Mastering the Zone: The Next Step in Achieving SuperHealth and Permanent Fat Loss Reviews

• A healthy way of eating for life -- not a "diet."

  
  By A2EALSVFBR3UCD on 1999-11-05
  It isn't always easy to prepare menus and cook food ahead of time, but if you can do it, then you're on your way to healthier eating. Dr. Sears explains his "diet" better to non-medical people in this book. This isn't a high-protein diet or a no-carbs diet as some of the other controversial diets are and some critics claim this to be. It really is a healthy way to eat. I work for a doctor whose specialty is type 2 diabetes mellitus, and limiting those refined carbohydrates is proven to help those with all forms of insulin sensitivity. Limiting refined sugars and increasing intake of fruits and vegetables, adding the heart-healthy HDL cholesterol via monounsaturated fat, and eating sensible amounts of low-fat protein will help anyone maintain or lose weight, control blood sugar, and stay healthy with more energy. I lost 20 lbs., with 4 inches reduced from my stomach, and I didn't even have to exercise. Imagine if I had added some walking or other activities! Dr. Sears's suggestions I try to incorporate into my daily life, even those times when I am not as strict as I should be. I would highly recommend this book for anyone struggling with a weight problem or just anyone wanting to be healthier.
  
  

• You CAN make it simple and this book will help

  
  By A24DBUIAWDQXA2 on 2001-06-08
  This is certainly a program that can be made difficult. Some of the other zone books have recipes that would require you to be a math whiz or an expert chef, and have tedious measuring. This book helps and mostly makes it simple.

  For me it is life changing. I have ALWAYS had late evening sugary, breaded, fatty junk food cravings like ice cream and chips an all kinds of overpriced sugar-laced worthless garbage foods. (and always in super large abnormal quantities) And for years I usually gave up and just ate anything I wanted. (I'd be willing to wager that most of you reading this knows exactly what I mean to just "give up" when it comes to food) And gained lots of weight. Then I found this book. To me it is like what methadone is to a heroin addict. (for those that don't know, methadone is a drug to take the edge off of the withdraws from heroin without the euphoric high) And for those fellow sugar/carb addicts, you probably know what I mean. If you follow this plan correctly, it REALLY WILL take away those terrible binge cravings. It may take a little patience, and possibly some time (usually one to three days), but it will work.

  This is not easy unless you make it simple for yourself. Getting started is a bit difficult because it usually requires a change of eating habits, which is not easy, To make it easy for me I had to pick out about 5 or 6 recipes I could EASILY make in a short amount of time. This book has some that I like and they are simple. The zoneperfect site also has some recipes that are easy to make as well. (those are FREE!) For the days that I just don't want to fix anything, I have bought a whole bunch of the zone prepackaged bars and meals and other foods. At first, they were not the best in the world and a bit pricey, but I really wanted this thing to work and after a while I started to like them.

  The great thing is after about 2 or 3 days I really look forward to the afternoon snack and the zone bars and everything else and it's working great. The energy is amazing. It gets easier and better the longer you follow it. And you can add some other recipes if the others get old. I DO NOT have any more late cravings or afternoon sugar binges. And that is worth almost anything to me.

  I think it comes down to how bad you want it to work. After I started to read the book, I began to believe what the author was saying because it just made sense. I have tried many other diets, and this program really isn't a diet and isn't extreme like a lot of those other fad diets. This one just seemed right. When I began to visualize craving free evenings and wearing 34 pants again, I just decided to do whatever it takes to MAKE it work for me. The thought of being in a swim suit comfortably outside in a large crowd just really started to overcome all of the barriers. ALL WITHOUT the hunger pangs. Thanks to Dr. Sears, I have gone from 44 pants to 40 and am 100% confident I'll be wearing those old 34 silver tabs that I wore many years ago. (I have them out for motivation)

  YOU CAN DO IT TOO. AND IT IS GREAT!!!!!
  
  

• Very interesting

  
  By on 2001-07-01
  I have been doing a lot of on-line researching and reading of these reviews regarding the Zone "diet" plan. I have only spent a couple weeks in and out of the Zone (I love pasta, so I'm getting the rest of it out of the house so I can do a real "sample" after it and the temptation is gone). But during the day, at work and school, I've never felt better. It's at night I crash after eating my pasta and very little protien.

  I don't know how much of the cravings for food at that point is psychological, which the Zone books never mention. They say that you control your hormones, you control your cravings. It's not as simple as that...there are lots of people who are body dismorphic and eat for reasons other than their brain pinging them because they're hungry. Perhaps I'll make my millions writing a follow-up book, but I digress...

  However, after reading every review for "Enter the Zone" (which I believe is just the same as "Mastering the Zone", the latter of which I did buy, which I believe has more practical advice on how to make things work than the theory in "Enter...") I am fairly convinced that all but two of the negative reviews are from people who either didn't read the book, didn't get what was written, or they were simply stating that they didn't want to live this way. Two reviews make me wonder. One speaks to the shoddiness of his research reporting -- which I agree upon, but maybe it's glossed because the reading public can't handle reading that boring stuff. The other is about the Zone being a low-calorie diet and that being the only reason you lose weight on it, makes me wonder. It wasn't the "a calorie is a calorie is a calorie" review...sure, a calorie is a calorie, but insulin, different macronutrients and so forth are not the same, so I disagree with that reviewer. But the idea that this only works as a low-calorie diet...I'm not sure....I am eating more bulk with not a lot less calories than I was before. So I'm still willing to give it a shot.

  Basically, this is a nutritional plan for a lifelong change that includes food in moderation. I also don't see in the Zone books that they are so facist that they don't recognize that "stuff happens" and people will get off the Zone with some meals, but you can always go back with the next. Unfortunately people are too often "all or nothing" fanatics who don't realize that we aren't perfect machines and sometimes our psyche requires something our body doesn't. They look at the Zone and think that if you're not fanatical, it won't happen at all. After thinking about it, the Zone is really rather stress-free and forgiving...it's really how much discipline to be conscious about your food and activity that should be watched out for. You mess up, you can always be conscious the next meal. And with time comes the habit, in my opinion.

  I will remain skeptical, but that's me. I can't be otherwise until I've given it a shot. I used to be 350# grossly obese, and after a year of getting more active and eating in moderation before, I came down to 225#. I still have oversized love handles, and I want to tighten that up and lose the rest of the pounds, but the last year or so has been stressful and I have only been hovering and gained a couple pounds back. So we'll see if the Zone leaves me with more energy I had before and convinces ME to be more conscious of my food choice.

  I would recommend, finally, not to buy more than one of the books (probably "Mastering") as they all appear to be saying the same thing. It's just not money conscious. Or if you do, buy them used. Barry Sears has turned into a marketing empire, and I think the message gets lost somewhere in there. Most of the information is on his website, as well, so buy one book and just look at the website.
  
  

• I don't understand why people find this hard to follow?

  
  By A1APIA2T3BAPJY on 2003-04-16
  I bought Mastering the Zone and never read Entering the Zone. I found it completely easy to read and user friendly. I read it one Friday night and applied it the next day. It's super simple. It explains blocks and in the back of the book, shows the quantity you can have of certain foods per block. It's even talks about adjusting the diet to meet your personal requirements.

  Here's my sample menu. This is for 13 blocks of protein:

  Breakfast:
  Smoothie
  1 c. yogurt
  1 c. milk
  1 c. strawberries
  1 c. raspberries
  2 envelopes of splenda
  1 oz low fat cheese
  12 almonds or 24 peanuts

  Lunch:
  4 oz Chicken
  4 c. salad
  1 T. ranch
  3 c. mushrooms
  1/2 c. grapes
  1/2 c. pineapple

  Snack
  1oz cheese
  1/2 apple
  3 olives

  Dinner
  5oz fish
  2 c. green beans
  2 c. salad
  1 T. ranch
  1/2 apple
  1 c. strawberries

  Snack:
  1oz beef
  1/2 c. grapes
  3 almonds

  Not too shabby, huh? The above is only 1600 calories, which is what my hubby is on. I'm on 9 blocks, which is 1000 calories and still TONS of food, since I have a lot to lose and want to do it quicker.

  If you want to feel GREAT, eat great and look great, I highly recommend this book and this diet as your lifetime way of eating.
  
  

• Just good common sense

  
  By A1UCQTQGVOTZ4M on 2000-04-01
  I've tried all kinds of diets and none of them have worked long term. I tried eating "in the zone" in principle, using the basic concepts, but not actually counting blocks. I lost 25 pounds in less than a year. My goal was to see if weight could be lost and if I could increase my energy with a busy schedule... just like my patients. It WORKED! This is now the only "healthy lifestyle" way of eating that I recommend to my patients. You may lose weight with other plans, but statistically you won't keep it off. Other diets slow down your metabolism, this one speeds it up. Medically/physiologically the Zone makes sense.
  
  
• "Devil's Advocate" speaking:
  By A26FTO9SN9PPYW on 2005-05-30
  First, I'd like to play the foil to the foregoing customer review (12/12/03) wherein the writer opined that Barry Sears is not an effective narrator of the audio editions of his various Zone books. On the one hand, that reviewer had me duly chuckling at his exaggerated (?) "impressions" of Sears' vocal idiosyncrasies. Ol' Barry does indeed have an unmistakable way of (mis)pronouncing the word "fa(v)orable," for example, not to mention various other polysyllabic terms. ;-) Nonetheless, I continually enjoy auditing Sears' own spoken renditions of his books, and I hope that he will continue his delightful antics with all future publications (I see that he's done so with his latest tome, The Anti-Inflammation Zone, which is, to date, the only book of his that I haven't yet heard him perform). Why on earth would I ever want to listen to some glitzy, "flawless" narrator when I can hear The Truth delivered from the mouth of the man himself--flaws and all? ;-) As a matter of fact, I will go so far as to say (at least when it comes to "Zone" topics) that I downright prefer Sears' own idiosyncratic enunciations to those of the run-of-the-mill "professional" audiobook narrators (and, trust me, I've heard a zillion of the latter).
  
  Now, as for the book "Mastering the Zone," I would say that this 1997 sequel to "The Zone" (1995) made great strides beyond its best-selling predecessor insofar as it's much more easily digestible for the lay reader, who likely was somewhat overwhelmed by the plethora of "biochemical terminology" in the prior book. The sequel clearly was intended to serve better as a "primer" for the average citizen wishing quickly and easily to assimilate the fundamentals of the Zone lifestyle.
  
  However, in that regard, Sears mass-market paperback, "A Week in the Zone" (2000) is still better. Whereas "Mastering the Zone" comprises a plethora of meal recipes throughout the majority of its pages, the subsequent paperback manages a somewhat better overall balance of information. Moreover, the paperback is much more easily transportable, conceivably even to your average restaurant. [But, hey, given that you can nowadays possess either title "used" at a dirt-cheap price, take your pick--or get both.]
  
  Basically, what Sears wants you to do is to think of (virtually) all your food--for the rest of your life--as a "prescription drug". Everything you eat should be chosen on the basis of whether it's truly good for you, not merely whether it tastes good. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you can't enjoy your food at least as much as ever. In fact, there are all manner of perfectly scrumptious foods/recipes (discussed in the book) that you can (virtually) freely indulge in, while avoiding certain other foods that, alas, too many folks have become all too used to wolfing down.
  
  For example, instead of processed, high-sugar desserts (e.g., pies and cakes), why not substitute fresh, chilled plums, strawberries, blueberries, or oranges? In my experience, once you're actually munching on your favorite fresh fruit (assuming it's high-quality produce at the ideal stage of fully sweet ripeness), you will most assuredly NOT miss that accustomed slice of highly processed pie, cake, etc., with all that "refined" (!) flour, sugar, and/or fat. You will be eating REAL food, not manmade food, and your body--not to mention your taste buds--will thank you for it.
  
  Barry Sears (a "doctor of biochemistry" and NOT a doctor of medicine--despite the "convenient" new way his name is being inscribed on his most recent books!) is arguably the most entertaining and intriguing contemporary author in the area of diet, nutrition, and health. While I sense that he is endowed with a healthy measure of self-aggrandizement (as when he pretty obviously pushes his own brand of fish oil in recent books), that capitalistic trait is, for me, rather forgivable when you consider that his overall message is sure to improve the health of the majority of readers who take it to heart. [Besides, even at his repeatedly formulaic, self-promoting "worst," Barry Sears still comes across as the sort of "smart-but-sincere" person I'd enjoy having as a next-door neighbor!]
  
  In "Mastering the Zone", Sears reiterates (and sometimes expands upon) the most basic concepts introduced in his first book, including such things as:
  
  --Determining, respectively, the amounts (and types) of protein, carbohydrate, and fat you should consume per meal (and per day);
  
  --Why the (former) US-government-sanctioned "food pyramid" is "dead wrong";
  
  --Why high-protein (or high-carb, or high-fat) diets are unhealthy;
  
  --Why using balanced, moderate portions from all three food categories--(lean) proteins; (high-fiber/low-sugar) carbohydrates; and (monounsaturated) fats--is the way to optimize your health and keep you "in the zone" (i.e., your crucial insulin level will continuously stay neither too high nor too low);
  
  --Why it's generally not fats but rather (high-sugar/processed) carbohydrates (e.g., bread, pasta, potatoes, corn, peas) that make/keep you fat.
  
  There is a "Frequently Asked Questions" chapter toward the end of the book. At that juncture, Sears deals with many additional topics that will surely interest the reader. A mere sampling of the questions from that chapter includes:
  
  --If I follow the Zone diet, does this mean I can never have rice, pasta, and bagels again? ["Of course not. But take them in extreme moderation-as occasional `condiments'"]
  
  --Should I be concerned about such a seemingly low daily caloric intake? [Nope. Sears points out that if you have any excess body fat, then all the calories you need are already stored in your body, etc.]
  
  --Doesn't ANY low-calorie diet cause fat loss? [Nay, says Sears. It depends on the particular balance--or lack--of proteins to carbohydrates to fats]
  
  --Why should I eat my scheduled meal or snack even if I'm not hungry? [Actually, that's an ideal time to eat.]
  
  Now, for the benefit of those souls who stumble onto this review (and, at the time of this writing, their number may be small, for, curiously, the lifelong, balanced, moderate Zone "diet" currently gets less media exposure--and, consequently, seems less "fashionable" to the common ruck than such "crash" diets as the "South Beach" or even the "Atkins"!), I also want to counter what some other readers have remarked about Sears' "Zone" approach being "too hard" for your average busy person to follow day-to-day. Having been "in the zone" for over two months, I can tell you that it's really downright easy. Space won't allow complete details, but, just for starters, let me advise NOT to take all the book's recipes too literally. Instead, just make sure you refer to the book's "Appendix B" regarding "food-block" sizes.
  
  For example, for breakfast (or lunch or dinner) the average male can have four times the weight of any given amount of a particular food listed there. Thus, since 1/2 ounce of dry (uncooked) "old-fashioned oatmeal" equals one (so-called) "food block", the average male could have approximately 2 ounces of such oatmeal for the "carbohydrate" portion of a given meal. Now, how difficult is it to simply pour about that much oatmeal into a bowl (I myself employ a cheap, digital scale for precision), add some water, and pop the bowl into the microwave for a very few minutes?
  
  Analogously, regarding the "protein" portion of a given meal, I've found that measuring portions of (skinless & boneless) baked chicken breast or canned salmon is easy and quick, especially if I remove the guesswork by simply setting the bowl of meat onto my kitchen scale momentarily.
  
  As for the "fat" portion of a given meal, how hard is it to use a "teaspoon" measurer (or merely your eyes) to allot your appropriate "fat block" portion per meal (again, referring to the simple chart in the book's "Appendix B" makes this easy for the beginner, not to mention that a bit of daily experience soon commits this to one's memory)?
  
  I've likewise found it plenty easy to pour part of a bag of frozen "Oriental" mixed veggies into a stovetop pan (along with a dash of olive oil and some precooked chicken-breast strips) to make for a delicious, "hormonally balanced" meal. For dessert, eating a fresh, chilled orange (or various other fruits) is quick, easy, and delicious.
  
  Finally, for those of us lucky enough to have access to those yummy "Zone Perfect nutrition (candy) bars", well, they can absolutely make life A LOT quicker and easier still! (Try to find them on sale--or free via coupons--whenever possible!)
  
  The "Zone" approach to eating and living is relatively easy to implement into your daily life, and--stressing, as it does, "balance & moderation" of all food components--certainly it's infinitely healthier than something like the "unbalanced" Atkins diet!
  
  Also: Make "mastering the Zone" truly easy for yourself by viewing a colorfully informative, supplementary VIDEO; just go to Amazon.com and "search" (under the "VHS" category/product heading) for a now out-of-print (and dirt-cheap!) "Zone Perfect Nutrition Program Made Simple and Easy" VHS videotape that will really make it ridiculously easy for the beginner quickly to understand and apply all the basic principles of staying "in the Zone"! Good luck, good health, and good eating!
  
  
• In the Zone is the Place to Be
  By on 1998-09-15
  A friend recommended this book to me because of the great results he'd had following it. I bicycle quite a bit, and had been on a very high complex carb, very low fat, protein--what's that? diet for several years. My "healthy" diet gave me low cholesterol (154), but I had extremely high triglycerides (382), low HDL (30), low LDL (48). In short, this shows impending heart disease. Doctor's advice? Exercise. Well, I was already doing that. I cut out even more fat. I was constantly hungry, had headaches, and rarely felt terribly well.

  After following the Zone diet for just two days, I felt great and was never hungry, in fact had trouble eating all the food sometimes. I've never felt better in my life. I've been on it almost two weeks now, and have lost over 3 pounds, all from my waist, that I'd never been able to lose before no matter how much I biked. I have far more energy for bicycling than I previously had, and my physical condition has greatly improved. I require less sleep and am less tired than I was before. I know my next blood test will be next to perfect. I'm on the Zone for life. It's simple, the basic principles to follow are summarized in five sentences. I've never really "dieted" before, just modified my food choices and behavior. Unfortunately, I'd been doing it all wrong. Now I know what's right, thankfully not too late.
  
  

• Don't be put off, this is not a high protein diet!
  By AAN17AWWV8Q6I on 1999-10-15
  I've lost count of how many times I've seen the Zone described as a high protein/low carb diet, lumping it in with Atkins. In fact, you eat more carbs than protein on the Zone, and it is protein adequate, not high protein. I've lost 45 pounds on the Zone, my cholesterol went down, my good cholesterol went up and my triglycerides went down. My bodyfat percentage went from 40% to 25%. My energy level has increased, I don't get that afternoon slump, and I need less sleep at night. The block measurements become second nature once you become familiar with the portions of your favorite food. You can eat anything if you balance it correctly, though of course, some foods are better for you than others. I can't recommend this program enough. And Mastering the Zone is the most user friendly book of all the Zone books. There are also websites that are very helpful for people who are learning about the program. For those of us who were lucky enough to stick with it, we have been rewarded with weight loss, increased energy and better health. And unanimously, we say that this is not a diet for us but a way of life.
  
  
• Most accessible of the Zone books
  By on 2002-07-14
  (ATTN Liz from England who posted on 7/11/02: the answer is 11 blocks minimum because otherwise you will be too hungry [approx. 100 calories per block].)

  If you haven't read any Zone books, this is a good place to start. The first book (Enter) The Zone, lays out the author's history and a lot of biochemical explanations for trying to manage your insulin levels by restricting your carbohydrate intake. It contains a set of recipes and food lists. If you're not a science type, you'll find Mastering the Zone more accessible than the first. The book uses a more commonsense approach to the diet, and the food lists are updated and corrected. It does get a little tedious hearing the phrase "just like your Grandmother told you" over and over again, but all diet books involve a certain degree of preaching.

  The bigger question, perhaps, is which low-carb diet is best for you? Contemporary choices include Atkins New Diet Revolution, Sugar Busters!, Protein Power, Carbohydrate Addicts' Diet, Potatoes Not Prozac, Glucose Revolution... I'm sure I'm forgetting some. Of these, Atkins is undoubtedly the best known and most controversial. An Atkins dieter, unlike a Zone dieter, pays little attention to counting blocks (grams) of protein and fat, and instead adheres to simple rules about carbohydrates. You should definitely take multi-vitamins on an Atkins diet, but the success of the other low-carb programs casts some doubt on the fine attention to ratios demanded by the Zone diet. In his book on aging, Sears argues that the Zone diet, because it is a calorie-restricted diet, has a good chance of extending your life. I guess I won't know for another 40 years .

  If you have a good budget for books, it makes sense to get a few of these titles (most are available in inexpensive paperback format). Some also might be more appropriate than the Zone for people with special needs. For example, if you have struggled with alcohol, you should look into Potatoes Not Prozac, a diet developed originally for recovering alcoholics to help keep their beta endorphin levels balanced. Author Kathleen DesMaisons generalized the diet for everyone she defines as "sugar sensitive" (I think this includes us chocoholics). If you are a bodybuilder, take a look at Protein Power, which has special rules for maximizing growth hormone levels. (For many years, the Eades, authors of Protein Power, and Sears shared the same ideas, but there have been splits on various points that might sound trivial but make a big differences to the respective authors.) If you like your diet books simple, positive, and reassuring, Sugar Busters! is a good choice. It also has some dynamite-sounding New Orleans recipes.

  As they say on the Internet, "hope this helps"! And "Just Do It."
  
  

• The basics for following Sears' Zone diet
  By A14EN9IZKDHDIP on 2001-05-01
  According to Barry Sears, the foundation of good health is to eat foods that keep the amount of insulin in one's bloodstream within a wholesome, healthful zone -- not too much insulin and not too little.

  He says that the way to stay in this zone is to keep protein and carbohydrate in the right ratio to each other in one's diet, every meal or snack, every day. The key to this is to calculate one's lean body mass, and then eat just enough protein to maintain that amount of lean body mass. Then, one adjusts the amount of carbohydrate in one's diet so that there is roughly a 4 to 3 ratio of carbohydrate to protein. Finally, one adds enough fat to make up about 30 percent of all food calories. That's all there is to it.

  This book explains the medical reasons for the Zone diet. It also tells you how to calculate your lean body mass, whether you're a man or a woman. And it gives more than 200 pages of recipes for meals which follow the Zone diet. There's good advice about food shopping and eating out, too. Also there are six pages of medical references in support of the Zone diet, as well as a useful index.
  
  

• Not too shabby!
  By on 2003-03-04
  The Zone Diet is the first "diet" I've ever tried, and so far--two weeks into it--I'm very happy! Lost weight, actually don't feel like I'm starving, even though I only eat about 1200 calories a day on my block plan. Only one downside on this book, the recipes can be pretty bland and sometimes diet-y tasting. If you try them, you will really want to add more spices to make the food taste good. HOWEVER, for great Zone recipes, you can go to the official Zone website at Zoneperfect.com, and they have several hundred ones for free that Zone dieters have sent in. MUCH tastier.
  
  
• This "diet" really works...and it's so EASY!
  By AW484C888BDQE on 1999-11-09
  For all you yo-yo dieters out there, you must try the Zone. It really works for me. I lost 35 pounds in 6 months and have kept it off for 2 months. The Zone is very flexible and I don't find it difficult to stay on with having to cook for a family. Above all, the weight loss was painless and I feel so much better. I love my nighttime snack...every night I have a gin & diet tonic with lime, string cheese and almonds! Dr. Sears also has two websites that are very informative and supportive. You should check them out. I was a carb addict before I started zoning and had to "tweak" the zone so that I wasn't craving carbs. I ended up decreasing one carb and adding 1-2 fats per meal which worked for me. Have fun with this...you'll be suprised how fast it works!
  
  
• Excellent healthy eating plan - NOT a "diet"
  By on 2000-01-10
  I checked into The Zone due to health reasons. I presented the eating plan to my doctor and he was very enthusiastic for me to get started. Like I said, I'm doing this for health reasons and the fact that I have dropped 10 pounds at the height of the holiday season is just a bonus! It's easy to eat this way. At first I was intimidated by the measuring of food and getting the hang of Dr. Sears' "block" food value regimen but after a few weeks it has become easy for me to eyeball foods and know what and how much to have. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to lose some weight, be healthier, feel better and especially those who are headed down the road to Type II Diabetes! Great book, but more importantly it's an excellent healthy eating plan!
  
  
• Faith, Motivation, and Sacrifice
  By A2IFP643YHPRR2 on 2000-04-11
  It's sad that so many people are unwilling to commit the motivation (read discipline) and sacrifice required to make this eating lifestyle truly effective. Yes, it works, but it comes at a price. Since most of us are conditioned to eating for entertainment and not nutrition, we're unwilling to accept food as fuel and not simply fun. Does it require sacrifice? Absolutely. Many people are offended when in the presence of someone dedicated to a "radical diet". Don't give up! Keep the faith and be strong. Your health is too important, and this book is your guide to good health and a more productive life!
  
  
• Excellent Diet Recommendations
  By A2QYNDEDQAOPKM on 2000-01-03
  As a physician, I highly recommend this book for anyone who would like sound diet guidlines. This is not a high protein diet (which I do not recommend), but a diet that teaches you how to balance the better sources of protein, carbohydrate, and fat.
  
  
• Changed my way of looking at food!
  By on 2000-02-03
  I am a Type I diabetic and have been on this diet for one month now. My blood sugars have NEVER been as good and consistant as they are now! I am losing the weight slowly (as one should) and feel more energetic than I have in years. This diet is not very "portable" since there is alot of weighing and measuring, but after a while, you learn to eyeball your portions.
  
  
• Common sense approach to a healty diet
  By A2SQI30TKIZO1M on 2000-01-13
  This is the first approach to diet and health that I've read recently that really makes sense in a holistic way. Sears teaches: Don't avoid food groups or focus on "food addictions." The emphasis is on common sense--just do what your grandma did. And there is an interesting hypothesis on why the USDA has endorced a grain-based diet: No other way to sell the nation's surplus of wheat! Sears includes lots of helpful recipes and menus. Read this before you attempt the high protein diets that are all the rage now.
  
  
• Very good stuff
  By A3FVJMBU81KZPE on 1999-11-20
  THis is an excellent book. I have been following the guidelines for about a week and have noticed a big difference. When I get off work now I'm no longer devoid of energy. I can go to the gym and have an excellent work out because my energy is constant.
  
  
• Enter the Zone is Suffiicent--but not the whole story
  By A1JV4QKTEB7QBL on 2002-07-03
  If you already have purchased "Enter the Zone", do not spend the extra money on this book. The actual diet is not even covered.
  Instead, in this volume, Sears backs up his original premise---a perfect balance of 30% protein, 40% carbohydrates and 30% fat with each meal ensures the bodies balance of the two hormones glucagon and insulin and produces good eicasanoids. He focuses on how to make every meal a Zone perfect meal. He begins with the FDA required "Nutrition Facts" rectangle found on any prepackaged food and explains how you can add the proper component to make your food selection Zone perfect.
  While interesting from a computational aspect, I found the whole experience of adding up my fat, carb and protein grams for every meal a little bizarre especially when attempting to do this in a restaurant. I even downloaded the popular Excel-based program Zonepro and loaded it up with my personal food favorites' carb, protein and fat data so that I could come up with my own Zone perfect recipes. This craze was a lot of fun(?) while it lasted, but the bottom line was that I didn't always end up with that euphoric Zone feeling that Sears touts in the book. But then again,I didn't get it when I ate one of Sears' Zoneperfect bars! When I called the Zone help line regarding this, I was told that I was most likely carb sensitive---apparently I had eaten so many carbs in the past, my body would not 'enter the zone' unless I ate only 2 blocks instead of the normal three for females and added an additional fat block. Confusing only because this did not work either. I reached a dieting plateau and I wasn't moving.
  Eventually I got less intense-- went back to the 'enter the zone" eyeballing method of balancing my meal but I began to look into other issues in conjunction with balancing the two pancreatic hormones, insulin and glucagon. Certain foods just didn't work for me, no matter how balanced my entire meal was. I tried many things: eliminating carbs totally, adding fiber, going a whole food route and eliminating dairy. But I have not found the answer yet.
  I am convinced there is a missing piece somewhere but I just have not figured out what will really work for me specifically. So many people find that the Zone is the answer --I think it is only part of the answer for me.
  As far as the book goes, if you want to read more about the Zone's theory and are not interested solely in the diet itself, go to the library and check this out--otherwise stick to Sears' first volume.
  
  
• It works
  By AGJ0XCL89RO6O on 2002-12-29
  The Zone works! What more can I say. I went from 325 lbs to 182 lbs in one year.
  
  
• The lose weight BIBLE!
  By A3V1EPSE6XDC0C on 2006-04-24
  I went from 209 pounds to 151 pounds with the principles of this book. Once you understand how insulin works against you to store fat,and learn the right amount of protein and carbs your body needs to maintain your ideal weight, you can begin your journey to eat in the zone and lose weight.It has been my eating guidelines for almost 10 years. It is well worth the trouble to learn to treat food as a drug.
  
  
• The follow up to Enter The Zone
  By A3S8QNLUNYMT2I on 2001-11-24
  This book is certainly not for newcommers to the Zone. If you are, you need to read Enter The Zone (ISBN: 0060391502) before that one.

  Mastering the Zone goes even deeper helping you understand nutritional concepts; therefore, helps you acheiving even better health!

  Recommended for Zone addicts, like me! :)
  
  

• FANTASTIC WEIGHT LOSS
  By AQCZIF7IR9UWG on 2002-09-21
  I HAVE LOST 52 POUNDS BY FOLLOWING THIS BOOK. I WAS DIAGNOSED WTIH LUPUS IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR. MY DOCTOR RECOMMENDED I BUY THIS BOOK AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN SORRY. I FEEL BETTER AND AM NOT EATING ALL THE BAD THINGS I WAS EATING BEFORE. IF YOU HAVE A HEALTH PROBLEM AND NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU.
  
  
• The concept is elegant, putting it into practice is harder
  By A9U1BQILTMSMM on 2000-03-23
  I tried the Zone for a period of about four months. I was religious about it. I calculated blocks, I got very scientific about meals, and in the end found it just too hard for an ordinary housewife with kids and a husband to keep up with. It's a tremendous amount of work to get things figured out, and while I'm sure if I were single I'd find it easier, I just plain didn't have time. And I didn't lose more than about 8 pounds while I was following it to the letter, so I'm not convinced of its effectiveness. A nice idea if you can afford to hire a chef to cook for you all the time like Madonna or Howard Stern, but for those of us in the trenches it's not very practical.
  
  
• This diet gives you CONTROL
  By A375T7AIDSTC4W on 2006-04-17
  Having tried and failed at Atkins and other diets, I was highly skeptical about the Zone diet. I've always been more of a believer of "calories-in-calories-out," not giving much thought to insulin and the body's hormonal response to food. The great thing about the Zone is the fact that I now have control over my eating. I still can't believe it. No longer do I have cravings and feel hungry 18 hours a day. Usually, after about 3 days of dieting using the traditional high carb low fat method, I was always starving, and the thought of food consumed my life. After 3 days of being in the Zone, I have to push myself to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day! This is coming from a guy who weighed over 300 pounds when he first started. Is Dr. Sears correct in his teachings about carbohydrates and their effect on insulin? I tend to think so, given my body's response. But even if he's wrong, so what? I'm now consuming about 1,500 calories per day without hunger. So even if you subscribe to the old calorie beliefs, as I had, you're still consuming far less than before once in the Zone. Bottom line: if you're tired of feeling hungry and deprived while trying to lose weight, get into the Zone.
  
  
• Don't Confuse this diet with the Atkin's diet
  By A1D74FRESJ4OU1 on 1999-10-27
  Barry Sears does a much better job at simplifying his explanation of the diet in this book, compared to his previous book, "Entering the Zone". By decreasing your consumption of complex carbs and increasing consumption of simple carbs (AKA fruits and vegetables) with a proper balance of proteins & fats, weight loss with increased energy levels and improved health is guaranteed
  
  
• Excellent book!
  By on 2002-03-12
  It really is working for me. I love it. The zone bars are DELICOUS and satisfying. In two weeks I have seen results (loss of 6 pounds) this has been of course with exercising daily and drinking lots of water. I had done the latter two without the diet before but did not get similar results.

  I highly recommend this change in lifestyle to anybody. My cravings are no longer there. I used to crave twizzlers and chocolate late at night...sometimes even pasta!!! But so far it's been almost three weeks and I havn't!

  TRY IT!
  
  

• Needs a professional narrator!
  By on 2003-12-13
  This is a 5 star book to be sure; eye-opening information useful for anyone, which is all the more reason to have a professional voice person do the reading for the audio book (Sears reads it himself). I don't know which is worse; the poor articulation, "A nutrishally fayerible issullin resposs iss possble," or the sloberry, amplified sinus and mouth noises. Yuck...

  Definitely get the book--but pass on the audio version!
  
  

• Better than "Enter the Zone", but old
  By on 2002-03-12
  I find this book more helpful about how to follow the Zone diet than the 1995 book "Enter the Zone" (see my separate review of that book).The tables of food amounts that make up a "Zone block" have not, however, been updated with the new quantities listed in the author's more-recent "The top 100 zone foods".
  
  
• not for me
  By on 2002-08-24
  I read the whole book with a skeptical mind, but found that Dr. Sear's theory seems to make sense. He talks about eating small, balanced meals (his idea of balenced is different than the USDA pyramid) throughout the day to maintain you insulin levels so your body is running in it's most efficient state and you're not hungry. While his meals are probably higher in protein than a typical person's diet, this is not a high (read only) protein diet. There are plenty of fruits, veggies, dairy, etc mixed in. Unfortunately, after a few weeks on this diet I was still hungry most of the time and I had a constant upset stomach (probably from eating more protein than I'm used to). Also, it was very time consuming to organize the meals and snacks every day. In short, this seems like a good idea, but it didn't work for me.
  
  

• Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

• The Zone: A Dietary Road Map to Lose Weight Permanently : Reset Your Genetic Code : Prevent Disease : Achieve Maximum Physical Performance
• What to Eat in the Zone: The Quick & Easy, Mix & Match Counter for Staying in the Zone
• Zone Perfect Meals in Minutes: 150 Fast and Simple Healthy Recipes from the Bestselling Authorof the Zone and Mastering the Zone
• A Week in the Zone: A Quick Course in the Healthiest Diet for You
• Zone Food Blocks: The Quick and Easy, Mix-and-Match Counter for Staying in the Zone