Finally, I got myself registered! It was a bit tricky, but I am glad to finally be here. I have a friend who introduced me to the Zone, and I became interested because of her success. I had considered the paid membership, but really can't afford it. So, as I go through this process, I may be looking to some of you for a bit of support. Anyone have some good suggestions on which book I should pick up?

[color=darkred:3e4e7b8df8]Hi, If you haven't read any yet, I'd suggest to begin with the paperback "A Week in the Zone". If you then wish to read more, the next book you choose will depend upon which aspect of the Zone you'd most like to delve into in more detail (ie, the science behind it, cooking, the diet alone, fish oil, etc.) Many of the books have a specific focus, but all include a basic rundown of the diet itself. "The Anti Inflammation Zone" is also a good place to begin because while it explains the diet, it also emphasizes the importance of the inflammation reducing aspects of the Zone. "Zone Meals in Seconds" offers the Zone diet info in a less technical manner. I really like the book "The Top 100 Zone Foods" but I wouldn't recommend it as the first book to use to introduce oneself to the basic Zone principles. In closing, for a simple and concise first look at the Zone , "A Week in the Zone" is your best bet. Note that you can find the corrections to this book (typos and omissions) on drsears.com. [/color:3e4e7b8df8]

Thanks for the suggestions, Sue! Nice to "meet" you. I want to lose weight, but I am also interested in disease prevention. A friend of mine has had some success and she introduced me to the Zone. I was thinking of signing up on the www.zonediet.com, but it is a bit out of my budget. I think I will need to save my pennies for all the grocery shopping that I will be doing.

When I first was introduced to the Zone, I found "Mastering the Zone" to be an excellent book to get me started. It fully explained everything in terms that I could understand, and there were some recipe ideas and a huge food block guide. And, depending on how you want to "measure" your food, you can get a good understanding of the block method by reading MTZ. If you are interested in learning about Zone Points, then the Anti-Inflammation Zone is a good resource for that. I think hand/eye or plate method is explained in most books, as well. Welcome!

Thanks, Cran! I have been using hand/eye, but I am considering using one of the other methods, just have to get my "feet wet" on that. At first, I was not interested, but now that I am a bit more comfortable, I feel a bit more adventuresome.