Hi.  My sister is a cardiologist, and she recommended to me (as she does to all of her patients) to go on the Zone Diet. Over the Thanksgiving holidays, I read Dr. Sear's first two books and have recently bought "A Week in the Zone." I count myself as one of the converted now.

I didn't weigh myself the first week I started, but the second week showed that I had lost a total of 5 pounds. This third week, however, I didn't lose any weight. I have been doing everything as correctly as I can. Perhaps this sinus infection I have been fighting off has impeded my progress?

Anyway, I am slightly confused about the particulars. For lunch almost every day, I just make myself a big salad with romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, and some sort of protein. I was hoping to use the eyeball method, but maybe I'm still eating too many carbs.

Can someone please just buck me up here? Maybe offer some suggestions or tips? Also, I am looking for a book or resource for the blocks of most foods. The books I have read so far just have limited food items in their index.

Thank you.

Don't be discouraged! The hand-eye method is fine. Though if you're wondering if you're off, you could always measure a few things to compare. I know that my brain's portion size is way off from the scale size, so I had to relearn what a 3 oz portion of chicken was!

Not everyone loses something every single week. Your first big 5 lbs was probably mostly water. Don't let the scale be your only judge of success. How do you feel physically, mentally and emotionally? Remind yourself that regardless of how much weight you lose (or not), you are doing your body a great service by filling it with healthy food!

Hi Melinda I make the mistake of weighing myself too much and was told that you should check your measurements with the tape measure. You may see a big difference that way. When the Zone first came out it was for people to feel healthy. Weight loss was a pleasant side effect. nutritiondata.com is a good website. Margaret (from Australia)

Sometimes it just goes in spurts like that. We women sometimes gain/lose water weight around our cycles, too. Give it more time, and go by how you feel in terms of overall energy and focus, and whether you are curbing hunger. BTW, you may actually NOT be getting enough carb in that salad. It is easy to be "short" of carbs with salads using lots of low-density veggies. You could toss some garbanzo beans on there, or maybe even some fruit. I like slicing grapes in half and sprinkling them over a salad.

Hi Melinda,

This book will be your best friend, The Top 100 Zone Foods http://www.zonediet.com/Shop/Books/...books.aspx

Here are some ideas for a plan that can get you started quickly. The good news is...... that there's a tremendous amount of... information on this site, so you can get a good solid start. When you can, you could purchase Zone books.

1. Go to the Zone Diet Body Fat Calculator on this site, enter your numbers and it will tell you how many protein blocks you need to eat per day. here's the link... http://www.zonediet.com/Tools/Calcu...fault.aspx

2. Go to the Quick Start Guide and read the Basic Zone Rules tab: http://www.zonediet.com/Tools/Quick...fault.aspx">http://www.zonediet.com/Tools/Quick...fault.aspx

3. Check out the Men's or Women's Meal Planner for some meal and snack examples: http://www.zonediet.com/EATING/7Day...fault.aspx

4. Check out the Zone Food Blocks tab of the Quick Start Guide for foods that you can substitute into the meal and snack examples if you don't like or have the foods on hand:
http://www.zonediet.com/Tools/Quick...fault.aspx">http://www.zonediet.com/Tools/Quick...fault.aspx

5. Use the "Search" feature in the upper right corner of the website to type in keywords for your questions -- it's amazing how much you can learn from that! For example, I typed in "hunger adjustments" and got a ton of info on how to adjust my foods and blocks to extend the periods between hunger.

Melinda - I'll add my belated 2 cents here. I've been using the Zone since September so I'm not an expert, but with the help of the wonderful people on this forum and my own hits and misses I hope I can add a word of help. First of all I just want to say you are giving yourself the very best gift by finding this program. Remember above all that this is a life change so it IS a marathon, not a sprint. Don't make the scale your God - use it as a tool to monitor not as a judge for your success. My sister was just commenting that she is able to wear her skinniest jeans comfortably at this point in her Zone journey even though she's 7 lbs higher than her weight was on WW wearing the same jeans. You'll find that because you are losing fat all over your body - how your clothes fit may be a better indicator than the scale. Since fat weighs less than muscle you have to lose more of it to move the scale. Plus, as Cranberrycat mentioned we have to work with our cycles, too. I have also found that sometimes I plateau just because my body needs a little time to reset itself. So I just keep plugging away and then, Wham - more happens! I agree with both Xee and Margaret - spot check your portions just to be sure you're on track and measure yourself once a week just to monitor your progress. Use the forum - there are great people here who can give you tons of helpful tips and advice. I wish you all the best in your journey and I look forward to reading more of your success!

Thanks, all, for your comments and support. This week, I lost one pound. But even better, I lost some inches on the measuring tape. I can hardly believe it myself. I have lost 2 inches off my abdomen and one inch off my hips--in one week! Is that even possible??? Hip, hip, hooray!

Hi Melinda, that's great!  The inches are most likely the result of the loss of retained fluid that is typically experienced as you enter the Zone.  Good job. 

____________________________________________

sue
Consultant of Zone Labs
Certified Zone Affiliate

Lost 100 lbs 16 yrs ago, off BP meds, thanks to the Zone diet and Zone fish oil.   ZoneFast 1-2-3 is the best!

View my Zone Fast 1-2-3 meal photos here:
http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...3%20Meals/

View my classic Zone meal photos here:
http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...4/?start=0
 

Woo-hoo, Melinda!

WTG Melinda...keep it up!

GREAT news Melinda !! Good job!

Laurie

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