Hi all, I am running into the same problem I experience with ALL diets, or just life, I guess. As a 46 yr. old woman, I get quite a bit of (water?) weight gain mid-month which drives me nutty! It is VERY discouraging to have lost 4.5 lbs. my first 2 weeks, then have 3 of them pop right back on. Are there any Zone strategies for this? Ideas that might make me less prone to gain at this time? I have cut out coffee, which I didn't think I would ever be able to do, and I had hoped this balanced eating as well as no caffeine would help with this issue. I appreciate any thoughts you might offer. ~ Donna

The water weight gain is likely a part of your menstral cycle (or pre-menopasal or post menopasal [yes..I know..I can't spell menopause...]). I gain water weight once a month as well. I'm still trying to learn when this happens so I can watch my salt intake as this increases the bloating. I haven't got it exactly nailed down but so far its helped a bit. I use a software program that tells me all my nutrient intake so I know if I over do it. So basically watching your salt might help a bit.

[quote:da396860b2="baZillionaire"]Hi all, I am running into the same problem I experience with ALL diets, or just life, I guess. As a 46 yr. old woman, I get quite a bit of (water?) weight gain mid-month which drives me nutty! It is VERY discouraging to have lost 4.5 lbs. my first 2 weeks, then have 3 of them pop right back on. Are there any Zone strategies for this? Ideas that might make me less prone to gain at this time? I have cut out coffee, which I didn't think I would ever be able to do, and I had hoped this balanced eating as well as no caffeine would help with this issue. I appreciate any thoughts you might offer. ~ Donna[/quote:da396860b2] Hi Donna, The monthly water weight gain is probably related to your menstrual cycle. Once you've been solidly in theZone for a few mos, you may notice less monthly bloating. I did. If you aren't overdoing salt intake (ie: don't heavily salt yourfood or don't use a lot of high sodium content prepared packaged foods) you shouldn't have to be real careful about salt otherwise. I'm a 51 yr old woman. I've always tended to be carb sensitive and I became menopausal almost one year ago. The combination of the two requies a tighter control on carbs to stay in theZone. I've noticed in the past couple years that I've had to adjust carbs to stay Zoned. My balanced Zone meal is 3P, 2.5C, 6F. I have to be careful to use mostly lower density carbs (veggies). But also, I can't stay in the Zone with all veggies (get hungry and a little spacey with all very low density veggies for carb), so I make sure the fruits and little amounts of medium and high density carbs I use are those which tend to stimulate insulin less than others (garbanzo's, yogurt, berries, etc.) Some of the fruits on the favorable foods list don't even keep me in the Zone (oranges and some varieties of apples). Hope this helps. Sue

Hi - thanks for the advice, I don't eat much processed food at all and I think I use salt just normally but I will watch it. I am seeing that eating in the Zone takes SUCH careful monitoring, that seems the biggest drawback so far. I can't say for sure I am TRULY in the Zone most of the time. For instance, I do get hungry between meals. I am hoping by the time another week or so goes by, my system will djust and the hunger will abate.

[quote:d5106017e1="baZillionaire"]Hi - thanks for the advice, I don't eat much processed food at all and I think I use salt just normally but I will watch it. I am seeing that eating in the Zone takes SUCH careful monitoring, that seems the biggest drawback so far. I can't say for sure I am TRULY in the Zone most of the time. For instance, I do get hungry between meals. I am hoping by the time another week or so goes by, my system will djust and the hunger will abate.[/quote:d5106017e1] Hi, You're welcome. You can (and should IMO) adjust right now for your hunger. The hunger is a sign you aren't in the Zone. See the info on adjusting for hunger. Keeping a food diary can also be very helpful in the beginning. Once you find out what keeps you in the Zone personally, it will not require "SUCH careful monitoring". I first got into theZone and at the same time lost a huge amount of weight by simply choosing from Zone favorable foods and eyeballing it. If you tune into how you're feeling during these first weeks in the Zone, you'll get to know which foods and combinations get you there and which don't. It will soon become second nature. I think the Zone is fairly easy, almost freeing in a way because it can be applied in almost any eating situation and the result is that you feel great! Here are some tips. I freeze protein such as chicken breast and fish in 3 block portions. I also use measuring cups as serving utensilsfor everyday cooking and eating. These minor little changes make cooking meals in the Zone fairly easy. For instance tonight I'm cooking chicken parmesan for 3. I simply took 3 peices of chichen poured the spaghetti sauce into a 1/2 cup measuring cup first and then put in on the individual pieces of chicken (instead of just pouring it out of the bottle). The parmesan I sprinkle on top is a negligible amount in the whole scheme of things as far as Zone blocks go. For veggies I'm cooking a couple bags of frozen green beans (have eaten this way so long I know how much to make for 3 people). We'll have some fruit and nuts for dessert to make up the rest of the carb and fat. And there you have three very Zone favorable 3 block Zone meals, and really simpla to prepare. My husband and son eat 4 block meals, so they'll each have a glass of milk to make up the 4th balanced block. Remember that the Zone is a range, not one specific point or ratio. You'll see how easy it really becomes after you're used to it! Sue

Hi! Back to the water weight... I also tend to gain weight in water each month (for me it's 4 lbs.) I never eat much sodium, so don't worry too much about that, but I do try to make sure I am drinking lots of water at this time (even more than normal) to make sure my body knows it can flush it out. It seems to help a bit, but since I am on birth control pills, I don't think I'll ever completely eliminate this gain. On the bright side, I can use this to remember (and not blame myself) when the scale goes up a bit, and the sweetness of getting on the scale and seeing the number drop 3 or 4 lbs in one day is a little of a pick me up, even though I know what it's from! ;) All in all, I just use this to remind myself that I will never be able to strictly control everything, and I should take it easy on myself. Think of it as God/Mother Nature's way of saying, "Guess what?!? I'm the boss, not you!" We may have found a way that figured out a lot of this, but hormones and menstrual cycles are still going to take control to a certain extent. Give and take, right? :) Ronica

I find that the unfavorable carbs (specifically wheat products) cause me to retain water. I try to specifically stay away from those and drink more water and that seems to help. I've also read that we need 10% more calories that week, so I do add another block for a few days to help the cravings...oh, and have some dark chocolate ;-) Robbin

Dark Chocolate?? Wouldn't this make up ALL my C blocks for the DAY or something? LOL... I assume it's awfully high on the Unfavorable C-ometer. But I will try the suggestions of more water, less wheat, etc. NOW that mid-month is passed, I still have the weight on, I went off the zone several times, feeling kind of discouraged I guess, so now it's back to the basics and kind of start over and get back on track. Thanks for all your help! Donna