I, myself, was raised Italian spending a lot of time with my grandmother.
And pasta was not as common as some might think, but still often enough.
And I really, really like (liked) bread, lots of it.
So, five years Zoning, how do (did) I do it?
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The Zone mostly keeps the hunger away.
And occasionally, when pasta is available, limiting myself to 1/4 cup (nothing) was very difficult, but I disciplined myself to do so.
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Then I found Dreamfield's Pasta! 4oz uncooked/8 oz cooked is only 1 block! I can now have plenty of pasta and keep it to 1/4 unfavorable carbs. And we only have it about once every two weeks.
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Keeping bread out is simple, we just don't buy any. Occassionally, when we go out to a restaurant to eat, we might share a thick slice ... oh so good ... discipline! I still find it tough at times, so I do indulge, sensibly, once in a great while. And I am good to go for a while.
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Ivan, I think that allowing yourself a little bit of treats and adding protein is a good plan. However, I also do know that some folks are prone to binges. If my wife gets a taste for sweets either chocolate or esp. ice cream. She has trouble stopping herself, esp with ice cream. So she starts by avoiding the initial temptation to buy it.
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Here's hoping you can enjoy your mom's great treats and still have the discipline to enjoy them without binging.
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Blessings, my friend.

John and Ivan, you've really hit upon the crux of the issue for me. Can I allow myself a small, balanced portion of an unfavorable treat every once in a while? Unfortunately, the answer is no -- or, more optimistically, "not yet". My goal is to be able to handle sweets (which is what I consider a "treat") in small amounts. However, small amounts have consistently led to binges. I can't tell you how much I wish that wasn't the case for me, but it has been for many, many years -- in fact, as long as I can remember, since childhood.

It's going to take a lot of work to change that behavior, but I believe it's possible. I've heard that there are programs that teach how to handle trigger foods (i.e., without complete abstinence). I'm curious about this type of program, but haven't done the research yet.

Ivan, let me know how you're doing with the small portions of your Mom's treats. I have had rare success, but I haven't yet identified the pattern of when it works and when it doesn't.

This being said, there are other unfavorable carbs that are not triggers for overeating, and actually work better for me (in small amounts) in terms of satiety. I consider these my "safe" unfavorables, and they include high fiber cereal (Fiber One) and low-carb wraps (also high fiber). If I incorporate these into my meal, I can finally go the full 4-5 hours between hunger.

Thanks again to all for your honesty and support. These forums are so full of great information, but the greatest value is when you share your personal challenges, and your experiences in what is working and not working for you. You just can't get that diversity of experience and perspective from books.

Laurie

morning all-
sue,or anyone for that matter.
i'm a 3 1/2 block.eating lotz of veggies.fruit for breakfast only.i'm not hungry within 4 or 4 1/2 hrs.,but i dont feel the zone.any comments on this?
tammy
i'm with in reach i know it

Laurie
With all your struggles may I ask how you did so well losing weight? You look awesome in your picture. What got the weight loss started and what kept it going? It sort if sounds like losing weight wasn't your difficulty it is this new idea of maintenance.
Cheers
Cleo

Hi Cleo -- great questions -- and thanks for the compliment!

In October 2008, at 250 pounds, I joined the MediZone program here in Tampa. It's a physician-supervised program that's essentially the Zone, but with a much more restricted carb list (basically the lowest-glycemic carbs). I had been trying and failing at "diets" my whole life, and knew that the only time I had success (although short-lived) was when I had external accountability (i.e., weekly weigh-ins with someone other than myself). I reached my goal weight of 140 (the top of my recommended weight range) in June 2009. Since I have a very small frame, I'm better proportioned in the middle of my recommended weight range (around 125), which I reached in August 2009.

On the MediZone program, once we reach our goal weight, we transition to the Zone program by gradually adding in different types of carbs, and then we maintain our weight-loss by following the Zone. My struggles began when I reached my "goal". This is a repeated issue for me -- I've lost this much weight twice before, but have always immediately regained it. Although I continue my MediZone weigh-ins, they're only monthly now. Unfortunately, when I'm at that pivotal point before overeating, I have this little voice in the back of my head saying "go ahead, you have a month before your next weigh-in". Also, now that I'm "thin", that little voice also says "go ahead -- you can have that now". So, it's a mental thing with me. The truth is, losing weight has always been easier for me than maintaining it. When I have a goal, a path to get there, and someone checking on me along the way, it's very easy for me to stay on track. It's when that journey is "over" that the struggles begin. But the journey is never really "over" (which is a good thing, because I love the way I feel on the Zone). AND as long as I shift my goal-setting to things other than weight (such as body fat %, feeling good mentally and physically, etc.), I'm sure I can get back (and stay) on the right track. It's just a learning process at this point.

The MediZone program also supplements with weekly B-6/B-12 (along with other nutrients) injections, and a prescription appetite suppressant. I was very conflicted about that part of the program, but at 250 pounds, I made the decision that the health risks of being so overweight outweighed (lol -- no pun intended) my concerns with the Rx and supplements. However, I also knew that I would be losing weight without getting at the root of my issues with food and eating. But as my mental and physical health were deteriorating, I made the choice to do something, even though it would be just "treating the symptom", and then deal with the underlying issues along the way. In ALL honesty -- I know the appetite suppressant helped me stay on track, but the energy and positive state of mind I'm in when I'm eating well and in the Zone feels just as powerful. In other words, I honestly believe that I would have been just as successful on the Zone program without the Rx. In fact, many MediZone clients opt out of the Rx. I believe the proof of this is that after I transitioned off of the Rx (when I reached 140) I continued to lose weight at the same pace. I only started struggling when I reached my goal weight of 125, and was giving myself "permission" to give in to temptations.

Hope this makes sense -- please let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them!

Laurie

Tammy, do you mean you eat 3 1/2 blocks P, 3 1/2 C and 3 1/2 F?

How is your energy level?

Since you still have excess stored fat, have you continued to lose it little by little?

Make sure to drink plenty of water (at least the number of ounces to equal half your weight), get enough sleep, and take your fish oil and polyphenols.

yes,3 1/2 of each.energy level is walking 1/2 hr a day. lotz of water. so much my eye's are floating. not any weight has come off.i feel bigger at times,and like i've lost alot at other times.do i need more time to really make a difference?
Tammy

Hi Tammy,

Thanks for the info. Sorry if my wording was confusing. I meant to ask if you still feel like you have plenty of energy.

Ok, to make sure I'm understanding correctly, you haven't lost any more weight since our discussions in this thread a week or two ago and you don't feel like you're in the Zone, and your hunger problem has resolved (that part's good!). You might just need a little more time, or you may need to try a couple tricks to break your plateau. The classic plateau breaking adjustment is to switch to veggies for your all carbohydrate blocks. In addition to that the next step would be drop 1 carbohydrate block from each meal. These things usually restart fat loss within a short time (usually a matter of days), and then you can gradually add back other carbohydrates to see how much and which ones you are able to tolerate and still stay in the Zone.

Just off the top of my head some other causes for your plateau and "unzoney" feeling could be medications you take (though less likely if you had been taking them while you were losing the weight), new medications or changes in dosage of existing medications (some medications interfere with the Zone and stored fat loss). There's also always the possibility of underactive thyroid interfering with your ability to lose weight.

You might want to call the Zone Labs phone representatives about your situation to see what they would recommend.

Laurie and Ivan, I love sweets and feel that I am addicted to sugar. With that said, I do eat one dark chocolate everyday. If I eat anything out of the Zone, I designate one day that I can eat things that aren't all zone friendly. This seems to work for me. I know that I have that one day and I stay focused until that day comes. For the most part, this plan works for me. If you are prone to binging, it might not work for you. I just thought I would share.

I would like to not want/crave sweet treats/carbs at all but so far not even the Zone can keep me from craving or wanting them. I am probably not truly in the Zone when I do crave. No matter what I eat, Zone or not, immediately after I eat, I want something sweet. I wish I could have the success that Sue and others are having but I am not. So, I keep tryiing everyday and take it one day at a time.

Happy Easter to all and God Bless!

Hi Kimberly,

I just came across this article and thought it fitting...

http://www.zonediet.com/Community/S...chies.aspx ...worth a try any way.

Hi Kimberly -- thanks for sharing -- turns out I'm having 1-2 days a week of eating out of the Zone, even though I'm not planning it in advance. Maybe I need to become comfortable with the idea -- if I plan eating out of the Zone one day (or one meal/snack), I may eat less of the unfavorable foods because I know there will be another opportunity next week. Also, one day (or meal/snack) per week is better than the 2 days that I've been having unplanned. More importantly, it removes the "I've blown it" mindset which is what turns a small amount of unfavorable food into a binge.

Tech -- that article is a great one, thanks! I read it when it came out (thanks to Sue for pointing it out at the time), and tried eating more earlier in the day. Turns out, I discovered that was key for me to reducing the likelihood of binging later at night. I had always been afraid to eat too much earlier in the day, subconsciously thinking "what if I get hungry later, and I'm all out of blocks?" Well, it turns out, eating more earlier in the day keeps me satisfied, less preoccupied with food, and not hungry later in the day. Overall, it's much easier to stay within my blocks for the day if I eat more earlier on.

Laurie

First off, John, thank you for your encouragement. I was also hoping that I could enjoy Mom's baking in moderation.

For the first two days, I did great. Today, however, I had an episode.

I must have eaten four or five servings. I balanced them with a cottage cheese for a while, but when it went past 4 blocks, I gave up keeping score and just ate until I was feeling full. Which was the only good news. Previous binges have stopped only with the supply being completely consumed. This time around, I left a whole boxful.

It was before noon, and I went for a long walk on my break, and I'll lift weights tonight. I'll burn a lot of what I ate, I'm sure. But I was disappointed with myself.

I felt like I needed that extra energy to get things done today. Who knows, maybe I did. But I'm not looking forward to taking my measurements tomorrow.

Sigh.

I hope I haven't let anyone down. I was really gung-ho about completely eliminating snacks like these from my diet. Then the 'opportunity' came to enjoy them in moderation. I think I may have been fooling myself.

Later today I finally gave some away. I'm going to a party tomorrow, where I plan on bringing some of the baked goods. I'm sure they will be a hit. But no, I won't tell the other partiers the backstory. They just wouldn't understand. Not like you do.

Ivan, you have absolutely NOT let anyone down, and I for one am thankful that you're here and you're honest.

I had an extremely stressful deadline today, and unfortunately turned to food for comfort and distraction. I'm disappointed in myself, but I know I will pick myself up and move forward.

Ivan, it will just be a matter of time before we're both back on track and feeling good again.

And be proud of your success in stopping sooner than you may have in the past. That's not a small thing -- it's something to be very proud of.

Laurie

Ivan, as Laurie said you didn't let anyone down. We appreciate your honesty and I think a lot of us can relate to what your going through. She was right about being proud that you stopped when you did.

Your measurments may be different or they may not be. But. if they are, it is only fluid retention because you know that you didn't gain weight and inches after one day. I am laughing as I tell you this because the scale usually adds a pound or two the day after I eat non-zone meals. I get mad at the scale but by the end of the week, I lose the fluid and I am back to where I was. So, don't sweat it.

Lately, I won't weigh or measure myself after I have that one day. I usualy wait until the end of the week so that I don't beat myself up over it.

I wrote another post about how I have one day that I do eat off the Zone. If I were you, I would take yesterday as that day and move on. Try to stay focused for the week and then if you want to have another treat say on next Sunday, then have it. I find for me that right now and for my whole life, I can't completely give it up so I save it for that one day.


Enjoy the day!

Hey everyone! Eating a high carb meal once once in a while is one of Barry Sears' tips too. :-) I think it's even mentioned in Zone books. He had suggested doing it once a month just to reinforce how bad it makes you feel. I don't do it, because when I tried it I felt way beyond bad...but that's just me.

Happy Easter everyone! :-)

After the terrible binge I had the other day, I took a few actions. I wanted to set things going in the right direction.

When I attended a party on Saturday, I brought some tupperware full of my Mom's treats. People there were very happy to hear that the brownies and scones had been shipped all the way from South Carolina. They were a big hit.

On March 15th, before I had those epic binges, I weighed 132.6, had a 31 1/2" waist, and 13% bodyfat. I wrote those numbers on some tupperware, put the remaining treats inside, and stuck it in the freezer.

I had gone up to 137.6, had a 32 3/8" waist, and 14% bodyfat. When I get back to the March 15th numbers, I'll thaw the frozen desserts. I'll give moderation another try. Or I may share them with friends. We'll see.

In the meantime, I'll eat balanced Zone meals. Favorable carbohydrates only. I realize now my diet was probably also a bit high in fruit (I've been pushing apples on everyone, haven't I?) so I'm leaning toward more vegetables for the time being. Sue's short post about 'classic plateau breaking adjustment's on April 2nd really struck a chord in me.

I've already returned to 135.8 and 32" (yeah, I know the quick change was fluid retention, but it feels nice to not be so bloated) and am back on track.

I feel very fortunate to have found such a supportive group of friends. I read your posts several times. You make me feel good about making the right choices.

Hi guys!

This thread is amazing, it´s so good for a newbee to read all this very valuable information about how to get to and staying in the zone, thanks!

I have just started (first week) on the diet and I am having a few beginners problems. First problem is that I am so hungry for sweets when I´m on this diet! I´m normally not hungry for sweets and it´s a challenge for my willpower. I´ve had one non-zone meal this week and after this I did not have this sweet hunger. Does anyone know how to beat this?

I also have a problem with being hungry almost immediately after a meal (this might just be the sweet-hunger thing) and staying hungry until the next meal. I´ve been trying to add a carb block to the meals which takes some of the hunger off, but it´s still there. Except for that I am feeling great and it´s getting better every day! That is: great except for the first days when I had _serious_ caffeine withdrawal symptoms, four double espresso a day to zero is rough!

I have been following the meals from "a week in the zone" book and just adding another 3 block meal to the typical woman. I did this to adjust since my protein requirements should be about 12 blocks a day. My LBM is 115 lbs, my fat % 18 and I work out five times a week with 1h+ runs (short intervals, long intervals, long runs), from the book "the zone" this was rated as active, even though I see that some of you crazy people are a lot more active than I am..

I am also hungry less than four hours after a meal (more like two), but that might have to do with the fact that I´m used to eating 4 -5 small meals a day. I have arranged my zone meals to fit this since I can´t eat a full four block meal (just too much food) and instead I´m eating 3 bock meals four times a day. I thought this would be ok, but the four hour rule just does not work for me.

Thanks again for the many valuable advices in this thread! If any of you has an advice on how to beat the sugar hungar I´d be really happy to hear from you!

Thanks
Johanne

Hi Johanne,

Give it it a little more time.

Try eating 3 3-block meals and 3-1 block snacks (morning snack, afternoon snack and evening snack).

Your hunger is more likely to be a direct result of your meal balance and the amount and types of carbohydrate foods you are eating. Try different combinations of the various favorable veggies and fruits and you may find some work better than others for you. Keeping a food diary is a very helpful for adjusting meals and snacks to prevent hunger. Also use the Hormonal Adjustment Diagnostic Chart found here to adjust your meals to eliminate the hunger: http://www.drsears.com/Resources/ta...fault.aspx

Other things that will help eliminate hunger are adding a little extra fat monounsaturated fat to meals. It slows the entry of the carbohydrates into blood stream, ultimately keeping insulin levels lower, and a little is not enough to cause weight gain.

Once you are in consistently Zone for a little while you will lose your cravings.

Good luck!

Hi Sue!


Thank you very much for the swift reply, I really appreciate it! I found it very helpful to add a little fat, that made my hunger go down a bit (found out that I actually like peanut butter, which is not to normal for a European).

I must admit that I still have big problems getting to and staying in the zone. I have been consistent on it for ten days now (three none-zone meals, one on the first day, the second a week ago and third two days ago), and I feel tired and fatiuged all the time (but not after the nonzone meals). My physical performance has also deteriorated, I feel extremely tired when running, my long runs are just painful!

Good thing is that I'm loosing a lot of belly fat which was my goal (I have lost about 1 - 1,5 inch on my waist), but I can't keep up this for a long time.

Is this a normal problem? I saw on the internet that this diet is critized for beeing to short on calories and carbs for athletes and I'm wondering if this goes for me and that the diet just isn't good for me. Do you have any views on this?

Another thing that might be the problem is that I have gotten to little sleep lately since I'm trying to get used to eurotime before I go on vacation. I'm gonna get a lot of rest this weekend and see if things get better. Appreciate all advice on this!

Thanks
Johanne

Youre welcome Johanne. The fatigue, pain, etc, is most likely due to the initial AA release which occurs as you first lower your insulin into the Zone levels and begin to burn your stored body fat. It will subside. Temporarily increasing your fish oil dose will help you feel better sooner. My husband and two of our daughters (adult daughters) run marathons, in the Zone, and they do fantastic. As you read and learn more about the Zone, especially about athletes in the Zone, you will see why it is an excellent plan for athletes.

Keep up the good work!

Hi Johanne it's great that you found this thread. I started on this one, and I refer back to it from time to time.

I have a question. Are you male or female?

I ask this because of your unusual name (and there's no photo of you at present.) I'm also asking because, depending on your answer, I have different recommendations.

If you are a man, then everything Sue K said will make total sense and I need not say another word here. You'll need to take that 18% down a bit, and following Sue's advice should do it.

But if you're a lady, then I have a different take. Because if your bodyfat level is 18% and you're female, I'd say you're already at an ideal range (I mean, you're in terrific shape.) With the 5 hours a week of interval training, I suggest you eat as many blocks as you please (within reason). The mere act of balancing the macronutrients of your meals (protein, carbohydrates and proteins) will yield all the benefits you're looking for. I mean, you spoke about losing fat off your waistline. But if you're female with 18% bodyfat, there really can't be much there.

Those of you who believe I'm applying a double standard, you're right. But it's based on science. The female 'suggested' bodyfat ratio is 21%, and the male is 15% (source: 'Mastering the Zone', Dr. Barry Sears- my all-time favorite Zone book.)

I'm generally at 13-14% bodyfat myself, and I try to stay around 14 blocks. But when I train aggressively (more than ninety minutes a day) I sometimes take the ceiling off my number of blocks. I have to use my brain, and too few blocks can leave me feeling depleted. When I'm looking to lose weight, however, I strictly limit my blocks, regardless of my mood. In terms of weight loss, limiting blocks does the trick every time.

Hi Johanne and Ivan,

Some additional bits of info...

Lots of people practice the Zone diet and lifestyle for reasons other than weight loss, such as to improve their health, to support their athletic pursuits, for the anti-aging benefits, simply to feel good, etc.

18 % body fat is not to low for a female. If you go below 18%, you'd add even more than the little bit of extra monounsaturated dietary fat that I mentioned in my previous post, to prevent further loss of body fat.

Once you reach your ideal weight in the Zone, Dr. Sears has explained that you add you add extra monounsaturated fat to meals to prevent further loss of body fat (you'll find this explained in the FAQS chapter in MASTERING THE ZONE).

When you eat more calories than you need, you will go out of the Zone and begin storing body fat, even when those extra caloried are composed of Zone balanced amounts of protein, carbohydrate and fat.