I lost 100 lbs on the Atkins Diet back 13 years ago. I went off it, and of course gained every pound back. I am a classically trained Chef who did his culinary school in Europe.

I grew up on national brands like Nature's Own, and Sunbeam/Wonder Bread. Do the Zone breads taste exactly like these? If I closed my eyes, would I have no idea that this was some kind of "low carb" bread?

I just remember the Atkins Diet back in the day. The "Breads" that they made for that diet were all either chalky cardboard, or super chewy protein lumps. Nature's Own ended up making a delicious low-carb bread right before the low-carb bubble burst, but they pulled it soon thereafter. And as I recall it wasn't THAT low-carb.

So, I am really desperate to get back in shape. I'm 32 years old now, and weighing 300 lbs (I'm 6 ft. 4 in. tall) just isn't healthy at all. I need to drop at least 50-75 lbs THIS YEAR!!! But bread is such a part of my life... I would be so miserable without it. Can anyone swear on a Bible that these breads are worth the pricey ordering process etc.?

Thanks!
- M

I do not know about the Zone breads - however I found low-carb, hi-fiber tortilla wraps that I really, really like. There are many, many brands available - depends on your region and supermarket. One, for example has 6 grams of net carbs. So the unfavprable carbs are minimized. I often use these when kayaking, esp. since we just started doing White Water kayaking as well, after doing nothing but touring/flat water for 5 years. And WW kayaks, unlike touring, have no storage and no room. So a fully packed lunch is out of the question. A Zone bar split between mid-morning and late afternoon (pre- at river put-in and post- at river take-out) with a small (6-liter) dry bag with a tortilla wrap and some lo-fat protein meat and a small orange & apple - and I'm good to go.
.
Panera Bread (New England - regional) used to offer lo-carb breads (Italian and pumpkin or some thing) , but cut them out.

Hi Michael,

"I grew up on national brands like Nature's Own, and Sunbeam/Wonder Bread. Do the Zone breads taste exactly like these?"

No, they taste wayyyy better than those. When toasted or popped into the microwave for about 10 seconds they're like fresh baked bread (density, aroma, flavor, etc).


"If I closed my eyes, would I have no idea that this was some kind of "low carb" bread? "

Right. Good way to describe it.



They're absolutely worth it. In case you haven't noticed this, the Zone breads, pastas and baked goods all contain Zone balanced amounts of carbohydrate, fat and high quality protein, and they contain no AA. All this is just $2 a meal. I've been eating them for about 6 months and love them. Prior to then I'd been maintaining my 100 pound weight loss from many years with classic Zone balanced meals. Since I began eating the Zone baked foods last November, to my surprise I've become even leaner. I feel better with these foods than I ever did with my home made strictly balanced Zone meals.

Please let us know how you like them if you decide to try them for yourself. Good luck!

Hi Michael,

I have to agree with Sue in her post. I tried for so long to lose weight and breads and carbs were a big, big problem for me. I loved them and my body just turned them into weight gain. I did the two week weight loss program on the web site for $140.00. The advantage is you get to try almost all the products and can chose the ones you like the best. There were only a couple of items I didn't think were fantastic and one was the white bread. There are tons of other breads though and I loved the cinnamon swirl bread which you can toast in the morning and just eat. I tried so hard to lose weight and these products worked like a charm for me. I am going to do autoship because it will not cost more than I already spend just differently. Also I think if you alternate with the tortilla breads John recommends you will do it. Good luck and let us know how you do.

Sue...

You seem to be the Guru on this site. I would love to talk to you. I mean, I know it's not very likely to actually TALK with you, but maybe we could just use this thread for you to help me?

You see, the thing is, I read the Zone book cover to cover, probably 4 years ago. Before I started more than 12 years ago with "Sugar Busters", then "The Atkins Diet Revolution" then "Protein Power", and I feel like I'm leaving out a few. Oh yeah, or course, "The Southbeach Diet"

They all had a different matrix for telling you exactly how much of this and that you had to eat. Some seemed much more extreme than others. Some more protein heavy (Atkins), and some more whole grains heavy (Southbeach). But I do remember thinking that "The Zone" made the most sense, and just felt the best for me.

Here's my problem. It has been so long, I don't remember what I'm supposed to do exactly. I remember something about blocks. I loaned my book out to someone, and never saw it again. And plus I want to get started yesterday. With these new Zone 123, how can a little bitty woman like you eat the same thing as a 330 lb. 6'4in. tall man like me?

And besides that, I won't have a pay check for another couple of weeks, but like I said, I need to start NOW. Is there any way that you could help me get started with some easy tips just for the first two weeks of a Zone diet. Then I can think about the Zone 123, when I get some money?

Thank you so much Sue!

Michael

Hi Michael,

I'm nowhere near the expert that Sue is, but here are some ideas for a plan that can get you started quickly. The good news is that there's a tremendous amount of information on this site, so you can get a good solid start. When you can, you could purchase Zone books at great discounts at half.com.

So here's what you could do:

1. Go to the Zone Diet Body Fat Calculator on this site, enter your numbers and it will tell you how many protein blocks you need to eat per day.

here's the link (copy/paste into your address bar) -> http://www.zonediet.com/Tools/Calcu...fault.aspx

2. Go to the Quick Start Guide and read the Basic Zone Rules tab:

http://www.zonediet.com/Tools/Quick...fault.aspx">http://www.zonediet.com/Tools/Quick...fault.aspx

3. Check out the Men's Meal Planner for some meal and snack examples:

http://www.zonediet.com/EATING/7Day...fault.aspx

4. Check out the Zone Food Blocks tab of the Quick Start Guide for foods that you can substitute into the meal and snack examples if you don't like or have the foods on hand:

http://www.zonediet.com/Tools/Quick...fault.aspx">http://www.zonediet.com/Tools/Quick...fault.aspx

5. Use the "Search" feature in the upper right corner of the website to type in keywords for your questions -- it's amazing how much you can learn from that! For example, I typed in "hunger adjustments" and got a ton of info on how to adjust my foods and blocks to extend the periods between hunger.

And feel free to post your questions and thoughts in the forum -- it's a great way to stay motivated!

Hope this helps!

Laurie

Hi Michael,

Laurie's excellent reply is just what I would have written. If you have more questions I'm always happy to try to help.

Re: "...how can a little bitty woman like you eat the same thing as a 330 lb. 6'4in. tall man like me?

I'm not as "little bitty" as you might be thinking (the person in the photo with me is over 6' tall). Though I'm lean, I'm about 5' 7.5" with significantly more LBM than the average women. My LBM and my amount and type of exercise activities give me a protein requirement like that of the average man. The amount of food a person requires daily in the Zone is based on the amount of protein required to maintain their LBM (lean body mass, which includes your muscle). Some women require closer to the average man's amount, and some men need closer to the average woman's.


My tip, the way to have the best results with the Zone is to focus on hormonal control and inflammation lowering.

Good luck!

Hi Michael,

Laurie hit the nail on the head especially by putting things in the correct order. I've found that if you print these and put them on your fridge it's a big help. The information is at your finger tips in the kitchen.

Thank you SO MUCH Laurie. You look great!!! Maybe I'll slim down and ask you out. But seriously, thanks for the info. I bookmarked each page.

Glad to help Michael :-)

Laurie

Michael,

I know this is kind of an older post, but I would recommend toasting the bread before eating it. I have tried the bread products, and they just are not the same thing out of the package. There is a difference, IMO. However, toasting goes a long way to help the product along, and I believe that there is also something to be said about the toasting that takes the "molecular baking" a step further.