15 years (lost 100 pounds in less than 2 yrs and and have kept it off). In the beginning of November I switched to the Super Zone plan and I love it! To my surprise I've dropped a little more body fat since then, and I'll probably drop a little bit more over the next couple of months.

Well I spent all day yesterday preparing food for the week for my lunches. I got called back to work from being layed off and haven't barely started reading the book so I went with what I had on hand. Weighed myself this morning.....212 lbs to start off..haven't done the measurements yet but will do it before I go to bed. Had a protein smoothie for breaky...which I've been having for 5 years now on the advice of a nutritionist because I don't like breakfast and usually have a bit of a queasy stomach in the morning. Chocolate soy milk, soy protein powder, 6 frozen strawberries and 6 frozen banana slices..that was at 5 am. At 7 am I had 3/4 cup combined large cut oatmeal mixed with Red River 12 grain cereal...plain. For break at work I had 1/2 c fat free cottage cheese and 1/3 cup fresh pineapple. For lunch it was 3 oz water packed tuna with a bit of olive oil and seasoning (pepper) and fresh veggies...4 baby carrots, 5 mini tomatoes, 5 slices cucumber and 2 celery sticks. For my afternoon break I had an apple and 1/2 cup low fat yogurt. When I got home I was starved and had the diet coke that was leftover in my lunch pail. For dinner a large salad with oil and vinegar dressing and boneless chicken breast. Had 6 cups of water today too. I'm water logged. Well I'm headed up to take my measurements...sure to be depressed after that, then I'm going to write this all down in my journal and lay in bed and read The Zone some more. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. I've actually packaged identical lunches and breakfast all week and just have to make dinner when I get home. Made up some diet jello tonight and dream whip with 1% milk in case I get a sweet tooth happening and to help me from cheating on something much worse. Wish me luck and good luck to whomever else is on board. Maybe I should start another forum and take THE ZONE out of the title to entice more people????

Hi Kitkat,

Don't take THE ZONE out of it unless you no longer plan to do the Zone. Another option if you want to have a little Zone support group is to go to the Zone Forums on ZoneDiet.com. There's lots of support there.

The reason you were starving by the time you got home is that those are not really Zone balanced meals that you ate. Some are short on protein, others lacking carb, others are missing fat. I'd be starving after those meals, too. The protein shake needs more fat. It might also need more carb, depending on how much protein powder you used in it. Instead of the cereal, which is basically a lot f carbohydrate, try cooked steel cut oats with some fat and lean protein. Some people like protein powder, cottage cheese and peanut butter mixed into steel cut oatmeal. Others like to eat an egg white omelet cooked in olive oil with a bowl of cooked steel cut oats on the side. Either will be a good Zone breakfast. Steel cut oats is the key because they don’t promote the blood sugar surge you get with other oatmeal. If you’re tied to a quick bowl of cereal adn excellent choice is SuperZone granola. It's delicious! By its design, it keeps you in the Zone for 4 to 6 hours, meaning it gives you hormonal control which suppresses hunger and appetite naturally for 4 to 6 hours. Adding a dozen almonds to the cottage cheese and pineapple snack, and adding a small apple and a dozen or so almonds to the lunch will help bring them into the Zone. Once you eat "in the Zone" for a few days with Zone balanced meals, your hunger will be a thing of the past. I can’t even remember the last time I was hungry. To get started now, before you finish reading the book, go to Quick Start Guide in the EATING tab on ZoneDiet.com. It contains all the info you need to begin the Zone now. Keep at it, you're getting there!

I'm in. I decided I wanted to start the Zone in mid December and also decided to wait until New Years although I was trying before then halfheartedly. This diet is highly supported by the crossfit community and there's helpful conversation trails you can follow there if you want to read more comments from people trying to follow this diet. I'm still having a hard time with it though. I just can't stop picking at the little goodies we have around the office. It's a discipline thing I know but I just can't seem to stop.

Many thanks for the input....I had just started reading when I had to go back to work after a long lay off so I premade a whole week of meals for at work...I ate that..some days I couldn't eat it all but it's when I get home that kills me....I'm hungry when I get here. Gotta sit down and try to read...been so tired this week when I get home and get the usual chores done every time I try to read the book I fall asleep in minutes. Any advice I get is appreciated and I'd love some of your recipes or maybe meal plans. I'll go on the zone site and check it out as well as you suggest. Thx again KK

Hi Sue....the list of foods I ate this week are pretty well what I eat a lot of the time. The protein shake for sure every morning, I did use the steel cut oats and the red river is just grains (hot cereal). Please give me suggestions on what to add perhaps to what I have been eating. I can change up the lunches but am limited to what I can eat at work...has to be quick only get 20 minute lunch break. The protein shake is about 8 oz choc soy milk mixed with soy protein powder called Soy One..usually one scoop..could add more if needed, 6 strawberries and 6 slices of banana mixed with a little physillium and someone suggested adding a bit of flax oil to this as well. I eat the oatmeal with redriver by itself...no milk...what kind of protein could I add to that. I eat it at work. I love almonds so I can add those no problem. Any help is appreciated. I'm going to the Zone site right now to check it out. Thx KK

Hi KK,

Say hi if you see me in the Zonediet site forums!

Great that a lot of the best foods for the Zone are ones you already eat. All you'll need to do is apply the basic Zone principles about how and when to eat them. Skip the red river grain hot cereal and have just the steel cut oats plus some protein and monounsaturated fat. A classic woman's sized Zone meal is 1 cup of cooked steel cut oats (that's measured after cooking) mixed with the amount of protein powder that contains about 20 grams protein (amount to yield 20 gr protein differs by brand) and topped with a couple tablespoons of slivered almonds. If you prefer the oats alone, you could eat 1 cup cooked steel cut oats, drink a protein shake containing a total of about 20 gr protein (with little to no carb) and eat a small handful of almonds.

Keep in touch!

Hi Squash,

You'll like the Zone. It complements Crossfit very well. If you happen to be a frequent visitor to Crossfit sites, I've heard from a lot of crossfitters that they prefer to rely on food info on Zonediet.com when combining the Zone and Crossfit. The Zonediet.com forums also have some excellent threads by crossfitters doing the Zone.

You'll be surprised to find that once you're more solidly eating 'in the Zone it's lots easier to walk by those goodies at work without even giving then a second glance.