[cocotbo]

Has anyone tried the Zone diet? Did it work for you? Is it difficult to plan meals and serving sizes? Is it something you feel you can continue for the rest of your life?

[WordsAplenty]

I tried the Zone... for about 5 seconds. I felt it was a little too complicated. With 3 kids at home and all the other stuff we have to do, it just required a little too much planning for me. I don't want to think about my meals that much. I'm thinking of trying South Beach... at first glance it seems to make sense and be much simpler.

[cocotbo]

Oh bummer. I've ordered the book, so I'll give it a read. I have the worst time with starchy carbohydrates and really need to find something that will help me get that under control while helping me to lose weight (still carrying baby weight).

Let me know how South Beach works out for you. Good luck!

[WordsAplenty]

Don't let me discourage you. I know that I cannot stick with diets. I just can't. Intellectually I know what I need to do-- cut out soft drinks and junk food, drink more water, exercise. When I do that, I lose weight. When I don't, I gain weight. Simple, right?!! So why can't I stick to it?!!! I'm sure the Zone will work for you-- we've already established that you're more grown up than me!!!

[cocotbo]

Originally Posted by WordsAplenty

Don't let me discourage you. I know that I cannot stick with diets. I just can't. Intellectually I know what I need to do-- cut out soft drinks and junk food, drink more water, exercise. When I do that, I lose weight. When I don't, I gain weight. Simple, right?!! So why can't I stick to it?!!! I'm sure the Zone will work for you-- we've already established that you're more grown up than me!!!

!
I don't drink soft drinks and I rarely eat junk food. I drink about a gallon of fresh water daily and exercise and yet, it stays...
I'll still give it a try. I like to prepare all of my meals for the week in one day and then just pull them out when it's time, so even a diet that requires planning is doable for me. It would be so easy if I could just join one of those meal delivery companies that drops completely prepared meals and authorized snacks off on my doorstep once a week. I guess I'd better make that novel a bestseller...

[cocotbo]

I started "Zoning" this week and I can't believe the difference in how I feel! This is really remarkable. My energy levels are staying steady rather than the fluctuations I used to assume were natural throughout the day. I'm much more high-energy now and I'm loving it!

[RobertSRister]

So, cocotbo....It's been a month. Are you still in the Zone? Is it still working for you? Inquiring minds want to know.

[cocotbo]

Funny you should mention it! I'm still loving it!
I just started a new job and have been putting in long hours, so the call from the potato chips and other starchy carbs has been pretty strong. Although I've given in to them more times than I'd like to admit, the Zone has helped me to NOT gain any extra weight and keep my energy levels hopping.

I've been on plenty of diets in my life, but this one - if done properly - is better than any drug you could take as far as energy levels go. I'm planning to share a lot more detail about this in the Weight Loss Blog here at Families.com at: http://weight-loss.families.com/

Check it out!

[WordsAplenty]

cocotbo,
You're my hero! Do you find the Zone hard to stick to w/ working and taking care of your son? Does it take a lot of planning?

[cocotbo]

Originally Posted by WordsAplenty

Do you find the Zone hard to stick to w/ working and taking care of your son? Does it take a lot of planning?

Oddly enough, it really doesn't take much planning. I usually do any real cooking that I'll need to do on one particular day of the week. For my proteins, I'll do Buffalo chicken breasts in my rotisserie, ham or pot roast in the crock pot and hamburger patties on my George Foreman grill. Then I'll take an inventory and make sure I have enough nuts & olives for my fats and frozen & fresh veggies for my fibrous carbs. For the starchy carbs that I can't live without (yes, addiction), I'll make muffins with wheat and soy flour or oatmeal with walnuts and frozen berries (in my rice cooker). The important part is having a good set of reusable containers for single serving sizes. Once I get things cooked, I separate them into single servings and put half in the fridge (for the first part of the week) and half in the freezer (for later in the week). This way, all I need to do at mealtime is pick a protein and a carbohydrate (either vegetables or starchy) and my meal is in the Zone.

Where I run into trouble is when I don't take that one afternoon or morning per week to do my cooking. If I have to prepare each meal as I go, a can of Pringles starts looking REALLY good!

Right now, I'm doing some detox experiments but i'll be back in the Zone shortly. You can read about my adventures in detox and the Zone in the Weight Loss Blog and check out some of my diet-friendly recipes in the Food Blog.