I've only been doing the Zone for a few weeks now, and I'm already loving the results. So far it's been fairly easy, since I live alone and am the only one responsible for buying and cooking food. However, next month I am going to be visiting my parents and staying with them for an entire week. They don't eat the healthiest of diets - lots of pasta, potatoes, fast food and barely any veggies - and I'm not sure how to easily maintain my current diet while I'm there. I don't want to offend them by asking to go straight to a grocery store from the airport, but I can't think of anything else. I'm certain I wouldn't even be able to find a balanced snack in their kitchen, let alone a meal, so how do I tell them 'thanks, but no thanks, your food isn't good enough for me anymore'? Of course, I wouldn't be so crass with it, but I'd feel like I'm being rude even if I'm putting it nicely. I was even thinking of offering to cook dinner one night, but I'm sure my father won't take to an 'overabundance' of veggies too well. So, if anyone else has been in this situation, I'd appreciate a little insight and advice.

Hi Nicole,

Congrats on you progress!

You could always say you have to eat this way for health related reasons. It's the truth. No need to really explain any further. That might help both you and you parents in this situation. BTW, when I visit certain realtives (the ones not in the Zone), that is just what I do, stop at the grocery store on the way for the airport to their house. Really! :-)

Have a nice week with your parents, and please let us know how your zoning worked out there!

You certainly don't want to step on anyone's toes, I can understand that. At the same time, you want to be able to eat healthy, not stray too far from the Zone.

If you can get by with the protein portion of the meal, then perhaps you can offer to add a veggie to the meals? You can let them eat what they want, and then just contribute more to the table. So, if they are having chicken for dinner, with rice and potatoes, then maybe you can create a nice veggie side dish to go along with it? And, they may be "curious" enough to try it!

Thank you both :-)

Sue - I'm glad to know that my idea wasn't completely out there! And my dad is food shopping pretty much every day, so I'm sure one more trip won't hurt.

Cranberry - That's a really good idea, I might be able to wing that a couple of nights.

I'll probably end up talking to my mom the week before and try to figure out what would work best for all of us. Who knows, she might surprise me.

So....that brings me to my next question: any tips on dealing with flying? I'm leaving here around 8am, but between flying and a couple of time changes, I'm not landing until 8pm (that also includes a 2 hour lay-over). I'm sure I won't have a problem finding portable fats or carbs, but what about protein? Anything I can think of off-hand wouldn't last that long. I'm going to have at least one meal and one snack while I'm traveling (I believe, if I'm figuring out the schedule right in my head).

String cheese may last you a bit longer than expected. It won't go bad if you leave it in your carry-on for a few hours. You could also take some tuna pouches with you. Hopefully they will get you through the gates. I am not really sure what will go through and what won't, but those pouches are really nice for protein when you don't have a way of refrigerating.

You're welcome Nicole! We fly a lot and Zone bars work great. Bring enough in your carry-on for a meal and a couple of snacks (I usually stash 3 or 4 in my bag, just in case). My experience is that I can easily find a Zone balanced meal in the airport, and only end up using 1 of the bars for a couple of my snacks. A few times though, those extra bars have come in handy due to flights being delayed.

Zone bars do not hold up well in extreme heat, though. I have tried using zone bars while traveling, only to find a mushy bar with oils that have leached out of that lovely chocolate coating.

Hmmm, maybe the air is controlled, but I have not had that same experience...especially on a plane that is delayed for hours on the runway!

***FYI***
Just wanted to put a note here that this post was intended as a response to a comment that was made by another member, regarding how well-controlled the environment is on a plane, and that the crunchy zone bars hold up very well.
However, for unknown reasons, the other post has disappeared.

Talking to yourself again, Cranberry? ;-)

I like the idea of taking string cheese; that might be best since I'll most likely be eating on the first plane. If I figured it right, I'd just need to eat a snack to hold me over until lunch (which I hope to scrounge up during my lay-over).

So, whew! Thank you both again, and I'll let you guys know how it turned out. It's still a month away, but I could definitely use the break now......

You're welcome Nicole!

I could swear that Sue had a post in there that I responded to. Glad someone else is noticing the disappearing posts, I thought I was going bonkers here! LOL!

lol! I didn't see the actual post in question, but I did see you carrying on a full-blown conversation with yourself, so I figured that's what happened.

LOL!

Actually, I do sometimes have full-blown conversations with myself, when I am in my office working on an intense project... and I am normally not a big conversationist--in person!

Sorry to cut in on the conversation : How do you find out how many blocks are in each type of zone bar/drink etc? Hope I can find some in my city.

Each bar is 2 complete zone blocks. I don't buy the shakes, and so I don't know off the top of my head.

But, you can find out by looking at the nutrition label.
9g carb/block]
7g protein/block
3g fat/block

The zone bars and shakes sold on this site are not available in stores, only online. You can buy Zone Perfect, but they are not the bars endorsed by Barry Sears. However, they still have a zone balance, and they ARE more readily available.

Just cause I've asked a few questions tonight I might as well keep em coming...why aren't they endorsed?

I don't know the entire story, but back quite a few years, there was some relationship between Sears and Zone Perfect, but the relationship was broken and they went their separate ways.

LOL, you are helping me to boost the number of posts that I have!

Hi brandy!

Dr. Sears Zone Bars each contain 2 fully balanced blocks (2P,plus 2C plus 2F). You'd eat 1 1/2 bars for a 3 block meal, 1/2 bar for a 1 block snack.

One Dr. Sears Zone shake packet mixed with 8 oz of 2% milk (2% needed to have the fat in Zone balance) is a 3 block meal.

Dr. Sears Zone foods are excellent products . My whole family's had very good Zone results with them. The Zone Perfect bars you asked about are a very different product fromDr. Sears Zone Bars. The measure of whether or not you're in the Zone hunger. In the Zone you're literally never hungry due to excellent insulin control as a result of eating the right foods in the right balance. Most people I know who've tried Zone Perfect Bars (including me, too) are hungry a couple hours after eating them, meaning they spiked our blood sugar and as a result, we're no longer in the Zone. BTW, Barry Sears has no afiliation with the Zone Perfect company.

Here's some more info about the bars. It's an article on this site:


http://www.zonediet.com/tabid/130/i...ology.aspx

"New Zone Bar flavors feature new technology

Dr. Sears has developed four new Zone Bar flavors based on his Controlled Release Nutrition™ technology to stabilize blood sugar and to control hunger throughout the day.

What makes these bars unique is the newest technology that is incorporated in them. All of these bars use only pure fructose syrup as a binding agent. Unlike high-fructose corn syrup, which has been the only binding agent available in the past, this new technology gives rise to a much lower glycemic load. What this means to you is greater satiation and more sustained freedom from hunger.

In addition, two of the bars use a totally new crisp technology that dramatically improves blood glucose stabilization. Before the development of this technology, Dr. Sears was not going to associate his name with the markedly inferior blood glucose response of traditional crisps used in standard bars. You are not going to find these new technology developments in standard mass-market bars because it is too costly. However, at Zone Labs our mission is to provide the state-of-art nutrition products to help you stay in the Zone. This is Dr. Sears’ guarantee to you. These new bars will demonstrate that sophisticated nutrient delivery and great taste can go together.

Here is a short summary of the new Zone Bar flavors that will help you stay In the Zone with even greater ease than before. The bars will be available later this month.

Apple Cinnamon
A great partnering of apple and cinnamon for the combination of fruitiness and fragrant spice in a crispy bar.

Iced Oatmeal Raisin
Tastes as wholesome and delicious as a baked oatmeal cookie filled with nutritious raisins.

Sweet and Salty Nut Crunch
Satisfy your salt craving with an ideal fusion of savory nuts and the sweetness of honey in a crispy bar.

Cocoa Crisp
Indulge yourself with a heavenly blend of rich, flavorful chocolate and crispies."

I feel the need to put in my two cents worth here reference the Zone Perfect bars. I, similar to Crannberrycat, find the Zone Perfect bars work very well for me. I realize many people have much more sensitive systems than mine and they don't work for them. However, they are much more readily available, less expensive, and in my opinion, taste much better than Dr. Sears Zone Bars.

I am having issues with this right now. There was a death in my husband's family and we had to make a sudden trip halfway across the country. No time to shop for Zone foods and no time to talk to his relatives about my diet needs....no idea where we were even staying. I've had to eat eggs with the yolks twice in two days, and I have to eat a bunch of bad things like slim jims just for protein. We are out in the middle of nowhere with no access to a grocery store or car....and his family is loaded on unfavorable carbs and pretty much zero good ones. How am I supposed to survive this when i'm diabetic and trying to be in the zone? Do i just go hungry or what? My husband said on the way here we would stop and get me something if we find they didn't have what i need, but now he is refusing to and telling me to just eat what is there. I don't know what to do without getting rude.

Hi Debra, sorry about the death in your husband's family. I'm thinking milk, peanut butter, peanuts, canned tuna, maybe some canned green beans, deli meats, salad, apples, chicken, cheese, plain (or even artificialy sweetened) yogurt, canned veggie soup for carbohydrates with some deli meat and peanuts...look for whatever you can find in the house, or the store, the restaurant, etc. Those kinds of things are available almost anywhere, even in a gas station convenience store. Airports usually have lots of restaurants, and busses make pit stops at places that usually have a sandwich or salad, or at least some nuts in a vendign machine. Buy soem extra bags of peanuts or almonds if you find some (or any nuts). Eating a small handful of nuts will help tide you through to the next meal or snack without doing a lot of damage to your insulin levels, even though they are fat blocks for Zone purposes. Don't go hungry. That won't help things. Also look for any farm stand type offerings you might come accross for things like tomatoes, cucumbers, berries, etc. Stick with water for your fluid in take. If people where you're visiting become confrontational about it, you can say it's for medical reasons (your diabetes). I wish you all the best. I know it can be tough traveling, especially when you had no time to prepare, but stick with what you know is best for you and try not to let an inhospitable environment get to you. You can do it. Good luck.