Hi Zoners,

I followed the women's 2-Week Planner for my first 2 weeks in the SuperZone and I loved it. It was a big help because after following the Zone diet for some many years I was a newbie to eating bread and cookies. That put me at a loss to know what to eat in the SuperZone, lol! :-) I added an extra 1/2 to 1 package of SuperZone food to the woman's planner each day, as a snack, because I have a higher LBM than the average woman, and I have a demanding exercise program. The suggestions in the planner were easy and delicious, it helped to get me used to the SuperZone plan, and I felt great! And the big plus, my body fat % dropped, too! I still take a quick look at it now and then, when deciding what to eat.

Does the 2 week planner include recipes for some of the meal ideas?

I got my Superzone foods today, and I won't be trying them until tomorrow. The bagels are huge, and look delicious. The thing I am not impressed with is that the 2 week meal planner includes Superzone foods in each and every meal, but I am taking the menu planner with a grain of salt, and will create my own meals as usual and simply sub the Superzone products when time is an issue or I am too tired to cook - or just craving something different.

Here is a very brief rundown of meals. Breakfast is either a bagel, toast, or granola with either milk, butter, peanut butter,, or cream cheese - no additional protein or fruit is listed. Lunch is bread of some form (Superzone) and some cheese,, hummus, 1 oz lunch meat, tomato and cheese pizza - other than that, not much fiber, again no mention of fruit or veggies on the meal planner, but it does have a planner and grocery list with fruits and veggies listed, with veggies being 8 servings per day, and fruit 2 servings. Snack is either cookie, brownie, pretzel, bagel chips, or granola. That's it! Dinner is Superzone pasta, with veggie variation each day. This is the only meal that vegetables are mentioned in the sample meal planner. The grocery list says that the Superzone foods supply all of the protein that you will need, however you may add 1oz of lean meat or 2 egg whites to any meal. My guess is that if you add any more than that, that it will result in too many calories and will thus result in a weight gain. It doesn't take much for me to gain, so I have to be careful. I also didn't notice any form of combination diet, so I will just create my own to include a few meals and occasional snack with the Superzone foods, and the rest "healthy" foods. Since fruit is allowed twice a day, and the 8 servings ofveggies, I do think it is possible to get the RDA of fiber. I am not vegetarian, so I do like my meat each day for dinner, and it does say only one ounce if you eat a Superzone food, so I don't think I would use Superzone products for dinner. I am assuming, since it doesn't state it anyplace, that we can mix and match the Superzone foods with our regular "healthy" Zone diet. Again, for pizza lovers, it does say only one ounce of protein. And, for sandwiches, it says to only add one ounce, or approx. 2 slices of;pw fat deli meat, with the rest being veggies or condiments. BTY, if you eat Superzone for the whole day, it says only 1 serving of dairy per day. Women should be concerned about this. Too many women are deficient anyway, and should be gettng the RDA of calcium.

Again, I am looking forward to the Superzone foods as a nice addition to my diet, but not to replace anything healthy. I still think that whole natural foods are best by all means. Anxious to try my bagel in the morning with a cup of skim milk and a little cream cheese.

Interesting, thanks for sharing that, Mari!

I think I am getting some good info, although the exchange between the protein and the fat still does not make sense to me. But, if the meal is basically 2 blocks of the product, then I guess the additional fat or protein is actually what makes the meals work. Fat and protein help with meal satiety, so it kind of makes sense that either of these would be added to make a meal last longer. However, in addition to the fiber issue that I brought up on another thread, I also don't see how one is going to meet their protein requirements, if not getting a rounded 3 blocks of protein at each meal (or more for men).

But, as you said, a simple bagel with some cream cheese is quite possibly something to look forward to for an "occasional" breakfast.

Hi Everyone!

Here's my day in the SuperZone today.

B: layered these in a cereal bowl: fresh apricot slices, granola and a mixture of yogurt protein powder and alcohol free vanilla flavoring (I really enjoyed this breakfast!)

Balance PT exercises and stretching

S: a little leftover Progresso light veggie soup with a package of herb crotons on the side.

Lunch: Roasted Veggies and Orzo (3/4 the usual recipe)

Took a walk

ate several almonds and peanuts at a friends house after the funeral I attended

S: ½ package granola

Dinner: the remaining ¼ recipe of orzo and veggies from lunchmised into the rest of the leftover Progresso soup, (It made a very nice bowl of veggie “rice” soup!), and ½ a multigrain bagel with a little bit of light cream cheese

Strength training and stretching

S: cookies

Sue, how long after a meal do you eat a snack? Today, I had half a multigrain pizza with hummus and yellow squash sticks rolled in it for lunch. 1 /12 hours later and I am hungry!! So, I ate a bag of bagel chips. Should I have been eating that so soon after lunch? So far, the only consistency I have seen with the superfoods and keeping me full is the bagel and most times the hummus/bagel chips combo. Sorry, to hear about your friend.

Thanks kimberly. :-)

Eating the bagel chips 1 1/2 hours after that meal was fine.

And today...



B: whole grain bagel with 2T light cream cheese and TJ’s salmon

Yoga class

Went for a walk

S: 1/2 package granola

Lunch: lemon hummus, avocado and tomato sandwich

S: toasted garlic bagel with 1T light cream cheese and roasted red peppers

Balance exercises and stretching exercises

Dinner: ½ package fusilli, with shrimp, roasted mushrooms and spinach

S: brownie, from Medwell 1-2-3, same as Superzone...(My mom bought some and gave me a few. She eats SuperZone too)

Here's my SuperZone food and my exercise activity for today.


B: yogurt peanut butter and Medwell 1-2-3 Peanut Butter Granola (Same as SuperZone; My mom bought some and gave me a few packages. She eats in the SuperZone too)

Lunch: Mediterranean Dip with plain bagel chips (see my SuperZone recipe thread)

walk

S: cinnamon bun warmed in the microwave, with a tiny bit of butter melted on top

Strength Training

Vestibular PT and stretching

Dinner: 1/2 pizza crust with tomato sauce, mushrooms and a sprinkle of parmesan (no other cheese)

Vestibular PT and stretching

S: ½ package peanut butter granola

S: garlic bagel with a little light cream cheese

Hi Everyone!

Today was a busy Saturday on the run, beginning at 6am, and an exercise rest day for me, except for my vestibular PT exercises. The highlight of my day was a deep tissue massage late this afternoon.

Here’s my food and exercise diary for today, in the SuperZone...

B: cinnamon bun with a tiny bit of butter melted on top

Vestibular PT exercises

S: Medwell 1-2-3 frozen brownie ( I like to eat them frozen, lol!)

Lunch: Multigrain Flatbread pizza with tomato sauce, mushrooms and a little bit of grated parmesan

Deep tissue massage (love these!)

Dinner: cinnamon bagel chips with a little light cream cheese

S: 3/4 package granola

S: My evening snack, a couple hours from now, will be 1/2toasted multigrain bagel, and for dipping, a little olive oil sprinkled with parmesan (This is delicious comfort food!), with a small serving of fusilli veggie and shrimp salad.

Hi Everyone!


Yesterday I was traveling in the car a good part of the day, arriving home mid to late afternoon. Before leaving in the morning, we packed a couple containers of Mediterranean Dip on ice in a lunch bag, and popped a few more SuperZone food packets and some Poland Spring raspberry lime flavored sparkling water into a small lunch tote from Whole Foods. My husband and I had plenty to eat and both felt great all day.



Here's my food and exercise diary from yesterday in the SuperZone.


B: French toast (Super Zone white bread)

S: ½ package granola

walk

Lunch: Mediterranean Dip with plain bagel chips (the recipe's in my SuperZone recipe thread here)

Vestibular PT exercises and stretching

S: plain bagel with 1.5 T light cream cheese and a little smoked salmon

S: ½ package herb croutons

Dinner: 1/2 package of orzo tossed with a lot of roasted broccoli, seasoned with golden balsamic vinegar onion and garlic powder and a little Zone extra virgin olive oil

S: 2 cookies warmed in the microwave (one peanut butter chip and 1 chocolate chip)

Sue, when the menu says a turkey sandwich, am I adding 1 oz of turkey or can I add more? I have been having trouble staying in the Zone with the superfoods these past few days! So, I had a pretzel and 3oz of chicken but figured that I was only supposed to add one oz. I haven't really changed anything with my eating. I am trying to eat the same thing while I test these produts so that I don't have to worry about carbing out of the zone but I am finding myself hungry within 2 hours these past few days.

Today I had my bagel and p.butter which I usually eat and within a few hours was hungry and had some almonds. For lunch, I ate half a pizza bread with 3tbls of hummus and yellow squash sticks and was hungry within 2 hours. I ate granola for snack and will have another snack later. Had the pretzel for dinner with chicken. The hunger seems to be the pattern yesterday and today. Very frustrating! The only good thing is that these foods are so low in calories that if I eat something else at the end of the day, I am still under my calorie count if I was counting calories. Can I add another superfood snack if I am hungry since the calories are low? I am supposed to get 12 blocks/day. I workout 6 days a week for 1- 1 1/2 hrs. Hopefully,tomorrow is a better day. Thanks!

Hi kimberly!

"Sue, when the menu says a turkey sandwich, am I adding 1 oz of turkey or can I add more?"

I would not suggest adding more turkey. It will take the meal too far out of Zone balance (don't forget 1-2-3) and result in more hunger (too much P to C is one cause of hunger).



"Can I add another superfood snack if I am hungry since the calories are low?"

Because you mentioned you require 12 blocks daily, yes, you should be able to add another snack, at least a block, maybe 2 blocks (that’s ½ or 1 whole package). You’ll be better off if you forget about the calories. The Zone is inherently a calorie restricted eating plan whether you eat 10, 12, or even 14 blocks daily. Simply adding calories is not necessarily going to resolve hunger. Additional food should be added following the Super Zone guidelines, to complement the 1-2-3 balance, not to attain any particular calorie amount.



My take is that you might not currently be eating enough to support your LBM and activity level. Check out my SuperZone menus in this thread. I have a 12 or 13 P block requirement, so I'm eating more like the men's planner (for those readers here who don't know, you can check your requirements with Zone Block & Body Fat Calculator, link at right).

Specifically, I've been eating meals and snacks (3 meals and 3 snacks) spread throughout the day which range from 2 to 2.5 blocks each, occasionally 3 blocks. Sometimes I'll even eat 4 snacks in one day. by eating only half a package of SuperZone food at one snack and eating another half a package later the same day (plus my 2 other 2-block snacks). It's working very well for me this way and I'm not getting hungry.

A tip, as I mentioned, don't look at the calories. It may be a comfort to you to know the calorie count, but having that info is not going to help improve your current concern.


Last but not least, I missed your question of a few posts back, about how yogurt and granola work for me. I've eating it with granola with regular yogurt a few times, usually about 1/4 to 1/3 cup yogurt at a time, and each time but one, I had fruit with it, either berries or fresh apricots. The time I did hve fruit, I mixed peanut butter and a little vanilla flavor with the yogurt. I haven't had any problems with hunger when I’ve eaten granola and yogurt together. Be sure to use 2% yogurt as recommended (to help with the 1-2-3 balance). If your yogurt is fat free, add a little more fat to the meal along with it.

Today in the SuperZone:


B: cinnamon bun with a slight touch of butter

Vestibular PT exercises and stretching

S: cinnamon bun

Lunch: Picadillo sandwich on a sandwich roll (recipe is in my SuperZone recipe thread in these forums)

walk

S: cinnamon toast bagel chips

Dinner: Trader Joe’s fresh gazpacho with 1/2 package plain croutons, a few shrimp (about 1/2 ounce), a sprinkle of pink salt and a drizzle of Zone Extra Virgin Olive Oil. For dessert, 1 M&M cookie warmed in the microwave. This took only 5 minutes to make (because it took 5 min or the frozen cooked shrimp to thaw in cool water) and was a very delicious meal!

Vestibular PT exercises and stretching

Upper body strangth training

Yoga

S: Pasta salad: fusilli and roasted mushrooms with a little Trader Joe’s Tzatziki for dressing and 2 teaspooons crumbled fat free feta sprinkled on top

I'm having so much fun with SuperZone foods!!!



Here's today's entry in my continuing SuperZone food and exercise diary.


B: toasted garlic bagel with light cream cheese

Vestibular PT exercises and stretches

S: 1/2 white pizza crust, sliced open like a pocket bread, freshened in the microwave and filled with sliced Trader Joe’s fat free marinated mushrooms and 2 or 3 T of Trader Joe’s Tzatziki (delicious!)

Lunch: a delicious Trader Joe’s Rosemary and light Swiss cheese sandwich on toasted multigrain bread with a yogurt, light cream cheese and Dijon mustard spread (like a mustard mayo), 2 bean salad and Cole slaw dressed with yogurt, lemon juice and a pinch of fructose

Walk

S: ½ frozen brownie ( I love them frozen!)

Vestibular PT exercises

Dinner: Pasta salad: fusilli and roasted mushrooms with a little Trader Joe’s Tzatziki for dressing; ½ frozen brownie

Core and lower body strength training.

Yoga

S: 2 milk chocolate chunk cookies heated in the microwave

UGH! Hate those web-blockers! I typed up my question, then the k-9 web protection booted me right off, and the post is gone!!! Gotta have it, though. Kids...

Anyway...

Questions about the grocery additions:

Did this change? 2 things that I thought were different when I looked at it last week, veggies were unlimited and now they are 8 "servings" per day. Fruits are 2 servings per day, and last week I saw only one serving per day. Don't know???

Also, related to the servings per day, are these "suggested" number of servings per day, or "required", or "no more than"? Seems ambiguous, the condiments make sense because it specifies "no more than 3", but the rest of them don't say that. However, then when you look at the meal plan, it does not reflect 11 additional servings of this/that per day. Again, confusion sets in here!

Servings are not the same as blocks, so will have to keep this in mind. Seems that this point could be confusing, why would you have separate food lists?

And, the meal planner reflects 4 meal/snacks for a woman. If I eat 4 meal/snacks and then have my dairy at some point, that is not going to help me meet my protein requirement of 77 grams per day. Instructions say that all of my protein needs are met by following this plan, but I checked the math, and it doesn't add up.

Anyone out there that can help?

Sue, how long is it you have been doing superzone--8wks or so? I love reading your posts..you are always so positive and enthusiastic.It is an upper to read your posts...by the way, you may think it is silly,but when I am in certain situations where I am wobbly,I ask myself "what would Sue do" heh heh Simply b/c you never seem to make excuses or try to find ways to defeat the system. When you do something, you go whole-hog or shall we say whole-superzone.CoCo

Hey, CoCo!

You posted some inspiring words the other day, and I felt as if this whole superzone thing was coming together a bit more after I had read your post. Well, got my shipment and I am again not working this out. I want to make this a positive experience, I want to do it right so that I give it a fair shot. Do you have any answers to the questions that I posted earlier?

Thanks!

Hi Coco!

I'm beginning my 12th week in a few days (this coming Saturday). :-)

Thank you so very much for the kind words. I'm at a loss for what to say. I'm glad to know my postings can be so inspiring. I'm a very self motivated and proactive person, or at least I like to think so. I see the cup half full, and then try to figure out if there is a way to improve upon it. I try to see the possibilities in most every situation. Never say never, you know? :-) (And no, it's not silly! Glad it works for you.)

How are you doing?

BTW, I love all the blues in your book shelf photo.

Thanks again.

Hi Cranberry...

It was fun to read about your cross-country skiing..it must be such good exercise! Cute pics of kids too...

I can relate to your angst..what I did was to look at the superzone packages.You will see that most are a perfect 2 block meal..such as the granola, cookies, flatbread.The pizza is 4 blocks as are the orzo and fusilli (Sue correct me if I am wrong). Now you know you need 77 grams of protein or 11 blocks. What I basically did was to decide the night before was to pick out 5 pkgs..each with 2 blocks. Then decide when you want to eat them. Remember when we eat on traditional zone you could eat gazillions of salad without having it really count even a half block... What I do is add some salad and veggies to lunch and dinner, basically the "free" ones. Then on the other meals I just stick pretty closely to the actual product.If I want to add a whole block of berries say to a cinnamon roll, I do so but will eat a stick of cheese to balance it out. I am still in the balancing mode heh heh. Don't worry about being perfect..just try and see how you feel eating the product.Make it work for you..best wishes!! Deb

Hi Sue...I'm doing great! Thanks for asking...I love the color blue can you tell ha...

I didn't mean to render you speechless..I just think sometimes I need to say what I'm thinking..we don't know sometimes that we help others, and it would be nice to know it<img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/smile.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Smile' align='absmiddle'>

In your early weeks you said you lost about 2 lbs a week...did that slow down and have you had to start adding extra fat?

Glad to hear your good Dr report!! May you have many more happy, healthy years! CoCo

CoCo (or Deb), thanks again.

I think it makes more sense, the way you describe it, in terms of balancing.

What gets me confused is when I read the literature. It only suggests 4 meals/snacks for a female, which is only going to give me 56 grams of protein. I could add an additional item, but the literature does not suggest that for a female, so I was unsure if I should do that or not.

Then, of course, the issue of adding protein, the directions say NO, but obviously I am not going to meet my needs if I follow the guide. So, based on your recommendation, I would meet protein by eating 5 meal/snacks, and one dairy selection. Or, I could eat 4 meal/snacks and add in my own protein.

The other confusing part is that the sample meal plan does not incorporate all of those extra servings of veggies and such. So, am I REQUIRED to eat those additional servings?

This is important for me to do it "right". I feel like I am getting anal about it, but if this doesn't work, I don't want to be critcized by others for doing it wrong.

Anyway, thanks again for your help, and I really think that the balancing makes more sense. That is the Zone way.

Hey Cran...Where you may be missing is that on the dinner meal when they mention fusilli or orzo or a pizza, these are 4 blk meals if you ate the whole package, so it would be 3-2 block meals =6 plus a dinner of 4=10 blocks leaving room for 1 extra block of your choice. I never eat a 4 block meal at one time, so I just mix and match as I please. Don't worry about being anal about it...a lot of us are like that and until we get it figured out in our own mind we are not comfortable...so just keep playing like with a bunch of tinker-toys heh and it will make sense! CoCo

Thanks, again CoCo.

It makes more sense doing it as you said, so maybe I will just throw away the meal planner and venture out on my own, just use the "grocery additions". Do you go by the "suggested" servings? I had thought that the veggies were unlimited, but now I see that it says "8 servings", only one serving of legume, 2 servings of fruit, and the condiments are limited to 3 per day (ugh). I think I will add 1-2 of these additions to each meal, and divide it up fairly equally.

Hi CoCo,

Thanks again. :-)

Re "In your early weeks you said you lost about 2 lbs a week...did that slow down and have you had to start adding extra fat?

It's now more like 1 pound a week, sometimes 1.5, and, no, I haven't yet added extra fat to maintain. I had 10-12 days with no change a few weeks ago, when I was taking a round of antibiotics for a minor infection. Since then it's picked up again, (down another 2.5 pounds of body fat since Jan 4). I've lost close to 15 pounds of fat since early November. I'm at 23% body fat now. I need to lose more body fat than the average woman amount in order to show a 1% decrease in body fat %, because my pounds of LBM are greater than the average woman's.