In my smoothie, I do.

Yes _ I do. My Smoothie (approximate)
.
About 1/4 cup lo-fat, organic, plain yogurt.
F=1.5g=1/2F, C=8g=1C, P=7g=1P
.
About 2/3 cup thawed frozen blueberries.
C=6g=2/3C
.
About 2/3 cup thawed frozen strawberries.
C=6g=2/3C
.
about 1/2 cup 2%, organic milk.
F=2.5g=1F C=6g=2/3C P=4g=1/2P
.
2 tsp evoo.
F=3g=1F
.
About 1/2 cup water.
.
Usually one scoop protein powder.
P=17g=2P
.
2 tsp of Chia Seeds (Fiber and nutrients) for about 1/2F.
.
TOTAL: F=4, C=3, P=3-1/2
.

When I have a day off, I will have to try the smoothie's, but when working I don't have any place there to mix it up. Easier for me to pack a regular breakfast.

Cranberrycat, If place another order, I think will try the pretzels. I also am afraid that the brownies would be too sweet. Even the cinnamon rolls are extremely sweet to me. How do you like the bread? Do you think it's any more filling than say, a sandwich with a wrap? I see you are mixing and matching, which is what I ended up doing.

Chili is always satisfying to me. I usually make my own and I do think it is one of those well rounded super foods. I haven't had Wendy's chili probably since my daughter still lived at home, but I do remember it being good.

I am not sure if it is the bread that is filling, or the foods that I add to it. I like the bread, as far as taste goes. But, I have been having almost the same food combination for that sandwich at lunchtime, and it is lasting me close to 4 hours, it is a pretty good meal for me. I really never got into doing wraps, but I think it works equally as good as a sandwich that I might make on my Natural Ovens grainy bread (of course, with that I have to add all of the protein, I usually spread a thin layer of hummus on it, and I have never done it with avocado before).

I like the bagels, and I like the idea of having a quick bagel and peanut butter on my way out the door, but it just isn't working for me.

Yep, I think that if I am going to use these products, then I would probably have to mix and match. However, with the trouble that I had earlier this week, I am not sure it was a fair judgement of the products. However, I have yet to hear what Sue has to say about it, since she is the expert!

Just a quick update...

I had questions last week about how to work the plan, using the sample planner and/or the list of grocery additions. I had sent in an email to the Zone staff, and Dave Shreck answered back. That part of it still sounds a bit vague, but I went on to address some of the difficulty and struggle that I had experienced with these foods.

Here is the response that I got back:
----------------------------------------------------------
Hi Jenny,

Here are Dr. Sears comments:

It appears that Jenny is very sensitive to the glycemic load of the diet. The Zone 1-2-3 Foods will have a glycemic index similar to that of fruits. If she doesn’t tolerate fruits very well, then it is very likely she will have the same problems with Zone 1-2-3 Foods. She would have to follow a much lower glycemic load diet consisting almost all of vegetables balanced by low-fat protein.
-----------------------------------------------------------

He went on to talk about how I could attempt to work these foods into my plan, basically by eating just 1-2 items per day (rather than trying to eat this food all day at every meal).

What stands out at me, glaring at me in the face, is his initial comment regarding that these foods have a glycemic index similar to that of fruits. WOW! No wonder this stuff isn't working for me. I don't do that well with fruits, anyway, so why would I expect to do any better with this? Plus, just think, if I don't have good glycemic control with fruit, and then I try to use this product, it is my estimation that I could actually raise my insulin levels, thereby ENCOURAGING fat storage rather than fat burning.

It really puts a new spin on how I should conduct my next food trial. I will obviously have to start slowly, only one product per day at first for one week, and then I can find out if 2 products per day can be tolerated. Dr. Sears is not suggesting any more than that. The rest of my meals should be well-rounded zone meals made up of veggies, lean protein, mono fats.

Cranberrycat, this is very interesting, and confirms what I suspected all along - and explains my hypoglycemic symptoms.

For instance yesterday for breakfast I had 2 blocks of cottage cheese, 1 block of turkey bacon, half an apple, half an orange, and block of nuts, and also half of a Ryvita cracker (made of rye). Still a little under in 3 blocks of carb. Eaten at 8:00 and still was not hungry at noon. If I had subbed a bagel there is no way I would have felt that good. I still think fruit is better (and definitely healthier) at least for me, but can I eat it alone? No way - same with the bagel.

The other thing is that if you are eating the SZ products with a glycemic index equal to fruit, then where is the balance? If you are having say a bagel and a salad, would it be comparable to a serving of fruit and a salad? Same as loading up on carbs, IMO, which explains my hypoglycemic symptoms and voiding the reason I started the diet in the 1st place.

Anyway, since starting back on the Zone in October, I have found some really healthy and delicious products out there that keep my insulin levels sustained throughout the day.

I will treat the SZ as a condiment such as any other carb and continue to do what works for me.

BTY, thinking outloud again, I am still wondering how they can change the structure of a chocolate chip or M&M. That one still stumps me, and since one can eat them in a SZ cookie, I see no reason to just Zone out a few along with some protein as suggested back in the older books if a person wants to indulge once in a while. I don't see why it would not be just as healthy as a SZ cookie.

And, I am not criticizing the program by any means. I think it's great if it works for some people and key factor to success is everyone should do what works best for them.

Mari, thanks for your thoughts on this.

I think you and I are probably in the minority, as we are both carb sensitive. These foods are obviously not going to work as well for us. I agree with your approach to use them as condiments. I had the best success using the bread, but obviously making a 3 block sandwich out of it with extra fat added in was what worked for me.

I don't know how they can change the structure of a chocolate chip or M&M, maybe that is why I struggled so much with the cookies? Yes, probably eating a small GS cookie with some protein would give me the same kind of reaction!

What stumps me is that you and I have struggled with this, maybe others who haven't been brave enough to verbalize it. We are carb sensitive, but it really baffles me how Sue can do just fine with it, and she claims to be very sensitive to fruits.

Wow! That explains a lot to me as well. When I first started with the superfoods, the bagel and peanut butter worked best for me. Last wwek and this week, I have been struggling with staying full. I am eating every two to three hours and felt like I was carbing out as I call it. Reading your post about the fruit and superzone foods has answered my question. I can't afford superfoods for every meal every day but was hoping that they worked for me as well as they do for Sue. Now, I guess I will continue wih them but just not all day, everyday. I wonder, If I add more protein with the superfood, will they hold me longer? I just received another order so I will still experiment but at least I know what the problem may be.

Interesting, I was thinking of you, but wasn't sure how it has been going lately.

I found that I had the best success by turning the product into a 3 block meal, adding a block of protein and fat, and also some low-glycemic veggies. I would say that it was the additional fat that made the biggest difference for me.

The bagel with peanut butter probably worked good for you because of the added fat. I felt as if I went about 3 hours on that meal, which would be typical for ME on a traditional zone 2-block snack/meal.

Hi Cran,

Thanks so much for posting the response you received from Dave Schreck and Dr. Sears. To add my experience into the mix -- it reinforces what I've found to be the case with me. I do very well with SuperZone foods in moderation. I tend to have a serving here and there throughout the week, and they are real "treats" for me. As I said in a different thread, I gravitated to that approach because I just enjoy other Zone-favorable foods even more. I'm still relatively new to this way of eating, so there are a lot of Zone-favorable foods for me yet to try! Also, I did have mixed results with the products -- even the same product would hold me very well at one meal, and then the same product/serving size would not hold me as well the next time. So, it's very dependent upon other factors (what else I've eaten that day and when, how much sleep I've gotten, etc.). Other Zone-favorable foods seem to be more consistent for me. But I think we're all going to have variations in our experience with the SuperZone foods (as is true for all foods). HOWEVER, it's important to note that I am not consistently in the Zone, as I still struggle with occassional overeating. I wouldn't take my experience with the SuperZone products as a "benchmark" for anyone else -- I strongly suspect I would respond more favorably to the products if I was in the Zone consistently.

For me, the best thing about having the SuperZone foods on hand is for those times when I feel cravings coming on. I'm still working through fine-tuning my eating throughout the day so that I don't get cravings, but I'm not there yet. In any case, when they do sneak up on me, a SuperZone product is quick and very satisfying. And, since I'm not having them regularly, a real treat. So they satisfy that "I want to treat myself" emotional craving without throwing me off track and inducing further cravings (as a non-Zoned product would).

Again, thanks so much for all the great information you've posted here!

Laurie

Cranberrycat,

Glad you have gained some insight. Thanks for sharing the remarks you received from Barry Sears. They will be helpful for others who may find themselves in your situation.



Re "I don't do that well with fruits"

With all due respect, this remark doesn't seem to fit the many years of past Zone experience you have posted about here. I don't get it because up until this week you've been sharing about how well you do with many meals and snacks that contain fruit and even significant amounts of unfavorable carb. You're famous in these forums for your cottage cheese and fruit breakfast, your cottage cheese and fruit snack, your strawberry smoothie, your satiety success when eating Kashi Cereal, Dreamfield's Pasta and Natural Ovens Bread and most recently, about 2 weeks ago, your excellent response to your Cottage Cheese Pancake recipe in your recipe thread here, which happens to contain all unfavorable carb. To clarify what I'm referring to, here's what you posted recently in your recipe thread, about the pancakes:

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

http://www.zonediet.com/Community/F...fault.aspx

01/16/2010 6:24 PM
I had them for breakfast today...I had really good satiety well into 4-5 hours.


Can you shed some more light on all of this? Thanks in advance.

Laurie, thanks for your comments.

One thing that I did like about the foods is the convenience, and I think that if the products had worked better for me, then perhaps I would keep some items on hand for the sake of convenience and "on the run". I was thinking specifically that maybe the bread would be a nice option for when we go camping as a family in the summer. We like to make sandwiches at lunch time, and it would be much easier than building the fire and cooking veggies over it. So, I may keep these products in mind just for that. In the past, I have used the Natural Ovens bread, and for some unknown reason, it does seem to work just fine for that purpose, so will have to think about it. I like the idea of getting more fiber from the N.O. bread, versus very little fiber from the SZ products.

I have another order coming. I was not able to get the cookies switched out, and so I am afraid I will be stuck with them. I had 2 packs left, and surprisingly, my kids tried them and didn't care for them. Maybe the cookies were too sweet for them, too? Maybe I will have to set them out at work? Don't know, but gotta get rid of them.

My plan for eating these products will be to ease them in with moderation, just like Barry Sears suggested. I will not be using the products for all of my meals, like I tried to last week.

Thanks for sharing your insights, and your experience with the products. It makes me feel a bit better to know that I am not the only one here who was having mixed reactions.

Sue,

I am not sure if your post is meant to be rhetorical or whether you truly were concerned, so I will assume the latter (I would rather assume that you had good intentions and that your post was not meant to be critical).


RE:
"With all due respect, this remark doesn't seem to fit the many years of past Zone experience you have posted about here. I don't get it because up until this week you've been sharing about how well you do with many meals and snacks that contain fruit and even significant amounts of unfavorable carb. You're famous in these forums for your cottage cheese and fruit breakfast, your cottage cheese and fruit snack, your strawberry smoothie, your satiety success when eating Kashi Cereal, Dreamfield's Pasta and Natural Ovens Bread and most recently, about 2 weeks ago, your excellent response to your Cottage Cheese Pancake recipe in your recipe thread here, which happens to contain all unfavorable carb.
Can you shed some more light on all of this? Thanks in advance."

I hope that I can explain for you, but I am sure that you could not possibly know what I eat routinely, unless you have access to my food journal. To be quite honest, I do not eat unfavorable foods all that often. However, unfavorable foods are not banned in my house. I think we all need a treat now and then. I don't do that well with fruit, but that remark was meant for fruits other than berries, like apples and oranges. I have fairly good responses if I use blueberries or strawberries, as long as it is carefully planned out. And, certainly a well-balanced diet should include 1-2 servings of fruit per day, because our bodies need the nutrients.

I have tooled with my fruit smoothie to get it just right. Any variation will not work for me. The blueberry/cottage cheese/almond snack may not work quite as well as if I were to eat 3-4 cups of broccoli, but it certainly is tasty, and since it is a snack, I don't really have to depend on it to last me for 3-4 hours. In addition, you may note that I generally use 1/2 cup of blueberries, rather than the 2/3 cup that is suggested for a block size. I think that helps make the snack work, too.

I really can't answer your question why those other products work. I can only guess that it must be the fiber content in those products, one important ingredient that is greatly missing in the zone products. And, I do try to keep the carb portions at a carb-sensitive level (2 blocks for a 3 block meal), which may include a bit more fat. Calorie for calorie, there is no difference, but like I said, it does seem to work.

BTW, I do not think I am famous for a cottage cheese/fruit breakfast; you must have me confused with someone else.

But, I did enjoy those pancakes! I do not make these on a routine basis; in fact, I haven't had them since I posted about them. But, they certainly were a nice treat!

The problem with the Zone products is that the glycemic index is similar to fruit and there is no fiber; and the only way I could get the products to work is when I made a 2 block product into a 3 block meal, and added a lot more fat.

Thank you for your concern, hope that answers your questions, and I hope you will be kind enough to respond back. I appreciate hearing your feedback. I am glad that you are able to tolerate the Zone products, considering your severe carb sensitivity.

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Sue K on 01/30/2010 3:53 PM

Cranberrycat,

Glad you have gained some insight. Thanks for sharing the remarks you received from Barry Sears. They will be helpful for others who may find themselves in your situation.



Re "I don't do that well with fruits"

With all due respect, this remark doesn't seem to fit the many years of past Zone experience you have posted about here. I don't get it because up until this week you've been sharing about how well you do with many meals and snacks that contain fruit and even significant amounts of unfavorable carb. You're famous in these forums for your cottage cheese and fruit breakfast, your cottage cheese and fruit snack, your strawberry smoothie, your satiety success when eating Kashi Cereal, Dreamfield's Pasta and Natural Ovens Bread and most recently, about 2 weeks ago, your excellent response to your Cottage Cheese Pancake recipe in your recipe thread here, which happens to contain all unfavorable carb. To clarify what I'm referring to, here's what you posted recently in your recipe thread, about the pancakes:

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

http://www.zonediet.com/Community/F...fault.aspx

01/16/2010 6:24 PM
I had them for breakfast today...I had really good satiety well into 4-5 hours.


Can you shed some more light on all of this? Thanks in advance.


</div>

I thought I would quote Sue's entire post because I did not copy her entire post into my last response; felt that if someone else was reading this thread, that maybe there would be concern for my not copying the entire thing. Hope that helps!

Hey Cran (and all who are reading) -- I've been reluctant to post my experience with the SuperZone foods, because I'm not consistently in the Zone (as I still struggle with overeating at times -- although this is getting better). In any case, my experiences are not going to be typical of someone who is consistently in the Zone. I'm going to add this important information as an update to my original post. I don't want to discourage anyone from trying the products out for themselves :-) .

Laurie

Laurie, thanks for the additional information on that.

I posted several days of "traditional" zone meals/days, just so that anyone reading this could see that I was in the Zone before beginning the food trial. I didn't want anyone to be coming back later and questioning it, I didn't want assumptions to be made that I had not adhered to zone guidelines prior to starting these foods.

I had also strived to get clarification on how to use these products; were they to be used exclusively for a meal, was I supposed to add those 8 veggies per day or was that optional, etc. I did get some help from some of you who were making suggestions. I was hoping for more clarification from Sue, since she had been using the products successfully and also has the "inside line" with the Zone (since she is employed by them). I truly was hoping that this would be the miracle food that it has been made out to be, and that I would finally have 4-6 hours of satiety in the Zone, and not be tempted to search out foods that I shouldn't be eating, in an attempt to satisfy my hunger and stay in the Zone.

My first day on the superfoods was miserable, didn't feel well at all. And, coming into this after being in the Zone, I was hoping that the transition would be seamless. But, it was not. Then, in the following days, I did struggle with timing because of my daughter's illness. But, when a bagel with peanut butter is advertized to give someone 4-6 hours of satiety and it only lasts 3 hours, then I guess I don't really know how to plan for that.

I had said that I would give this another shot, but in light of sharing this experience with Dave Shreck and Barry Sears, I have decided that I will just use the next shipment as they had recommended, since the information was passed on about the glycemic index of these foods.

Several days after not eating the products at all, I began to regain control of the hunger, no more insatiable hunger, and then I began to see the numbers start to drop on the scale (and the tape measure, although slight).

I don't want to discourage anyone from trying it, either. But, I think that hearing both sides of our experiences with the foods makes this forum a "credible source" of information, rather than appearing as if we are free advertizing for Zone Labs.

Hi Cranberrycat -- just to make sure -- I want you to know that when I referred to my inconsistency in the Zone, I absolutely did not mean to imply that you were in a similar situation. And I certainly didn't mean to imply that your posts were discouraging anyone! I was only referring to my own experience. I think you "know" me (at least through this forum) enough to know that, but wanted to be absolutely sure :-) .

I completely agree with you -- you and Sue are both very honest, reliable and credible sources of information. Having perspectives from all sides of a discussion is what makes this forum as great as it is. Many many thanks to you both for taking the time to post!

Laurie

Thanks Laurie. :-)

Edited on 2/5/10: this post was in response to a post from Sue, which has been deleted.


Sue,

Thank you for your feedback.

I don't really know what to say about how you feel regarding your impressions of my apparent zoning inconsistencies, but what is really important is NOT what you think, but what the truth is. And, I guess that I am probably the only one who knows it, and unfortunately for you, you can't judge the present based on the past.

Whether or not you want to accept my food trial as credible or not, doesn't really matter to me.

Whether or not other forum members want to view me as credible or not, is up to them, and not up to you.

Thank you again for your insights. I will take what I need to take away from my food trial, and follow the advice that Dave and Barry gave me, as they both seemed to be very responsive to my questions and my difficulties.

Laurie, I understand, don't worry! I didn't think that you were implying that, at all.

Thank you for your compliment!

Edited on 2/5/10: this post was in response to one of Sue's posts, which has been deleted.


<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Sue K on 02/01/2010 9:03 AM

Cranberrycat,

Re "Sue......Whether or not other forum members want to view me as credible or not, is up to them, and not up to you..."

My reply to your request I help you with SuperZone Foods is based solely on a review of the material you have posted in these forums. Your suggestion otherwise is offensive to me.

Here's one of my favorite quotes. It might help you, or other readers in your position, to achieve a more successful Zone experience:

" Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
-Carl Jung

</div>

Excellent quote, Sue!

I don't know why you would be offended by my comment to you? I am the one who is feeling a bit on the defensive regarding your comments. However, I don't think it is necessary to continue defending my position.

My point in the last post is that I am the only one that I have to answer to. I do my best to post honestly in these forums, and I would hope that others would recognize that as just what it is--honesty and accountability. Maybe my best isn't good enough for you, but I am the one who lives in my shoes, not YOU. I will leave it up to the other forum members to decide for themselves.

Sue, I really feel that this conversation is only creating tension in the forum, it does nothing for anyone else here, no one else will feel comfortable in posting their accountability if they have to fear being pointed at by YOU because they were not eating consistently in the Zone.

Going back to your quote, I think you could look at that in 2 ways. One must look outside and have a dream, dreams are what helps us to achieve our goals. Looking inside is a great way to learn about ourselves, but looking outside is what helps our "inside" to turn dreams into reality.

Edited on 2/5/10: this post was in response to one of Sue's posts, which has been deleted.

HUH?

Really, I don't get it!

Lets get back to talking about the Zone.

1/2 cup of blueberries, rather than the 2/3 cup that is suggested for a block size.

I don't want to nitpik but since I am so carb senitive, I want to clarify this. On this site, the blueberry block says 1/2c per block. You wrote 2/3c Is this a typo or am I reading it wrong?

I hope I get in the Zone as much as the posters on this board do. I struggle with it every single day!!

Have you found any supplements that have helped with the carb sensitivity or have helped you stay in the Zone?

Thanks!

No, it wasn't a typo. I think it has been so long since I looked that one up on the food guide, that I just assumed blueberries to be 2/3 cup. I usually follow the nutrition info as listed on the bag of frozen fruit, and maybe that is where I got that number from?

I don't do many supplements at all. Honestly, I feel that the supplements that I have taken in the past have not lived up to their promises in terms of weight loss. I do take the fish oil, but I don't take it for weight loss.

Hey, I have been there, and when I get OOZ, I usually do struggle to get back in (hope this comment isn't used against me in another post-LOL!). So, once you get there, hang on! Don't let go, don't look back. I think that you will probably struggle unless you are willing to eat more veggies, and I think I recall you saying that you don't really like them.

Hopefully you can find something that works. I was not a veggie hater, but I did have a much more narrow spectrum of veggies prior to the Zone, and now I eat a wider variety.

Go by the label on your particular package.
Example: The ones we purchase are 12g net carbs for a one cup serving.
12/9=1-1/3 servings per cup or 4/3.
Which means (12g/4)x3 = 9g or for our package 3/4 cup is 9g or 1 block.
Though being a little carb sensitive, I usually figure about 1/2 cup slightly heaping as 1 block.