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Summary: Ketosis is IMPOSSIBLE when eating in the Zone
Review: How can you suffer from it when a good meal consists of 4-5 oz of low-fat meat and enough vegetables to choke a friggin' horse? The Zone has somehow developed a rumor that it is a low-carb diet, but that's just not true -- It's a balanced carb diet. Eating low-glycemic indicator carbs like fruits and veggies simply make everything work better -- and allow you to eat more food! without overeating. Eating a plate of pasta, which I guess some of the people above and the FDA would like us to do, is like eating a huge bowl of sugar. Humans didn't evolve eating that kind of diet, and it won't do anyone any good. Anyone that actually reads this book simply learns what the body needs, and what different types of food contain. It's no fad, it just points to some simple facts that make sense even if you don't stay in "the Zone" accurately. Instead of getting that Big Mac and fries, get the chicken sandwich and a side salad. Don't eat huge plates of pasta, and eat more vegetables. Drink sugar-free drinks, don't eat a bag of pretzels, and make sure every meal and snack you eat has some protein in it. It's not a fad, it's just moderation. There you go. The Zone. Don't worry about what the "fad-fearers" say, because they haven't read or tried it. It's not a fad -- It works and will make you a healthier person.
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Summary: NAYSAYERS - POST YOUR FACTS...
Review: To all those medical professionals that say the Zone causes ketosis and is dangerous. I have one question. Is it possible to be in a state of ketosis when eating MORE grams of carbohydrates than protein at every meal? If so, please state your source. My understanding is that if you eat more carbohydrates than protein you can't enter a state of ketosis. In the zone you ALWAYS eat more carbo grams than protein grams. PERIOD. Every meal. Every day.If what I understand is true then all these medical "experts" and "MD"s that erroneously label the Zone as a ketogenic diet ought to remember the famous phrase... "It is better to not post and be thought ignorant than to post and remove all doubt..." OK, i updated it a little ;-) If, in fact, the Zone is not a ketogenic diet based on the fact that carbo grams consumed always exceed protein grams consumed then what motivates all these "professionals" to misrepresent the Zone? Some self analysis is in order. The Zone is not a perfectly written book. Some of the claims, in fact many of the claims, have not been statistically substantiated and much of it is hypothesis. However, if I was asked what one thing one could do to physically improve the quality of their life I would I would say to get on the Zone diet and exercise - in that order. Why? It works. You lose weight. You feel great. You sleep less and the quality of sleep is much better. You build muscle faster than you otherwise would. Your endurance goes up as well. Your blood work becomes more healthy. The bottom line is that the quality of your life goes from black and white to color. Some rogue doctors can misrepresent the zone diet. If they repeat it enough they eventually think it is true. They don't even have to be in the realm of reality. The Zone causes ketosis because I say so and I don't have to support what I say. The results are there. The results come rather quickly. Although I'm 5'10" and 163 lbs, I can't afford to not be on this diet. Why? Not because I want to lose weight. In fact, I'm on the Zone to gain weight. Lean body mass. My quality of life literally crashes when I eat excessive carbs. The proof of the pudding is in the taste. Those who say the pudding is no good without tasting it or citing the sources of their ketosis claims sound ignorant. Taste the pudding. It tastes great as so many here personally attest. By the way, the Zone may not be the perfect presciption for everyone. It is, however, a great starting point. Good luck and don't let the spin doctors fool you.
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Summary: It's not a weight loss "diet"
Review: Now some of you may have seen that I gave this book five stars and then read my title of this review and said "huh?" Well let me explain. I have read some severely conflicting claims from people who either view this book as a threat to their livlihood or as just another "fad". I am not a doctor. I am not a diet guru. I am a 20-something, who has felt his energy dwindle, his mental sharpness go blunt, and watched as my tummy has grown. I have always eaten a lot of bread and pasta. In fact I bought into that low or no-fat diet populus. Well, I never lost a pound eating a low fat diet, because it always contained pasta and bread. Then i got talking to a friend of mine who had whipped herself into shape in a mmater of months. She told me about this book called the Zone. Several months passed and one night I told her, I have got to do something about this belly. Now, mind you I am overweight, but not "fat", just a little chubby. So she gave me her Zone Cookbook. I read all that Dr Sears had to say in there and then found the webpage and read a little more. Two days later, with the cookbook alone, I began a Zone plan for eating. It is now 12 days later and I have lost 6 pounds, have more energy than I have had in years, and feel more mentally sharp than I can remember. In fact, when I am on the treadmill I get the feeling I can go for indefinitely. Now here is the fun: there are very few foods you cannot eat within the zone. And the meals you prepare from the cookbook are gigantic in scope to say, a weight watchers meal. The Zone is really just a new way of eating and not a diet. You can do the Zone anywhere any time. All you need to do is learn the Zone Rules. So in conclusion, ignore the naysayers you have read here (except for the diabetics, and even then Sears is reportedly concluding research on Type II diabetics and the effectiveness the Zone had on regulating their insulin levels.) The Zone has been successful for me and 3 other people in my circle. It is for real. The only people who are speaking out against it either have something to lose (ie nutritionists, MD's, etc . . .) or have never read the book or tried to follow its rules. Hope to see you all in The Zone! And please feel free to challenge what I said or ask questions.
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Summary: Eat right, enjoy good health and more!!
Review: I read two of the zone books. This book had me riveted. I went through it line by line with a highlighter in hand. I still keep going back to it fearing that I would forget what I learned. I started on this "health program" in April of 1998 at which time my triglycerides and cholesterol tested to be at 572 and 292, respectively. I do not want to tell you what it was before that. I would be accused of exaggeration. I declined to take my doctor's prescription and got him to agree to allow me to try it the natural way. Two months later I was tested again and my triglycerides and cholesterol were down to 135 and 202 respectively. I lost at least 15 percent of my weight in six weeks. I started working out at the gym again (for health reasons). I noticed that my endurance improved significantly each time I went. I started at 4.5 mph over 1.5 miles jogging on the treadmill to 6 mph over 3.5 miles running, in about 6 weeks. I was both elated and pleasantly shock. I want to thank Dr. Sears for sharing the results of his research and studies. I am basically a biology illiterate, but Dr. Sears does a superb job of presenting the results of his research on a level I can understand, but without discarding the important technical points. This book gives me a good understanding of what the program does for me and it certainly keeps me motivated. I have not given up the pleasure of good food either. In fact, I have set aside one night a week for bingeing out which helps dispel the fear of being trap in this indefinitely. Like the book says, this will not hurt. The results have been so significant on me I influenced at least six other persons to go on it - and they are all exuberant about it. I wish could tell more but for now, let me just say that I am enjoying good health, physically and mentally. Thank you, Dr. Sears.
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Summary: HELLO PEOPLE, NOT EVERY "BODY" IS THE SAME!!
Review: I have been a dieter all of my life, I have been on all of the "low fat" diets, excersized everyday and still nothing. I cannot believe that doctors can sit back and say a low fat high carbo diet is for everyone, that is just plain ignorant!! That is the same as saying, for everyone who has ever had an infection, penacillan will cure you, well for me penacillan will kill me!! I had gone to 6 doctors asking for help with weight loss, not a one could help me, and one even had the nerve to accuse me of lying about my diet and excercise routines!! Doctors need to open their eyes and realize that their <30% fat & high carbohydrate diet is not for everyone, EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. So my opnion to everyone out there trying to lose weight, JUST DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!!
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Summary: My suffering is over
Review: I decided to follow The Zone and to my amazement, for the first time, my sugar cravings have gone away... I used to weigh 320+ lbs, so believe me, I have had a major problem with food.... especially sweets. When I follow the Zone, I notice that I am fully satisfied and I do NOT experience the "pull" for sweets, as I felt like a drug addict. I am also noticing that when I DON'T stay on the Zone, and eat potatoes, white flour, breakfast cereal, etc., I am immediately pulled by my sweet tooth.
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Summary: A Great Diet... A Great (but dense!) Book
Review: This is a phenomenal eating plan! For the first time, not only did I lose weight, but I also lost the unbelievable carbohydrate cravings I used to have. Some of the text is dense with medical jargon, but the "blocks" mentality keeps it relatively simple to follow. Packed with interesting scientific reasoning; but a little skimpy on the practical. Includes a helpful food list and other useful info in the appendix section.
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Summary: Absolute Garbage
Review: This diet is a joke. The only interest at "Dr." Sears' heart is making money on another in a long line of fad diets that may help you lose weight, but at the cost of your long term health. Anyone who is so short-sighted as to buy into this scam deserves to be fleeced. The weight you lose may be your money.
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Summary: THE ZONE CAUSES PERMANENT BODILY DAMAGE
Review: Ketosis [From: Training-Nutrition, Number 329, April 9th 1996] Date: Fri, 05 Apr 1996 17:58:31 -0400 From: Ralph Giarnella Subject: Ketosis-another viewpoint There appears to be a misconception being perpetrated that the body does not normally burn fat. On the contrary most tissues can and do use fatty acids as their primary if not sole, source of metabolic energy. Under normal circumstances the exception to this is the brain and nervous tissues as well as red blood cells. Skeletal muscles at rest and at low levels of work ( such as sitting at a desk staring at a computer) use predominately fatty acids, but in heavy exercise (>70% mhr) draw on muscle glycogen and blood glucose. If you were to measure blood levels at any given time you would find small amounts of ketones (.3mmol/L) present in the blood most of the time. Before discussing ketosis we must first define ketones. Ketones are intermediate products in the oxidation of fat to energy. There are three types of ketones - acetoacetate, Beta hyroxybutyrate and acetone. They are synthesized in the liver. Once formed they enter the blood stream and are further metabolized outside the liver by skeletal muscles, heart, brain, kidney and intestine. This takes place in the mitochondria (small chemical factories)of these cells. Complete break down of ketone bodies to energy requires certain chemicals derived from another cycle of chemical reactions called the Tricarboxolic acid cycle. Normally the body uses ketones at the same rate at which they are produced and therefore the blood concentration remains low (.3mmol/L). However under certain circumstances either due to excessive production or inadequate utilization the concentration of ketones increases in the blood and we develop a condition known as ketosis (excess ketones in the blood). As the level rises our body tries to dispose of the excess ketones. Acetone is excreted through the lungs creating a very characteristic fruity breath. Acetone, Beta hydroxybutyrate (acid) and acetoacetate (acid) are excreted in the urine and their levels can be measured using ketostix. The basis of weight loss in ketosis is the fact that these ketones contain a large amount of unmetabolized calories. In short you are getting rid of the calories by flushing them down the drain. That sounds great but there is a metabolic price to pay for this waste of energy. Two of the Ketones are acids and as such tend to acidify the blood. The body functions within a very narrow pH of 7.4. In order to maintain this pH the body has many buffers, perhaps the most important and easiest to understand is Bicarbonate. Bicarbonate is produced by the kidneys in response to increase acid production. The lungs also assist in maintaining the pH by hyperventilating and getting rid of excessive CO2 which is produced through the buffering action of bicarbonate. If the kidneys can't produce enough bicarbonate to counteract the production of ketoacids, a condition known as ketoacidosis is produced with serious metabolic consequences. Acidosis causes potassium to leak out of cells and into the blood. High levels of potassium can cause cardiac arrythmias. As the pH begins to drop numerous bodily functions begin to malfunction. At a pH of 7.2 coma usually ensues and at a pH of less than 7.0 the human organism ceases to function. Does ketosis help lose weight? Yes. Is it safe? You decide. I wouldn't recommend it. IMHO I think it is a dangerous game with very high stakes. There are a lot safer alternatives. Ralph Giarnella MD
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Summary: My Doctor Was Right!
Review: My doctor recommended "The Zone" to me after my last checkup, when he found my blood sugar level to be severely elevated. He told me "If you don't change what you're doing, you're going to have a heart attack and die." My wife and I have followed the Zone diet for the last ten weeks and we've each lost 20+ pounds! We've lost weight since day #1 and haven't had a single week of weight gain in that time. My last blood test revealed blood sugar: normal, cholesterol: normal (1st time in 10 years.) We have been very gratified with the resulsts, and we HAVEN'T BEEN HUNGRY! One thing I have noticed is that you WILL NOT see this book sold in health food stores. The only reason that I can think of is that, since The Zone treats food itself as a prescription drug, they would have nothing to sell you to improve your health. A truly balanced diet, no drugs or suppliments, moderate exercise....what a concept!
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