Hi All,

I am actually doing MediZone in Orlando with Dr Bragg. I had my first weigh in on Monday and although my home scale (yes i weighed at home) said I was down about 6.5 it said 4.8 at the dr. Still, with the understanding that i've always been a slow loser... I am okay with that- Just hope my weekly is around 2 lbs or so. I started at 213, so now I am 208. I would like to get to 130/120. I have a friend who lose 90 lbs in 10 months, and a friend who lost 25 in about 2. My mom is a weight watchers leader, I come from an athletic family... I know all about health but I've never been able to get my weight off. After moving to Chicago for two years, and coming back I realized how heavy I really am and I look the leap.

I am having a bit of trouble eating all the food, I feel like I'm never hungry. Also, yesterday and today I just feel "heavy" I got on the scale and it was up a bit... weird. water weight, that time of the month, anything... i know. just saying.

I am starting back in the gym tomorrow, so anyone working out with a good routine suggestion?

I APPRECIATE ANY COMMENTS :)

I am just learning aabout the medizone diet. IS there any place in Port charlotte area? I am anxious to start after reading everything hear.
Thanks in advance.

Hi Teresina...
The closet medizone is Sarasota off of clark road...here is the web site
http://www.garciaweightloss.com/

Byrdie Sue

Hi all! So many new comments! Lori, I too have had major issues consuming the daily amount of food. I had to set reminders on my work email just to remind me to eat! Kind of weird, but the doctor said my lightheadness, was because I basically wasn't eating enough. I make sure to eat breakfast every morning, if possible. I am not really a big breakfast person, but the doctor told me I needed to start. Once I get past the breakfast, I eat VERY small amounts for lunch and a semi-small dinner.

You just have to keep your metabolism moving and system digesting. DON'T NOT EAT~ I actually gained weight when I ate less, and think since I started increasing my food intake 2 weeks ago, that's why I had the drastic weight drop this week.

No suggestions on the gym--I'm a bad influence in that department. This last weigh-in was 11 weeks, and I have only worked out about 4-5 times, total!

Good luck and don't get discouraged!!!! Just remember it will all pay off!!

I'm in the Brandon area. Would any of you all in the Sarasota/Tampa area be interested in doing a zone cooking club? We could take turns hosting a zone-friendly meal. Just a thought!

OH, that sounds like fun! I wish I lived down there, I would definitely join!

Hello everyone --- I'm in the Tampa area -- been doing the Zone on and off for years. I would like to find a nutritionist who knows the Zone well. I want to tweek my food plan to improve it as needed. The best thing about the Zone is the stable blood sugars and no cravings. Like Dr Sears says -- "food is a drug". In keeping with that I don't want to go to one of these "diet docs" if they are so pro appetite suppressants. Whatever you call them it's still speed. (once a nurse always a nurse) While I'd like to wake up a size 10 .... So what do you think? Anyone know where I can find a Zone coach/nutritionist? Love the idea of a Zone club. Sharing meals -tricks- shopping finds - recipes etc is a great way to stay zoned. Congrats on your giving away the weight --- Lin in LOL

Welcome Linda! I've been doing the Zone for a lot of years, too.

I'm not sure where to find a Zone nutritionist, but in the meantime, there are lots of knowledgeable people here who can help you.

And while you're at it, switch that dream to waking up and being a size 6 or 8! That is more like where you'll be once you're at ideal body fat%. :)

Thanks Sue --and C cat- I've been on the site a lot -- got some new tricks -- looking up recipes. I'm a 4 block -- one of my breakfast favorites= steel cut oatmeal 1/4 c (C=26 P=4 F=2) Fat free cottage cheese (C=5 P15 F=0) Soymilk 1/2 c(C=3.5 P=3.5 F=2) Tot=C=34.5 P= 22.5 and F=4. Am I accurate? iI know soy can vary with the brand so I'm careful. Lunch = 2c green greens salad with 6oz talapia and 1cup blueberries. Tonite= Great Zone soup with 4oz turkey 1/5c brn rice. Am snack= 1 cheese stick (C=0 P=8 F=2.5)and 1 oz turkey (C=0 p=5.5 F=0.5) an apple. pm snack 8oz soy milk and 1c strawberries. I see from reviewing that things have changed -- pineapple and citrus are not as geat (no surpise) --- Which is his latest book o is it best to stay online in the site fo the most updated. Thank you Thank you

Hi Linda!

Ok, let's see, your breakfast. You added accurately, but it's not a Zone balanced 4 block meal. It's missing protein and fat. One completely balance Zone block contains 7 g P, 9 g insulin stimulating C (insulin stimulating C = total C minus total fiber) and 3 g fat. A balance 4 block meal contains 28 g P, 36 g C and 12 g F. Dr Sears advises not to count the protein in plant foods with the exception of soy because some of it is bound in insoluble fiber and is never absorbed by the human digestive tract (comes out as it went in!). Gluten "meat" (aka seitan) would be another exception. Therefore you wouldn't count the P in the oats. That puts your P amount at 19 g, or almost 3 blocks. The C is almost 4 blocks, though I don't know if you subtracted the fiber. If not, then the C is a little low. Typically you wouldn't count the C in the cottage cheese, but I notice you are counting every grams of everything. That's fine, as long as you remember to subtract the fiber (and also not count the P in plant foods). The fat amount is far too low. Dr. Sears described the fat in the meal as a "control rod". It helps slow down the rate of entry of the C into your blood stream, ultimately making it possible to maintain the lower insulin levels of the Zone. Without the minimum necessary fat you won't be able to maintain your insulin in the Zone range. You need at least 8 more fat grams in the meal.

On to lunch. It's short on carb and is also missing fat.

"Am snack", that's approximately a 3P, 4C snack. Assuming it's the same brand of soymilk as in your breakfast, you're missing a block or two of fat. If you meant that to be a PM snack, it contains too many blocks for a bedtime snack.

Pineapple and melons are now unfavorable carb. Citrus is favorable, though some people find they need to treat citrus as unfavorable in order to stay in the Zone.

The most recently released book, an excellent resource, is "The Anti-Inflammation Zone". I highly recommend it!

Keep us updated!

Thank you -- got his book and am getting a lot out of it ---- Math= I am a 13 block day --- 3block meals with 2 snacks of 2 blocks -(one is at bedtime) Is this right so far? Subtract fiber. P in plants =don't count. I'm lookin forward to an increasingly more stable blood sugar. Linda

You're welcome Linda!

You've got it right. Yes to all those qns you just asked. Give it a a few days for your body to acclimate to the changes, and by the end of 1 week you should be noticing some differences. You can split the snacks up into 4 1 block snacks too, if you prefer. I eat 13 blocks a day and eat 4 1 block snacks, using 2 of them to support my workouts.

So I started @ Medizone on Clark two days ago. My body definitely let me know it was time for fruits and veggies today, almost immediately after I peed on the stick and it turned colors. I started sweating all over (from my hips even, so weird!) and then I got short of breath, felt like I had a migraine and very sick to my stomach. I realize that I'm only allowed 2 fruits right now, but I downed four apples to right whatever had gone so terribly wrong with my blood sugar. I am hypoglycemic, which I told the doctor, but nobody told me this could happen.
I have to say, I guess I didn't do my research well enough because this diet (at least at first) is so much like Atkins which I believe is an unhealthy diet. Of course, it doesn't allow for the fatty foods like Atkins does, but I guess I am trying to wrap my mind around the lack of carbs. I don't love protein to begin with, so after two days of lean sliced deli meat I have sworn it off for good. Just the smell of it now makes me gag.
Your posts are so helpful, because even though I paid the crazy amount of money and got some info from the office, I feel like I am a little too out on my own. Then again, I didn't do Weight Watchers because I didn't want the big pow-wow every week over calories.
Any advice through this beginning stage? Its SOOOOO rough. Far more than I thought it'd be. But I am sticking to it, if for nothing else than the expensive first visit!

Hi, I also go to Medizone off Clark - I started about a two month ago, but have been out of town for the past three weeks.

So I only lost 4 in my first week (and -.2% body fat which I was really excited about.) I feel like the only person in the world to lose that few in the first week. I can say that my body has been acting very differently. As I said, on the second day I got a big low-sugar spell (I am hypoglycemic) then everything was ok. But on the fifth day, I woke up with really bad kidney pains and soooo lethargic, so I drink a ton of water and had a few grape nuts (gasp) but could that really be the big culprit? . I swear I am not a complainer, I am just asking for anyone who has any similar circumstances. Its crazy to go from eating whatever I wanted to eating SOOOOO well and not having larger results. The Dr. also said I need to eat more, because my food intake was really low and maybe that was why I was so lethargic.
Thanks for any and all advice.

Hey Molly! I have been doing Medizone since June 2nd. It's been about 3.5 months. I started at 207.5 and currently weigh 159. My goal is 150. It is and it isn't easy. I am very torn.

The beginning is MOST definetly the hardest, without a doubt. I didn't have any side-effects until month two. I was lightheaded, to the point it started concerning me. I told the doctor right away and to my surprise, it was because I wasn't eating ENOUGH! Evidently, I wasn't eating the full 10 servings of protien and 4 servings of fruit/vegetables. I increased my servings and was fine the first day.

I am anemic and wasn't effected at all -- I'm actually not testing anemic anymore and I have been anemic since I was in Elementary School and I'm 24 now.

Tips:
Make sure you drink the entire amount of water--all 128 ounces--this will most likely cure your side-effects.
Eat smaller meals more often, to keep your stomach digesting and you full. This should help too.

It's tough, but once you get past the first few weeks....it's smooth sailing. Each weigh-in motivates you for the next week! I only lost 6 or 8 lbs the first week...but, my first month was steady numbers close to this range. It then tapers off to about 1-3 lbs a week, which I am perfectly fine with... it's really not bad. I've averaging about 3.2 lbs a week.
I hope this helps--and BTW, just tell the girls you want to talk to Dr. Sexton about your symptoms, to see if you can change anything around...

Hi Medizoners!

I'm curious about something. Are you monitoring LBM and body fat % as you lose weight? For those who are monitoring these stats, are you losing only stored fat with Medizone or is your LBM decreasing? Thanks!

Natalie,
First of all, THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY. It really helped. I cannot believe your weight loss. My weight is starting at about the same and we have a similar goal and similar age. So you are extremely helpful. AND, I was alarmed by how hard the first week was because nobody really told me, which is probably a good thing. No reason to start out negative, you know? And its funny you said that about the small meals after I went to the doctor and he suggested to eat more, I started grazing, like you say with a lot more small meals throughout the day and since my last post I have felt a million gillion times better. I guess I was just too overzealous the first week and since I normally ate carbs and wasn't much of a fan of protein and veggies, it wasn't all that hard to NOT eat. And you are also right about it getting easier. Its bizarre how, after the first week of what felt like a million years longing for carbs, my body is learning to use the food I give it to feel full like it did when I was eating carbs. It really makes me wonder HOW people do the zone without Dr. Garcia's plan (the shots and pills make the switch much easier because I am not great with self control)
The doctor upped my appetite suppressants to 2 before each meal instead of 1 because I was hungrier than I wanted to be. But I think the 2 pills had an adverse affect today. I forgot to eat breakfast an hour after I took them and although I have eaten, I still feel hungry and now jittery. Its nothing worriesome, just weird. Its just so good to share experiences!
Any recipes that you recommend?

hey again. I am doing Medi-zone also in Orlando--posted a little while back. I've been on the program for 5 weeks and I've lost 20.5 lbs. I'm averaging 4 lbs a week then, which is great!!! I've been sticking to it like 100% and really proud of myself. My only slipup came on my moms birthday- but aside from that- I've been doing great. I'm struggling to get back into the gym, but I really want to start ASAP. Also, I have a really hard time eating all of my portions. Especially with teaching, I can't take breaks throughout the day, I'll go all day and realize, great I need to eat more!!

But anyway, in a rush but wanted to post my update.

would love to read more. :)

Sue--they do monitor our Body Fat percentage. My first weigh-in, June 2nd, BF was 44.5%. As of Sept 15th, BF was 34.5%. So 10% total BF lost. Every quarter at work, we have a nurse come in a do "health-exam", so I will be able to see more hard "hard-evidence", as I call it... I will let you know soon, as my appt is October! I also wanted to explain my idea of this diet, as you aren't getting the whole picture in these blogs. Basically, this diet uses the assistance of appetite suppresants to TEACH portion control (I know this is a controversy between lots of people, but some people need this to relearn the basics), and focuses of shopping the perimeter of the grocery store. The inside is 99% sugar, packaged, processed crap. The shots are vitamins and are optional---personally, I had these done prior to the diet to help with the fatigue from my anemia. So, the diet helps teach people how to eat and what to eat, so they don't fail when the accomplish the battle.

Lori--Your doing great!! I haven't slipped at all since I started--but, I gladly will blame my monthly hormones, for the healthy low sugar/fat chocolate bars I have eaten occasionally... I asked the doctor and he said they are okay, if I MUST--But, sometimes, mother nature makes me crave certain things that I can't control! I normally only need a lick or bite to kill the craving, and since it only occurs once a month, it doesn't effect my self-control or progress--thank god!

Molly--How old are you? I started at the 2 pills before meals, not 1--but, I have stopped taking my morning pill as I don't have appetite issues that early in the morning. My biggest/hardest obstacle was insomnia. I never had problems sleeping, until I started week 2....but, I moved the time up on my last pill and have been fine ever since. I weigh-in Monday, and it should be good, as I just got off my period!!! That's always a good weigh-in! Good luck this week! Oh--and now that you hit week 2, you might want to go read my posts from the beginning--your getting ready to experience some "fun" (not) bodily experiences! LOL!

I am having a heck of a time downing protein. Even soy substitutes. Are there protein shakes that I can substitute for my protein intake? I don't want to buy anything until I know that it is Zone approved. I know the Zone sells a protein shake and I am wondering if that is a fair substitute.
And Natalie, I have the monthly visitor right now and I weighed at home this morning and I haven't lost anything in a week. I don't weigh in til Tuesday, when the monthly visitor is gone, so will the weight go down then? I am so nervous!
Thanks!

Congrats on your progress Natalie!

Thanks for the additional info. Do they also monitor your LBM? I've been wondering what impact if any there is to one's LBM on Medizone.

Keep up the good work!

Sorry--I've been soo busy at work with this "Bail-Out" on one day, off the other....I work at a bank, so of course our business is affected.

Molly--how was the weigh...i normally go down after my period, and up before my period. I just dread weighs any one of those three weeks.

Sue, they don't measure LBM, but my job does. My appointment is October 21..so, I will let you know.

Hello, are you the gal from Palm Harbor? I live there and just started with Dr Lara. I'm on week 3 with the diet, B12 shots, appetite supressants and the calcium gluconate. My "bad" time is at night, when I get home late from work and CRAVE junk food! I'm not really that hungry, I know it's more of an emotional/comfort thing. Any tips? I'm soon to be 47 years old and never had a weight problem until the last few years and as such, I never learned how to eat well/diet or exercise.

Hello,
While this may not be popular...I honestly believe that the MediZone is a total scam. Save your money and health and invest in a personal trainer and follow the real Zone diet. Have you talked to long term users of this program in the area? There are a ton of them that get the fast loss only to get the fast gain. I also fell into this trap. Fortunately, I only lasted three weeks and didn't end up in a hospital. The side effects are just awful from the pills. The initial weight loss diet is not healthy and not the Zone. I tried the diet and fortunately all I lost was a bunch of money. Eating less than 10 oz of protein/day, taking pills and dropping less than 3 pounds in a month they kept saying next week will be better. They also said I was starving myself...go figure. Anyhow, the real Zone and some training will get you results, save your health and be less expensive.