Hi everyone, For those of us who like to count everything and keep track, I have recently found a great website for it: www.fitday.com I haven't seen it mentoned on this Board before, but it's a really helpful site. It can keep track of your grams of P/C/F, and fiber; also your weight, exercise, daily nutrient intake........ all sorts of wonderful things! This is much better than the old calculator/paper/pencil routine!

Hi Lisa, While very good this is not new to the Sears forum, Tho happily I first learned of it through here about a year ago :D

Yes it is an excellent tool. I saved it in my Favourites when originally posted. :lol: [size=18:345e314752][/size:345e314752]

Thanks Lisa for telling about fitday. It is very interesting, especially when I'm trying to find out why I do not have any personal success story in weight loss. I feel good but... not one inch smaller, not one kg lost. :cry: Is it that this zone program only works if you have a lot extra weight :?: At the moment I'm trying walking: one hour each day. Any further advice, anybody? Well, if I was finally able to log in these new forums, I surely will not give up trying to lose those extra fats I carry with me... :D

to BARMANsk in Finland, How much sugar, flour, and saturated fat do you consume on a daily basis? If you are eating lots of vegetables and fruit for your carbs, and restricting saturated fats (like dairy), body fat should not be a problem. Charlie

[quote:026d06b709="BARMANsk"]Any further advice, anybody? :D [/quote:026d06b709] I, for one, was at (a high of) 222 lbs. when I started. Now, I'm at 194.4 lbs. (Early AM weighing.) 196.8 lbs before bed weighing. It seems that getting to under 200 lbs. went fairly quickly. (Since May.) My ideal weight is 179 lbs. If I could just get to 180 - 185 lbs! The last few lbs are always the hardest to lose. I, too, need to increase my exercise. That will probably help some. But increasing by a lot, however; you also may have to up your daily number of blocks by 1. :?

[quote:b435ea05b6="cduane"]to BARMANsk in Finland, How much sugar, flour, and saturated fat do you consume on a daily basis? If you are eating lots of vegetables and fruit for your carbs, and restricting saturated fats (like dairy), body fat should not be a problem. Charlie[/quote:b435ea05b6] :arrow: Weellll, instead of potatoes and pasta, I'm eating cooked favourable vegetables and some beans with a fresh salad. I do eat a slice of rye bread daily, and occasionally slow-cooked oatmeal. I use fructose or artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. For fruits, I usually eat berries, especially now that it has just been the time for wild blueberries, wild rasberries and wild cranberries here in Finland. Apple sauce, home-made, is also included. Fat should be no problem, I only use low-fat meat and mainly olive oil for frying. There must be something I am doing wrong, less than 1.200 kcal per day should result in weight loss!

Hi Satu, Do you have excess body fat to lose? Do you know your LBM and body fat %? If you're close to ideal body fat % and you're in the Zone using an appropriate amount of dietary fat to sustain present needs, you will not have any fat loss. Also have you adjusted your Zoning in any way to meet your needs? If you do have excess fat to lose, we can help you but we need to have more info regarding the specifics of your meals and snacks along with your activity level. I'd be glad to offer suggestions, but would first need to know the following info (and if you prefer, you can email it to me rather than post it here): 1. LBM and body fat % (or height, wt, hip measurement and abdomen measurement around the belly button) 2. Type of aerobic exercise, and amout of hours spent each week (if any) 3. Type of anaerobic (strength) exercise , and amount of hours spent each week (if any) 4. Sample of daily menu detailing the specific foods in each meal and snack including the amount of each, and the timing of the meals and snacks. Also make sure you are drinking a lot of water. The recommended 8-8oz glasses a day is the MINIMUM amount to drink. Many people need much more in the Zone (some even drink double that amount). The Zone is a fat burning metabolism which requires plentiful amounts of water. Looking forward to hearing from you. :lol: Sue

[quote:2dc556180a="jaydpiii"][quote:2dc556180a="BARMANsk"]Any further advice, anybody? :D [/quote:2dc556180a] My ideal weight is 179 lbs. If I could just get to 180 - 185 lbs! The last few lbs are always the hardest to lose. I, too, need to increase my exercise. That will probably help some. But increasing by a lot, however; you also may have to up your daily number of blocks by 1. :?[/quote:2dc556180a] You've done wonderfully and your diet seems to be right on track. Exercise really is the key to losing those last few pounds and gaining excellent health. Especially a combination of strength building exercises and aerobic exercise. Start really small with exercise to get yourself in the habit then build up gradually. For example do three push ups (on your knees), three abdominal crunches and three squats every day. Also thirty seconds jogging on the spot. Then each week increase by one repetition and thirty seconds of jogging. After three weeks start increasing by one repetition every second day and another 30 seconds every second day. This works because it gets you in the habit of exercising long before the exercises get difficult. I did exactly that and worked up to 100 push ups, 100 abdominal crunches and 150 squats. And 35 minutes of jogging. Yes I do have a six pack. I then dropped back to around 60 push ups, 80 abdominal crunches and 110 squats. I have taught this method to many people and it really works. Just be gentle. If it gets too hard take the repetitions down and build up more gradually. You're trying to build a lifetime exercise program for lifelong health. There's no rush. I hope you find this information useful. Kindest regards, Andrew Cavanagh

[quote:2faa792f53="Slknorr"]Hi Satu, I'd be glad to offer suggestions, but would first need to know the following 1. LBM and body fat % (or height, wt, hip measurement and abdomen measurement around the belly button) 2. Type of aerobic exercise, and amout of hours spent each week (if any) 3. Type of anaerobic (strength) exercise , and amount of hours spent each week (if any) 4. Sample of daily menu detailing the specific foods in each meal and snack including the amount of each, and the timing of the meals and snacks. [/quote:2faa792f53] Hi Sue, Thank you for your kind answer. I'll do my best to give you all the info you asked, it would really be a relief to find out why this is not working for me. [b:2faa792f53]1. [/b:2faa792f53]I'm 1,67 m and 64,5 kg, waist 84 cm, hips 99 cm. The body fat calculater gives these results: Weight 145 lbs. / Height 65 inches / Abdomen 33 inches / Hips 39 inches Body fat 30 % (hardly ideal... :shock: ), total body fat weight 44 lbs, LBM 102 lbs, Daily blocks: 11. [b:2faa792f53]2. [/b:2faa792f53]Weekly exercises: 1 to 2 times (this week increased walking to 3 or 4 times): walking for 1 hour (6 km), 1 hour of Body balance aerobics (it is a mix of tai ji, yoga and pilates), 1 time (1 hour) Body fit aerobics (including warm-up and strength exercise). [b:2faa792f53]3. [/b:2faa792f53]Daily menu #1 (basic zone with equal blocks of protein, carbs and fat, started in March 2003) 5:45 wake up 6:00 breakfast (3P, 3C, 3F) ¾ cups quark (0.4% fat), ¼ cup milk (0 % fat), 9 g (2 teaspoons) canola oil, 12 g (2.5 teaspoons) fructose, 1/3 cup blueberries (raw), 1 cup of coffee, 1 glass of water 9:00 1 glass of water 11:00 lunch (3P, 3C, 3F) 75 g tuna (canned in water), 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 cup broccoli (cooked), 1/3 cup chickpeas, 1 onion (cooked with broccoli), ½ cup chopped cucumber and tomato (each), 1 glass of water 13:00 1 glass of water 15:00 snack (1P, 1C, 1F) ¼ cup cottage cheese (2 % fat), 3 almonds, 2 tomatoes + a leaf of iceberg lettuce, 1 glass of water 17:00 dinner (3P, 3C, 3F) ½ grilled chicken breast (small), 1 cup of fried zucchini, 1 teaspoon olive oil, ½ cucumber, iceberg lettuce, 2/3 cup red sweet pepper, 1 slice of rye bread, 1 teaspoon cheese spread (13% fat) , 1 glass of water 21:00 snack (1P, 1C, 1F) 1 glass of white wine and a piece of emmental cheese (size of my finger), 1 glass of water 21:45 asleep... [b:2faa792f53]4. [/b:2faa792f53]Daily menu #2 (when I tried to adjust it on July 2003, I'm on birth control pill (Yasmin)) 6:00 breakfast (3P, 2C, 4F) Omelette: 4 egg whites, 21 g ham (= 1½ slices, 3 % fat), 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1/8 cup ground almonds, 2 tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of milk (0 % fat) with my coffee, 1 plum (raw), 1 glass of water 9:00 1 glass of water 11:00 lunch (3P, 2½C, 3½F) 80 g salmon (fried, it was 100g raw), 1 stalk of raw celery, 1 small cooked potato, iceberg lettuce, ½ cup chopped cucumber and tomato (each), 1 glass of water 13:00 1 glass of water 16:00 dinner (3P, 2C, 4F) 40 g turkey slices (1% fat), 10 g bread mixed grain (rye, whole-grain wheat, oat, barley, size of a digestive cookie), 17 g feta cheese (3 % fat), 13 g cottage cheese (2 % fat), 31 g peanuts, 50 g cucumber, 124 g orange (peeled), 1 glass of water 21:00 snack (2P, 1½C, 2½F) 1¼ cup wild rasberries, 1½ teaspoon canola oil, ½ cup milk (0% fat), 10 g protein powder, 1 glass of water I tried to give all measures exact, because I'm worried that something might be wrong with them. I just cannot explain why there is no change in weight or size. First I thought that it had something to do with the digestion disease I had (cholecystolithiasis) :cry: , but now that I have had an operation (cholecystectomia per laparoscopiam), it should no longer have an effect. I have only continued zoning because I feel so good, even though I haven't lost a pound. Still, I certainly would like to get rid of this fat in the abdominal area. I can't use most of my clothes any more... Thank you for your time and effort, your help is truly appreciated! -Satu-

Hi, I just read your informative post. I'm leaving now for the day, but will get back to you as soon as I can when I have some time to look over your info. Sue

Hi! I am new of the forum. I have to loose at least 20 Kg and I have started the Zone 5 days ago. I have 11 blocks per day (2 for breakfast, 1 at 11 am, 3 for lunch, 1 for snack at 17.30, 3 for dinner and 1 for the 11pm snack) The only difficulty I have is that I often have my lunch at the restaurant / snack bar and it is difficult to weigh the vegetables (carb.) there. Has anyone suggestions of what to do???? :roll: I have read on your post that many of you have lost many Kg ....what is the weight loss per month?? (approx) Thanks for your help.... :D

Giorgia, Not being able to weigh your food is not a big problem. What you do is approximate. PROTEIN First in your meal you want protein approximately the size and thickness of the palm of your hand. CARBOHYDRATES Second you want fruit and vegetables about twice the volume of the protein (around the volume of your clenched fist). If you eat unfavourable carbohydrates like bread, potatoes, pasta etc you can only eat the same volume of these carbohydrates as you do protein (the size and thickness of the palm of your hand). FATS If your choice of protein is not low fat, you won't need any added fat to your meal. Otherwise have olive oil as dressing on your salad or enough almonds or peanuts to cover the palm of your hand in a single layer or approximately enough avacado to cover the palm of your hand in a medium spread. LETTUCE AND LEAFY GREENS Add as much lettuce and as many leafy greens as you like. These have insignificant quantities of carbohydrate. I am in the habit when I eat at a restaurant to ask for no sauce, no mayonaise, no dressing. These are often full of hydrogenated oils, sugar etc. which you don't want to be eating. Keep in mind that it's not what they serve you it's what you actually eat that counts. Dr Sears makes quite a few suggestions in his books for eating out like only eating half the bun of a hamburger etc. The guidelines above should help you to make those adjustments to the food you eat. Kindest regards, Andrew Cavanagh

Hi Satu, Sorry you had to have surgery. :( I know it’s not fun! I’m glad to hear you’re better and it should no longer be a problem. 8) I’ve had a chance to look over your menus and other info and I have some suggestions that should help you get into the Zone. I suspect your insulin levels may be just a bit above the Zone which is probably the reason you aren’t burning fat. In my answer I’ll focus on the menu you gave for the adjustment (3 block meals with drop one carb block, and add fat). I think this would be the way to go since you’re taking birth control (which tends to make people more carb sensitive) and you haven’t been burning fat with completely balanced Zone meals. 1. 11 blocks seems appropriate, but you may need 12 blocks a day depending upon how much strength exercise you’re doing. The reasons I think your activity may be able to support 12 blocks it that you do Pilates and strength on different days and in addition you mentioned you’re increasing your hour of walking from 1 day a week to 3 or 4 days a week. That said, 11 may still be fine because you may have a lower LBM than 102 since it is based on a wt of 145 lb. When I convert your wt to lbs, I came out a couple lbs less. Not a big deal. I would go more by how you feel. If you make the changes I suggest here and aren’t hungry, then 11 is ok. If you find yourself getting hungry, I would try 12. 2. You aren’t getting enough fat in your meals :( which can definitely keep you out of the Zone. With the drop a carb adjustment for a carb sensitive individual it’s recommended to add 3 (1.5g each) blocks of fat to meals to make up for the carb that’s dropped. This provides the calories lost with the dropped carb and also offers more control over the entry of the carbs in the meal into the blood stream. :D In this scenario, a three block meal would contain at least 13.5g fat and would look like this: 3P,2C, 6F. 3. In your menu 50% of carbs in both your lunch and dinner are from unfavorable sources (bread and potato). Also the rest of the carb in you dinner was from fruit (orange) which will not help you lower your insulin levels as much as veggies will. I saw you also had cucumber, but the amount was negligible. I suggest that for the next week or so all your carbs be from favorable veggies to allow your insulin levels to lower into the Zone so you begin to burn fat. This was suggested to my by Dr. Sears and it worked when all else had failed 8) (after I was on steriods for brain swelling, post brain surgery, which had knocked me way out of the Zone). By a week from now, if you have followed all these suggestions your insulin should have lowered into the Zone. Then you can then go back to eating up to 25% of carbs in a meal from unfavorable carb (½ block in your case) and you can also add back a couple blocks of fruit each day if you desire. Remember the Zone guidelines set by Dr. Sears suggest having no more than 25% of the carbs in any one meal from unfavorable sources. 4. Drink more water :!: You have 6 glasses of water and 1 cup of coffee listed for your entire day. This isn't enough. The minimum recommendation for the Zone is at least 8 glasses of water a day, and many individuals require much more than that. The fat burning metabolism of the Zone requires that you drink a lot of water. If you don't have enough it can halt your fat burning. It may be helpful to keep a water bottle with you and fill it as soon as you finish the bottle. In addition to the water you listed, keep drinking constantly throughout the entire day. 5. I would not have a two block snack at bedtime. I think you could make better use of snacks if instead you have a one block snack at bedtime and a one block snack either in the morning or in the afternoon. If you wish to go to 12 blocks as I mentioned earlier, the extra block could be eaten either before or after your exercise depending upon how close it is to a meal or a snack. In my opinion, an ideal plan for you might be a 3 block breakfast, 1 block mid-morning snack, 3 block lunch , 1 block mid-afternoon snack, 3 block dinner, and 1 block bedtime snack. Or if you wish, use either the morning or afternoon snack to support you exercise session. Of course if your activity becomes less than that which you described and/or you aren’t doing the amount of strength training I perceived you are from reading your post, you would want to stick with 11 blocks a day. As I mentioned before this all depends upon what your LBM really is and how you feel. Hope this helps. :) Please keep us informed of your progress. Sue

Oh, you really explored my details letter by letter! It's amazing to find such helpful people aroung here :P Thank you ever so much, Sue, I'll try this and I'll let you know how I'm progressing. Now it's time to go walking and to do some pilates... with my bottle of water :wink: -Satu-

[quote:bbfd12b605="Slknorr"] I have some suggestions that should help you get into the Zone. --- Please keep us informed of your progress. Sue[/quote:bbfd12b605] Sue, thank you for your excellent advice! :D I have now been following your suggestions for a week (all carbs favourable vegetables, more water, more favourable fats, 11 blocks adjusted so that a 3 block meal is composed of 3P, 2C, 6 miniblocks of F). I can hardly believe this, but during this week I have lost 2 kg (something like 4 pounds?) :!: I know that partly it must be water, not fat, but my waist is now also -3 cm (more than 1 inch) and my hip -1 cm. 8) Oh, I'm so happy, so excited! *jumping up and down like a child*. I must admit that I had some doubts (but now I'm a believer :lol: ). It was a hard week, especially breakfast times. I felt like a horse eating all those veggies :shock: (... but no hunger). First days I suffered from mild headaches. Perhaps because I gave up coffee, I just can't drink coffee without milk. Every night I woke up to go to bathroom (all that water...). Well, it was worth it! I hope that next week will be as successful as this one. I will start using some berries, milk, beans, rye bread, oatmeal and fruits. With lots and lots of vegetables and water, of course :P -Satu-

HI, That's great news Satu! :mrgreen: It means you've lowered insulin levels back into the Zone. Please keep us informed as to how you do now that you've added fruits and grains back. Sue

Watch the milk and grains closely! :P An alternate plan: Add fruit for one week. If you continue making progress, then add milk the next week. If you continue making progress again, then add grains. You can always go back to Sue's EXCELLENT original advice to repeat the beneficial results you have experienced. Dr. Sears has sometimes mentioned two weeks as a worthwhile trial period. Best wishes, Charlie

Hi Charlie, and thanks for advice. However, I would like to know why you suggested not adding milk products, yet. I always thought that fat-free milk and sour milk have a low glycemic index! Is there another reason? What about protein powder milk shakes with berries and canola oil/ peanut butter? I think that I will start adding these carbs quite slowly, I don't want to ruin the whole thing... Maybe just for breakfast, to start with. At least this week has helped with my carb gravings!

[quote:d5969ed5ba="cduane"]Watch the milk and grains closely! :P An alternate plan: Add fruit for one week. If you continue making progress, then add milk the next week. If you continue making progress again, then add grains. You can always go back to Sue's EXCELLENT original advice to repeat the beneficial results you have experienced. Dr. Sears has sometimes mentioned two weeks as a worthwhile trial period. Best wishes, Charlie[/quote:d5969ed5ba] Hi Charlie, I agree this would be one way to go at it, but I don't think it would be really necesary to add back foods gradually in this situation as long as one adheres closely to Zone recommendations with these foods. I do think it would be helpful to Satu to have most of her carbs still from favorable veggies, and maybe keep the additions to a minimum (adding back oats and barley for grains, a maximum of 2 to 3 servings of fruit throughout the day and not all in one meal, and, if she wishes, a bit of unfavorable carb here and there) in order to stay in the Zone. Thanks for the compliment ("EXCELLENT advice"), but I really have to give Dr. Sears the credit for this advice. He was the one who explained it to me a couple yrs ago. In addition, he told me at the time that it would take about 4 days to lower insulin back into the Zone (as he has mentioned in his books also) at which time I could go back to regular Zoning and be able to keep insulin levels within the Zone parameters. In my case, I have found I am very carb sensitive, and must drop a carb block, add some extra monounsaturated fat, and eat mostly all favorable carbs (and mostly from veggies) to stay in the Zone. Some of the favorable carbs even take me out of the Zone (oranges, tangerines, milk, and some varieties of apples.) Sue

EXCELLENT Sue, really excellent :wink: Anybody can look up this thread for reference in the future, that's how well you've explained the fine-tuning of the Zone. As an aside, it's easy to think that having some bread or nibbling on some crackers does not have much effect. That's what I thought until last winter until I began experimenting with a glucometer (measuring pin-pricks of blood as diabetics do). A couple pieces of toast for lunch sent my blood sugar through the roof! Then it dawned on me what a big difference there can be between a half piece of toast and two pieces. If a half piece of bread equals one block, and the rest of the carbs are very favorable, then my blood sugar remains steady. (Of course I'm having balanced protein and fat, too.) Satu, hopefully you will have continued success and give others encouragement in the future! Charlie

Hi there, Here comes my weight loss report after two weeks of adjusting blocks according to Sue's fantastic advice! I have now added milk, oatmeal and some fruits for one meal (breakfast) and one snack (afternoon). In addition to this, I had some wine (and cheese) on friday night :oops: It seems that I still lost 0.6 kg and 1 cm (waist), but I really do not know whether I should be more strict next week... You see, I'm happy with 1 cm and 0.5 kg /week rate, but I'm worried that it might change to gaining weight instead of losing weight :? Actually I have been a little bit hungry this week (3½ to 4 hours after a meal), which is surprising - I have done the same amount of exercise, same type of exercise (walking and strength training) as I did last week. Do you think I should add one snack (11 blocks :arrow: 12 blocks), or is my hunger because of too much / wrong kind of carbohydrates? I'd be happy to read your comments! Please let me know what you think. I think this is going to the right direction, and I'm learning something every day...

Hi, I would have expected you to continue to stay in the Zone, even though you added the fruit, oats,etc. All you needed was to lower insulin back into the Zone, which you did with the strict week of veggies, and as long as you keep the fruit and slightly denser carbs to a minimum, you will most likely remain in the Zone. Regarding your hunger, you would have to recall exactly what you ate in the meals after which you were hungry. I would think that if you slightly tweaked those meals you would probaably get a bit more time out of them. Remember that the Zone guidelines about adjustig to eliminate hunger specify "significant hunger" when judging hunger at 4 hrs after the meal. A food diary can be helpful fo fine tuning. Thanks for keepng us informed of your progress and keep up the great Zoning! I look forward to reading more updates from you. Sue

Hi Charlie, And thanks, again! 8) I must have missed this post of yours. Yes, isn't is amazing what a difference a piece of bread can make? I rarely eat it because even a block will tend to interfere with my Zoning. My carb sensitivity translates into very little leeway for me with carbs. I need to drop a block on a continual basis, can't tolerate unfavorable fruits, but can stay zoned with a half block of a whole grain corn product or a piece of sprouted bread here and there, and surprisingly enough I also get very hungry if I go with all very low GI veggies. :? But, hey, it works for me, and the blood sugar symptoms that used to interfere with my lifestyle on a daily basis are a thing of the past. You'd be surprised at the delicious combinations of foods you can come up with if you use a little creativity. Meals with 3P and 2C do not have to be boring. I tend to think in half blocks as far as carbs go. It gives a lot of variety to meals and I never have to down big amounts of a single veggie to get my blocks. :D Sue

Hi and thank you for this site - i will check it out - i did the zone many years ago and now i'm finding it hard to get into it - do you know of any weight watcher meals that are zone friendly? thanks, mary