Hey there ho there.. Uhm I just started the zone after starting up at a gym in my town. They suggested going on the zone for an extra 20 bucks a month, that included a binder full of premade meals for me designed around the foods i like. Now..heres the thing. They said that i can have two free meals a week. WHAT? a week?? I haven't read anything in any of the zone forums or anything that state this. Also, the food cravings are insane. I just got off atkins so i know that carb cravings usually go away after the first couple of days so i am hoping that this will be the case with the zone as well. I find the zone to be very confusing but I think I'll get the hang of it....but i am in need of a support group that knows how to answer my questions. are you guys tight knit? I mean, friends and stuff? I dont want to do this alone. :) thanks, janie

Janie: First of all, unless the dude at your gym is a certified Zone (R) instructor, or owns a Zone home delivery franchise, turn him in at once to Dr. Sears for nutrition malpractice. $20?? As for 2 "free" meals, maybe that means you aren't charged for a pre-made meal. If that's not what he means, then he is wrong. The only thing I can think of is that Sears encourages you to indulge once a [i:68dcabb22d]month[/i:68dcabb22d] in a high-density carb meal you used to think you liked. The purpose of this is to remind you what an insulin hangover feels like. After the first few months most Zoners learn not to go crazy at the Olive Garden. Compared to Atkins, the Zone allows more carbs, and allows some starchier, grain-based carbs. ( What Atkins calls 'refined', and we call 'non-favorable'.) These allowances help with those cravings that caused your disenchantment with the late Dr. A. The Zone is only as confusing as you make it. Don't get too hung up on exact measurements in the beginning; after a couple weeks you can fine-tune. This is a very supportive group, so stick around. (Look out for a few sharks who like to bait newbies, though. :wink: ) See ya around.[size=7:68dcabb22d][/size:68dcabb22d][size=12:68dcabb22d][/size:68dcabb22d]

If you're eating the right balance of foods, you shouldn't have hunger cravings. Are you getting enough healthy fat? Charlie

Hi, Congrats on your swithc to the Zone. You've made an excellent decision. I've been eating this way for 9 years and feel great! I wanted to add this info to the advice the others have already given you. The switch from Atkins to the Zone can be challenging at first. This is due to the abmormal metabolic state your body has been in while on the Atkins plan. It sometimes takes people coming off of Atkins a little longer to adjust, so don't be discouraged. You may even put on a few lbs at first, but it will be temporary Hang in there and your efforts will be well worth it. You'll soon be feeling the benefits of the Zone. Sue

Janie, to the cravings - my best friends currently. If you search for cravings on here and also on zoneperfect.com forums, you will see a lot of messages. I read many of them and it seems to me that: - some people start to suffer from carb cravings after a while on the zone (even if they did not before) - cravings come when you get bad or too many carbs so the blood sugar goes high and insulin fights back with overreacted force, than the blood sugar drops down too much and here you are - the brain says more blood sugar and the cravings jumps on your neck (BASTARDS!) - it helps when you make sure you eat only low GI carbs (favorable) and decrease the carbs percentage in a meal by some number - you have to figure out your number - it is individual. Don't forget to increase the fats so the energy intake stay the same. Good luck, Pavel.

Welcome to the Zone Janie! We'd be glad to help you out. You're definitely not alone. I'm by no means an expert in the zone but I've read all the books since 1995 and have a pretty good working knowledge of how to encorporate it into my daily activities. The first place I would start is to look over the zone recipes on this website. They are excellent recipes and are fairly easy to make. Also, if you haven't already I would suggest getting A Week In the Zone or Mastering the Zone and read it over. Your food cravings will pass once you continually stay in the zone. I've successfully been able to control an obsessive pasta and chocolate habit by staying in the zone. Honestly I can tell you that quitting smoking was easier than controlling my eating habits. Could you elaborate more on what the gym means by the "2 free meals a week" and what the $20 per month is exactly for? I would think you could make your own binder from the recipies provided in this website and with the books. That sounds like a ripoff to me but maybe it includes other things. I personally "cheat" 2 meals a week, usually on Saturdays when I go out to eat and one night a week when my husband wants to make something without having to worry about being "zoned". They usually aren't high carb because I hate the "carb hangover" but I might splurge with cheeses or extra protein or a particular desert. Again, welcome, and if you have any questions please feel free to ask us, we're a pretty knowledgeable bunch.

thanks so much for your replies. It means a lot seeing as how I dont really know who to ask! Okay so the gym thing...I went there and they bascially said GET OFF ATKINS RIGHT AWAY...which was music to my ears seeing as how i was very sick on my last atkins leg...that had bruises all over it...heh anyway, so they said get off and i did and they said get on the zone. They are certified zone representatives...the 20 bucks a month is for personal zone "consultations" and the binder with the premade meals and the seminars etc. yes it must be a rip off...because seeing as how the meals in the binder could have been made by myself, and i can just ask you guys for answers to my questions...well yah..but i guess that is how they sucker people in to keep their company alive and strong... they didnt even give me any zone bars to start off with. Humph. haha Anyway, okay so i feel 10 times better today .with the whole cravings part. I think the week between atkins and zone (the week i went carb crazy) is the reason i was having such bad cravings.. I just woke up,(yes i know its like 12pm but im 20 and its saturday... ) and i had 2 eggs, 1.5 oz of ham in half a pita, with 1tsp of reg. mayo. I think that's zoning right? I have been trying my hardest but understand that I am going to make huge mistakes at first while im getting used to it all. haha, at least im trying. :) Thanks for all your help thus far.

it would appear that you were top heavy on the protein. 2 eggs and ham is equal to aprox. 3 blocks protein. the 1/2 pita would be one block carbohydrate. if you are able to eat a 3 block meal add a two block fruit; 1 apple, 1 orange, 2/3 banana, I would not say that the folks in the gym ripped you off. the Zone can be very confusing at first. No matter how I try to explain it to patients, I talk s-l-o-w-l-y, and c-l-e-a-r-l-y, they still give me the startled deer in the headlights expression unless I make them write everything down, then I still get the "but what about Special K cereal" type of questions. for your $20.00 they most likely gave you an easy to read information packet, instructions and consultations to answer your questions.

If the representatives at the gym are Zone certified then no, I don't believe they ripped you off. I would love to have that opportunity where I live, I would have jumped on it long ago. Having someone close by to guide me with my questions would have made staying in the zone several years ago much easier. (I slipped off the zone diet for a few years). Being in the Zone isn't so much as a diet - in the terms of "dieting to lose weight" but much more like a lifestyle change - changing your daily diet. Its so hard for me to explain that to people. Yes, I'd like to shed a few pounds, but I also have family history of heart disease and would like to curb my percentages. Thats what is so wonderful about following the Zone regimine. I'm not obsessed about losing weight - I'm obsessed about staying in the Zone. This keeps me from getting discouraged, disappointed and depressed (my 3 D's) when I weigh myself and the scale isn't moving. There's a Zone Food Block guide on this website as well which will help you create equal combinations of foods so you can prepare meals a bit easier. Someone pointed that out to me a few months ago. I find it very helpful.

I'm not sure if I agree with the term "zone certified". as long as someone has an excellent understanding of the concepts, I believe they can help someone out. I am not "Zone Certified", but have read all the Zone books, as well as related books, have read many of the literature references behind the Zone or 40/30/30 approach. It relates well to what anthropologists call a paelolithic diet. read some of this; www.paleodiet.com/ dispite the fact that I am not "Zone Certified" doesn't negate the fact that I can explain the diet and put my patients on the plan. lets not get carried away with "certifications".

Fla Doc, as to "certified", Sears indeed offers occasional seminars to grant credentials to individuals. It is only these people who should make a living by using The Zone name. BTW, I thought I was the only member of this forum who frequents the paleo page.