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Summary: Resetting the genetic code?
Review: The question whether this book can be considered serious or not is already answered by one of its claims on the cover page: "reset your genetic code". This is ridiculous. One should know that the genetic code is inherited and cannot be positively changed by food or anything else.
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Summary: Great book for people willing to "reprogram" their diets
Review: I've read so many reviews of this book, so many of them negative. People talk about how much they love carbs, that we need carbs for energy, that they can't give up bread, pasta, etc. The bottom line is, if you're not willing to reduce those things in your diet that are making you fat, you will STAY fat. As my mother always says, if you're unhappy with yourself, EITHER do something about it, or resign yourself to a life of weight problems and SHUT UP about it.
C'mon people....is it any wonder that Americans are SO overweight? Can any other food be "supersized", "big gulped", "double stuffed", or "hungry manned"???? Our portions are WAY out of control. We substitute high fat foods with high sugar foods, and then wonder why we're not losing weight.
To me, The Zone is NOT a low-carb, high-protein diet. It is a return to a NORMAL, proportionate way of eating. Sure, it might take some time to reteach yourself about portion size, glycemic index and caloric content, but with the "eyeball" and "hand" method, this diet is VERY easy. (...)
Rating: 
Summary: Surface dieting
Review: I bought the book because I read that Jennifer Aniston uses the Zone, and she looks great. So.... I don't recommend this book for a variety of reasons. One is that I tried to follow the Zone perfectly and I found that it was very difficult to do so. Unless you have someone preparing the meals for you, it is hard to strictly adhere to the portions and the ingredients that the Zone suggests. Secondly, I found the Zone to be unrealistic. I love bread and carbohydrates. All my life I have learned that it is necessary to eat carbohydrates if you want any energy. Our bodies need to burn the sugars in order for us to function effectively throughout the day. I didn't feel that the Zone paid enough attention to this fact, and I found that I had little energy to do thing I normally enjoy doing - like bike-riding. To me, I find it healthier to eat what I want in moderation and to exercise 3 to 4 times a week. This way I have my dessert and eat it to, plus I found I had more energy.
I don't recommend this book. If you are serious about losing weight, seriously analyze your eating habits, get off your butt and exercise.
Rating: 
Summary: I CAN RECOMMEND BETTER BOOKS THAN THIS
Review: THE ZONE IS BASICALLY MUCH LIKE AN ISO CALORIC DIET.
BUT WITH MY EXPERIENCE WTIH IT IN THE ACTUAL. I FIND IT TEMPTING TO SUBSTITUTE GOOD CARBS WITH BAD CARBS SINCE ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR IT IS PERMISSIBLE TO HAVE BAD CARBS ON A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE.
FINALLY DIET IS TOO CONCENTRATED ON TOO FREQUENT TOO SMALL MEALS WHICH I FIND IT HARD SPECIALLY WHEN YOU WORK LIKE ME AS A PURCHASER IN A BIG COMPANY.i personally think GREENWICH DIET AND THE FAT BURNING DIET IS MUCH SUITED FOR ME.
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Summary: The Zone: A Road Map to Lose Weight Permanently
Review: This book is extremely comprehensive. The theory is very detailed.The author comes with excellent credentails. You will have to do a lot of reading...some of which is very technical, but well explained if you stay with it!
It does explain EXACTLTY why this eating program works and HOW TO DO IT. Well documentated Athlete results. I have friends on this program and it worked for them.
I would have preferred less detail and technical information. Still, well worth the read....I learned a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: Eye Opener
Review: This book was an eye opener to me. I was recommended this book by a couple who I hadn't seen in at least 6 months who both dropped a significant amount of weight. I was skeptical when they brought the book to my attention because I don't believe in fad diets and thought this book may just be one of the many "diet" books out there. I went ahead, however, and bought the book. I was totally impressed with this book. The book did provide some information that I already knew about for eating healthy (thereby, confirming that it knew what it was talking about), but it mostly provided information that totally opened my eyes, like how our body reacts to the types of foods we eat. I was also surprised on what was considered good vs bad foods (carbs-, fat-, protein-based) for our body. I was also impressed by the approach that Dr. Barry Sears took with eating, and treating food like medication. All in all, the book made sense! The book not only provided information that taught a different approach to eating healthy, but it also acted as a motivational tool. It provided positive reinforcement for following the Zone philosophies and for staying "in the zone". Now at the time prior to purchasing the book, I wasn't very obese. I was, however, overweight and normally felt sluggish. I started practicing Dr. Sears' approach by following his philosophies (such as the number of times to eat, eating more of the recommended fats, proteins, carbs, not letting more than 5 hours pass between meals, etc.) moreso than his highly structured regiment of breaking down all foods into its appropriate zone blocks. I knew that block counting would probably get me into the zone alot quicker, but because I'm a busy person I figured I can take a slower approach so as long as I eventually see results. Just by taking this approach and exercising as Dr. Sears recommended, I shed about 5 lbs the first month, 10 lbs the second month, and 5 lbs the third month -- 20 lbs total in three months! This brought me closer to my ideal body weight. I'm guessing I lost about 25 lbs in body fat and gained 5 lbs in muscle during that time. Just as important, I don't feel sluggish at all anymore, and don't have the cravings for alot of the bad food I used to have. Now the important thing I can tell anyone is that I don't totally deny my favorite "bad" foods. The book doesn't say "don't"; it just recommends that you minimize eating the bad foods. What I do is that I eat my favorite bad foods on occasion, but always remember to get back on the zone thereafters. Based on my results, I'm truly convinced that this book lived up to its hype. Whenever I tell people of my results, they're totally astounded. I always let friends and colleagues who are interested borrow my book and I recommend to them that they read chapters 2 & 3 before deciding if this book is for them. Almost always, they agree with the book, read the rest of the chapters, and buy the book for themselves.
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Summary: First diet, lost weight
Review: Following the Zone Diet was the first diet I ever tried. I lost 25 pounds in three months, bringing me down to what I thought was close to my ideal weight. It was fairly easy. I decided in advance that I wasn't going to strictly follow it... I ate a zone breakfast, and a zone supper, but ate out with the office crowd at lunch and ate whatever I wanted -- for morale reasons. Also changed from Coke to Diet Coke. Still lost 25 pounds! Unfortunately, I stopped taking it seriously, and you guessed it -- 15 pounds have come back. I watched the last 5 pounds tack on knowing that I was doing it to myself... yesterday I decided it was time to smarten up and get back on it. Gotta make it a lifestyle change, or I will be a yo-yo....
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Summary: Explains much, but easier said than done.
Review: I just finished reading The Zone. It is interesting and easy to understand. A fast read all in all. It is based on the premise that all food we eat results in a hormonal response to food. All food we eat is made up of macronutrients.(Carbohydrate, protein, and fats) It is our bodies response to these macronutrients that determine our hormonal response. However, it is the fats that we eat that seem to play a vital role in whether we gain or lose weight, or whether we are making ourselves vulnerable to Cancer, heart disease or a host of other ailments. This is most important point made in the book. When we eat fats, the body is able to make Eicosanoids, pronounced (Eye-kah-sah-noids) These control virtually everything in the body. There are good ones and bad ones, however we need all of them to some degree. Take for example the the food pyramid so often touted in our schools. This calls for 70% carbs, 15% protein, and 15% fats. This results in an overproduction of insulin in the body which leads to an accumulation of excess "bad" eicosanoids. This results in less energy, and poor health. One of the reasons for this is that too much insulin results in a state where the body cannot access body fat to burn and has to rely on the reserves of energy stored in the liver. Once this is used up, since the body cannot use its fat stores, you crave quick energy or more carbs which keep this viscious cycle in place. So even while exercising aroebically your body cannot burn fat becouse of this excess insulin. It all requires balance. We need the proper balance of fat, protein, and carbs. This ratio is 30% fat, 30% protein, and 40% carbs. This explains many reasons while people are eating less red meat, and exercising, americans keep gaining weight. I can personally attest to this since I was always big on carbs and eat very little red meat, and yet I still have those "love handles." The only part that worries me is measuring out food. YOu can use "eyeball" figures but even that can be difficult. Say for example you are having meatballs and spaghetti. I know that meatballs contain some eggs and oil. If your at a friends house for dinner, it can be very difficult to do all of this math in your head. Even roughly. He also says that no foods are forbidden but they must balance. For another example you can look at his "guiltless pleasures." One example is 1/2 cup of Haagen-Dazs ice cream plus low fat cottage cheese, and four ounces of turkey. I don't know about anyone else but if I want to have turkey, I'm not gonna want cottage cheeze, and if I want ice cream the same thing goes. It is a tough balancing act. However, from all of the positive feedback I've heard I'm certainly going to give it a try. Good Luck!
Rating:
Summary: Way too much work
Review: The basic premise of the book would probably work -- if you have the organization and stamina to do it. In other words, if you were the straight-A student type who typed all your reports in high school. And if you are that organized, you can figure out how to balance your diet in one of several different ways and you'll probably lose weight and feel great. The foods and recipes suggested here will definitely do you good, by most modern medical ideas. The protein content might be a little high by some people's standards, but it won't put you into ketosis by any means. It's a diet similar to that used by many body builders (more protein, less simple carbohydrate, more vegies), but the exact percentages used here just make it more work -- too much for me to deal with anyway. There are simpler diets with really similar results, that are a lot easier to stick to.
Rating:
Summary: Gimmicky
Review: Although poorly written, I thought this book at least had some decent scientific principles to bring to bear on the question of diet and weight loss until I saw a "The Zone" candy bar on my drug store shelf, bought it, and couldn't even eat it the thing was so sweet. That convinced me, perhaps unfairly, that beyond obvious common sense this book is just another commercial venture designed to capitalize on the endless American "appetite" for gimmicky diet books and has little to offer. Then again, why should I be surprised, because there is no mystery to weight loss, it involves eating less overall, eating healthy foods and exercising. We Americans are always looking for a quick fix, some miracle diet promising we can stuff ourselves and still lose weight, but it isn't going to happen.
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