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Rating: 
Summary: Eh.
Review: "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.
Rating: 
Summary: Carbo addicts need to try this diet
Review: As a person who loves pasta, bread, potatos and anything starchy, this book proves that those are the foods that are keeping my weight on. I started the Zone two weeks ago and have lost seven pounds. I have never felt better and have tons of energy. I am not a huge fan of vegetables, but I have found a couple of green things that are not horrible! This diet is a no brainer, plenty of good protein,such as fish, poultry etc. and lots of fruit and veggies. I think the critics need to lighten up, this is the healthiest I have ever eaten. I don't know how people can say it's a high protein, low carb diet, when everything is so balanced. It's the TYPE of carbo's that matter. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose, except maybe a few pounds!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent application - but don't buy the bars!
Review: Dr. Sears has done an excellent job in researching his material and putting things into layman's terms for the general public to understand. Once you realize what the calorie, protien, carb and fat grams are in each food, you start to realize just how MUCH you need to eat to get there. No wonder you're never hungry! And the calories eaten are not drastic either. I have found some low-glycemic protien bars (Pure Protien) that I combine with my food to have a 'dessert' often. I checked the health food store for one of his Zone bars and found it - only to be completely shocked that one of the first ingredients in the bar is high fructose corn syrup - the most high glycemic compound on the planet! That's like eating concentrated sugar!! I can't believe he would put something like that out on the market and pass it off as being 'healthy' and 'in the Zone'. His name is even on the package. I was hoping to write him a letter, but see this might be the only way he'll get the message. The diet is great - however - you need to plan your meals ahead of time to determine your food count, etc. But, it really works. JUST DON'T BUY THE BARS! (This review regards the hardcover book - Enter the Zone)
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Summary: The Zone, Live Lecture Two- Tape Set
Review: I feel ripped off. I feel like I just paided for some one to sell me something. If you are interested in getting this diet, Don't buy the tape. It doesn't give you the diet. It only sells you on the diet. Then you have to buy another book to get the diet.
Rating:
Summary: Huge highs and lows
Review: I've tried all the diets. The last one, the low/no fat diet put on several pounds of fat and reduced my muscle mass to nill. I looked a mess. All the diets say you won't be hungry, you'll lose only fat/not muscle, you'll look healthier, etc., This is the only one that says it truthfully. It teaches what is going on in your body on a molecular level. Numerous types of hormones control everything in your body (sleep patterns, libido, energy, skin, hunger, etc.,). They reduce in middle age due to diet, not age! You don't want a high amount of hormones, you want a balanced amount. So taking a hormone pill is not going to help. This book shows you how to bring everything back into balance through diet. Try it, for your self-esteem and your health, both physical and mental.
Rating: 
Summary: One Diet Does Not Fit All--Although Great Portion Control!
Review: Sears' premise is a relatively easy one to understand: eating protein with every meal helps to regulate your insulin output and hence helps the body avoid a constant craving for fattening carbohydrate intake.
I purchased this book when it first came out in 1995, used it on and off with adequate results, and was dismayed when various news magazines and dieticians panned the premise. I thought, how could regulating hormones NOT be involved in the dieting puzzle?
Recently I was reaquainted with Sears' ideas after seeing an alternative physician in my quest for better health. The doctor recommended using Sears hormone-regulating formula and portion guidelines with Peter D'Adamo's ER4YT Blood Type Diet. So far, I have had fairly good overall health-benefit results--and this with no intention of losing weight--although this has occurred.
Although Sears comes off as being a little too commercial for my taste--just check out the Zoneperfect website and you will be bombarded with all sorts of prepackaged goodies--- his premise of eating a certain amount and a certain combination of the three basic nutritional elements seems to be quite wise. In a nutshell, one's hand is utilized to decide just how much one needs to put away during one meal. The protein should be the size of one's palm--thickness taken into account. The fat is represented by the size of the fleshy part of the thumb--about a tablespoon. Carbohydrates are monitored in this way: if eating a grain, a closed fist-sized amount should be consumed. If eating a green vegetable, two handfuls are advised.
As much as I find this advice feasible, I have some criticism with regard to Sears' premise and format. Firstly most of the recipes in the book seemed to be geared for bachelors who have little time for food preparation. Anyone wanting to make a Zone meal for a family would be pretty much out of luck if using the book as a guideline. The good news here is that the website provides many many recipes to help balance out those fats, proteins and carbs and there is an Excel based tool offered online at no-cost which actually calculates a meal's components down to the gram---if you want to get that specific. Secondly, Sears reports that one could lose weight with any combination, although he suggests for example that red meat and butter are poor choices when compared to other protein and fat choices. I believe that since this book has been written,Sears has come out with other "breakthrough" diets--one revolving around soy and one around Omega-3 fats. I can only charitably think that as his theories evolve more books will ensue. But, what he doesn't seem to cover is the fact that some people simply do not do well when eating certain foods. His one-size fits all diet, does not work for everyone. There is a dieting stall reached after awhile and the optimum results that he proports one will achieve are not achieved. Case in point, when I started the Zone vigorously, 3 years ago, I found that I had to incorporate more protein with every meal. I turned to dairy as I did not feel inclined to cook a chicken breast each and every time I wanted a snack. Unfortunately, no matter what Sears says, I do not metabolize dairy well and I found that no matter how many glasses of water I drank, no matter how many fish oil capsules I consummed, or how simple and abundant my carbohydrates were, I was still constipated. After adding a fiber supplement, I found I no longer lost weight--but stayed at a plateau for so long a period of time, I eventually tried another dieting plan. After all, no one feels well if their digestive system is no working correctly. Sears speaks of the digetive hormones, but he neglects to mention the changing hormonal interplay of estrogen and progesterone in women, especially as they get older. Nevertheless, I believe that Sears book can be the cornerstone for many who do not understand that food must be balanced to achieve a hormonally balanced body. In the same sense, in order to be a certain size, you must eat a certain amount. My advise is to use this as your springboard, then decide which combinations work best for you, perhaps, as my physician advised,try the D'Adamo blood type diet as a guideline for foods one should and shouldn't eat. I have found that since doing this, I no longer need my fiber supplement, I have lost weight, I do feel better. (Oddly enough, for my type A blood, I am to gorge myself on soy products and Omega-3 rich fish! Sounds like Dr. Sears may be a blood type A himself as his latest books plug both as highly beneficial.) Bottom line: if I feel better, I must be on the right track.
Rating:
Summary: Incredulous at the negative reviews contained herein!
Review: The diet regimen described in this book's program doesn't promote a high protein or a low calorie diet as two of the reviewers stated. I don't know what book they were reading but they are dead wrong in my opinion. This is a sensible balanced diet with enough variety to supply the micro nutrients as well as the correct proportion and quality of macro nutrients, imo. I am very active mentally and physically. I am on it for health and lean muscle weight gain and I feel great even though I am post heart transplant with only about 30% kidney function.
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Summary: The Best Low Carb Book !!! I lost 35 lbs!!
Review: The Zone has changed my life. Since April I have gone from 165- 130lbs. I was never an overeater and I have always done step class at least 2-3 x a week but couldn't loose weight until I read this book.The bagel, cereal, and rice that i thought was good for me was keeping me fat. I read Atkins, Summersizing, but this is the best. I wouldnt recommend it to everyone. Just all the high domes out there since it is a little tough to read at times.Also I don't think Vegans could be very happy with this diet. Face it people the low fat diet does not and never did work. People are fatter now than they ever were before the stupid "food pyramid" Now our children are obese too! The Zone explains it perfectly... our digestive systems have not evolved since our ancestors were cavemen and there was no bread or pasta. What do you give a cow to make it fat?GRAIN!! We should be eating like the cavemen and not the cow. The best part is I don't crave carbs anymore!!
Rating:
Summary: Try Heller's Carbohydrate Addict instead
Review: The Zone is really a low-calorie diet in a high-protein disguise. The reason you lose weight is because there's really only 1500 - 2000 calories per day, although Sears doesn't focus on that. I tried it and found it too complex. I agreed with much of the concept - I'm hypoglycemic and know what the impact of high-glycemic foods has on me. But aspects of it didn't make much sense to me - and some of the science seemed a bit far fetched. I lost a little weight, but couldn't stay with it and never got past my carb cravings and hunger. What worked for me was Richard and Rachael Heller's book on Carbohydrate Addicts. The approach is similar: balancing insulin & restricting high-glycemic carbs. But it's far easier to manage. My weight loss was slow and steady, but recognizable and encouraging. And most important, I seem to have gotten over the carb cravings and constant hunger. If you find the Zone too difficult to manage (and many do) check out the Carbohydrate Addict series. Go with the most recent, they've refined their approach.
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