Sharyn, Where do you go? I was looking for a dr closer than the one I'm currently going to way in ft myers. I live and work in estero so if I could find one closer to me it would make this diet much easier.

I am in Cape Coral but go to the Zone office in Ft. myers, thinking about moving back home to Alaska and wondering how to find a Doc in Alaska?? How are you doing on the Zone? the most exciting thing for me is my cholestrol has gone from 236 to 209 in 4 months, which is great but I noticed my hair is really coming out Im going to post a message and see if I need some kind of supplement Im not getting. pj-swanson@hotmail.com

St. Petersburg, FL

I did the Zone with mom in my 20's mostly to help her. At that time I had just completed my first triathalon and had completed a college athletic career 3 years before and would have considered myself an elite athlete. I lost 10lbs of almost pure fat and even started adding in fat to maintain my weight at my high level of training. I felt the best I ever did in my life, better than I did even when I was still playing ball on a daily basis I could run faster swim farther and even my muscles didn't get sore as often.

In coming..... medical school. The slow weight gain of sitting on my butt for hours reading and snacking. Still excersizing but gaining. Every so often I would return to the zone to get the weight off I had put on each " block" of med school.

5 years later....
I am a senior surgery resident. While I no longer sit for hours but instead stand. My eating habits were completely erratic. Some days I didn't eat at all. Other days I might grab what every I could get my hands on slice of pizza, candy bar any thing to prevent me from passing out in the OR. There is no guarentee you can eat at any regular interval. And you cannot scrub out of a case be cause its time to eat or you are hungry. So here I am 34 yrs old and 146 lbs. 20lbs heavier than when I began med school. I am exhaused, run down out of shape, and overweight. When you go up a scrub size this is bad.... I mean how constricting can drawstring pajamas really be?

I was shopping lamenting the size 4/6 I used to be as I bought another pair of size 10 pants. And something in me just kind snapped. I was an elite athlete with a body fat of 17% and what happened to me???

Sure blame it on med school .... blame it on residency... I had sacraficed body for brains... any excuse...but blame it on me... I let my self go....I am an unhealthy docotor.... how do I tell my patients to go on a diet before surgery while I am eating a pizza...?

No time like the present... I am on the lightest most predictable rotation possible. With a gym in house. Meals are actually planable baring an emergency.... for the first time in years. I am done with excuses its time to get back in the zone.

I may not be able to keep this up but when I return to my home hospital in 3 months ... But I am hopeful I can .... I want to be in a place that isn't a downward spiral.

I am on day 2 and already feel better. No 3pm collapse beging for coffee.... I dont feel like I need at nap ... My chronic constipation is better from a decrease in coffee and and increase in water.

I am a little hungry. I look foward to every meal...but I expect that with the sudden reduction in calories but I am not ravenous.... I am in the Zone

Thanks for listening!
MC

MC, thanks for your candid recount of your years in med school. No time like the present. Glad you've chosen the Zone again. Not only will it help you, but hopefully it will trickle down to your patients, too. Hope to hear more about your progress. Amazing how a couple days in the Zone can make such a huge positive impact, isn't it?

MC.. When my schedule gets crazy.. I go to the crock pot. I make a healthy Zone balanced meal, after it is finsihed cooking I place in small containers and place in freezer. On my busy days.. I grab a couple of Zone bars and one of those containers from the freezer.

Techie, would you be able to post some of those crock pot recipes?

CranberryCat...

In Dr Sears book " Zone Meals in Seconds" Chapter 9 is titled "Slow cooking in the Zone" There are a bunch of great recipes. "Zone Meals in Seconds" can be purchased direct from the ZoneDiet web site.

I have that book. There is a section on slow-cooker recipes, but many of them include multiple steps in the recipe directions.

My idea of a slow-cooker meal is to toss it in and forget about it for 8+ hours. If I have to monkey with it, then it is not much of a time-saver.