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

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:Smoothie1 c. yogurt1 c. milk1 c. strawberries1 c. raspberries2 envelopes of splenda1 oz low fat cheese12 almonds or 24 peanutsLunch:4 oz Chicken4 c. salad 1 T. ranch3 c. mushrooms1/2 c. grapes1/2 c. pineappleSnack1oz cheese1/2 apple3 olivesDinner5oz fish2 c. green beans2 c. salad1 T. ranch1/2 apple1 c. strawberriesSnack:1oz beef1/2 c. grapes3 almondsNot 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.

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

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.

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.

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.