Zone Food Blocks. The Quick and Easy, Mix-and-Match Counter for Staying in the Zone

if youre someone whos been getting zoned for a while now like me, you can apply some common sense to this book and extract the knowledge you need to help your own zone quest. if youve been practicing the zone and know its rules of thumbs then youll be able to extract knowlege out of this book to add options to your zone quest. For experienced zoners, this book is a technical manual to aid your already stable path in the zone. Im glad to have this book. I love the zone.

I was delighted when I saw this book in the bookstore. Fortunately, I thumbed through it and thus avoided the mistake of buying it. I thought I must not be reading the measurements correctly because surely anyone could see that this method of measurement would render the information almost useless. I think somebody is in too much of a hurry to make money and is not thinking about the readers. Whoever is responsible for this book should be ashamed. At least they didnt get MY money.

I recently purchased this book along with another zone book to get me started on the program. This book LOOKED like it would be helpful for me, but after paging through it I realized how wrong I was. I agree with the majority of the reviews listed here. The measurements are incredibly strange, and many general, everyday foods are missing. I would still like to try the zone, but I will be returning this book as soon as possible.

This is a must have book for someone who is serious about staying in the Zone. If youre like me -- cook a lot and need to know how much of each ingredients to use, this book is for you. I find it especially helpful for measuring raw ingredients like veggies and fruits. On the other hand, if you are looking for information on processed pre-packaged food, then youre better off calculating it yourself, as the book only covers a small portion of the huge amount of processed food out on the market. The book does give you a simple formula and example to do your own calculation of processed food.

If youre new to Zone diet, you should read other Zone diet books before using this one, as it does not go into detail on how to follow the diet or concept of the diet.

I do wish that the book was better organized, as it is difficult to find exactly what Im looking for sometimes. Organizing the information in dictionary style would have worked better. Searchable database on CD-ROM would have been super. I suspect some of the data maybe slightly off.

Once you have an understanding of the Zone Diet, this book is what you need to keep things uncomplicated. Just about every food (and brand) is within the book and portioned for you. You can truly eat anything you like, as long as you follow the Zones balanced method.

The Zone is a diet method that you will use the rest of your life.

I love the concept and cant wait to live it. BUT. This is so complicated. Yikes. AND I live in Holland so I cant even find half of the items for soy living as in the Soy Zone book, which I also have and am really trying to do. Yeesh. Does it have to be so hard Why cant Dr Sears just break it down This is for the 3 block set, This is for the 4 block set. Hey, Dr Sears, wise up, more women buy diet books then men.Who is in charge of your marketing Dept

Barry Searss food block system is a simple way to keep protein, fat and carbohydrate in the right ratio to each other in your diet, every meal, every day. For an average man, four Zone blocks of protein, four of fat and four of carbohydrate add up to a wholesome dinner.

Suppose that your problem is, how much roasted goat meat adds up to four blocks of protein If so, this is just the right book for you to own.

Simply go to the section on proteins. There are hundreds of different protein sources listed there, alphabetically, from abalone to yogurt, but you want to know about goat meat. The entry for goat says that one block of roasted goat meat weighs 0.9 ounces. To get the weight of four Zone blocks of goat meat, in case youre cooking for a hearty mans appetite, just multiply 0.9 ounces times 4. Thats 3.6.

What happens next depends on how sunny your disposition is and how well your kitchen is equipped with measuring equipment. You can round things to the nearest ounce, 4.0 ounces, and make do with not much of a scale or you can get a sensitive chemists balance and weigh thing to the nearest 10th of an ounce.

Simple, yes

Thats all there is to it, for thousands of sources of proteins, fats and carbohydrates listed in this book. Its a godsend if youre following a Zone diet, whether youre trying to decide on a haunch of roasted goat meat or a Whopper Junior.

After reading Dr. Sears other two books, I was glad to come across this reference guide for staying in The Zone. I admit some of the portion sizes are a bit goofy, but why not invest in a ... digital kitchen scale if youre serious about conquering The Zone I like being precise with my food blocks and enjoy going thru this book, looking for specific foods and adding them to my self-created food block quick list that I keep up on my refrigerator. Its a little bit of obsessive work, but the end results are far worth it.
My only complaint is the size--I wish this book was published in a size compact enough to fit in a purse or briefcase.
Other than that, if youre serious about The Zone and have read Dr. Sears other books, its easy enough to figure out what are favorable and non-favorable carbs as so many people mentioned in other reviews. And when in doubt--stick with (most) fruits and veggies and youll be fine.

After noting several mistakes I called the help line. They werent real helpful. Said that book contains many errors (including the one I was asking about - Zone preferred items were suppose to be checked) and that a revision was in the works with no idea when it would be out. She suggested I return the book for a refund. GOOD ADVICE. If there are so many errors they should do a recall..

Well, after three well-written, very successful books, Searss latest publication leaves his ardent followers (of which I am one) very disappointed. The book can basically be described as an unedited (numerous errors exist) computer dump of food counts, and a poorly organized one at that. It appears to this reviewer that those responsible for this new release were too anxious to get it on the market. Also, I understand from individuals who have postings on Searss web site, that the first printings of this book contain errors in the amounts listed for fresh fruits and vegetables. Apparently, the block amounts listed for these foods do not take into account their fiber content, hence the amounts given are too small. Make sure when (if) you order that you are ordering the corrected version.

The book itself is printed on cheap quality paper. I was hoping for a book that would stand up to the rigors of daily kitchen use (good quality cookbook-type). This one will not, as the ink has already started to smear on the paperback-quality pages of my copy. I was also hoping for an easy to use reference, and all I can say to that end is, at least the items are alphabetized. Sears organizes the food entries into Carbs, Proteins, or Fats. On the surface that would seem to make sense because, based on the principles of The Zone, you want to include blocks of each of these macronutrients in everything you eat. But, on the practical side, this limited organization makes the book very difficult and frustrating to use. If you want to look up, for example, BEANS, you must sort through ALL carbohydrates beginning with B, not just the vegetables.

Finally, I cannnot understand why Sears, who tells his followers not to obsess about exact amouts, would not have rounded some of his measurements to the nearest half, third, or even quarter - 0.9 of an apple - I think Ill eat the whole thing.

The book would have been much better if it had been printed on kitchen-quality paper, divide. d with colorful tabs into meats, dairy, vegetables, fruits, etc., and would have been LESS precise, rounding to the nearest common full measurement.

Pass on this one, wait for the recall, and hope Sears and company start over.

Zone Food BLocks is the most helpful book Barry Sears has written so far. The layout of the book helps the most clueless people on what they should and should not eat and how much of it they should/shouldnt not eat. IF you are already sold on the Zone lifestyle then skip buyingthe other Zone Books and purchase this one. Like it says, Its the Quick, Easy Guide to Staying in the Zone

This book is a very helpful and easy-to-use guide that contains over 12,000 food entries converted into Zone Food Blocks.
Its introduction includes a synopsis of the Zone program and a few important facts about the program, all of which had been previously presented separately in other Zone books. Most importantly, the introduction explains how Dr. Sears modified food block protein, carbohydrate and fat contents from his previous books to reflect the real content in each serving, and to make it compatible with the results we get when we calculate blocks from food labels. (This modification doesnt affect the program or your meals as long as use in each meal or snack preparation either this book or the little food guide on the back of other books, all of whose items are included on Zone Food Blocks. You should not mix information from both.)
The main content of the book is divided into the common Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fat categories, and as a bonus includes two more sections. Fast Foods and Prepared Meals. Each food in each of the categories states the items name (organized alphabetically for quick checkups), style, brand, serving size and protein, carbohydrate and fat block content. Tricky items are also cross-referenced. for example, oats appears under both cereal and oats. And the book has a very sturdy hardcover binding to make it resistant to the daily tear and wear that anyone on the Zone program will be likely to submit it too.
There are only two important down sides to this book, and hence I only give it four stars. First, it doesnt separate food in favorable and unfavorable groups and second, its a bit y.
Buy this book if you dont have access to the Internet, only use your computer sparingly, or want to (like me) have all this information in an accessible, permanent, printed form. All the information it contains can be found in the Food Block databases of the www.drsears.com and www.zoneprefect.com websites.

This book should get the prize for completely BAD representation of information. I am a total zone convert, it has changed my life, but if I had this book to start with, it would have hindered, NOT helped me in my path. Most of the measurements are not helpful, they are not consistent. Some are in cups, some are in ozs, some in slices, all in decimal amounts (where is my .1 cup measure). They are in block amounts rather than serving amounts. (Is it useful to know that .8 of a 3/4 oz slice is 1 block or is it useful to know how much 1 slice is). Some items are in the wrong group. Ice Cream is a *protien* rather than a carb as it belongs. The foods have a decidedly east coast bent as many of the foods listed are either not available on the west coast, or common west coast brands are missing.

I was really looking forward to this book to help out friends and family members that want to start the zone. I was very disappointed. Mastering the Zone still represents the best effort by Dr. Sears, though I would hope that before he is allowed to write again, that he gets an qualified editor that can help in the presentation of ideas.

Heres the follow-up to The Zone and Mastering the Zone. Author Barry Sears, Ph.D., has formulated a way for readers to follow his diet plan (30 percent fat, 40 percent each carbohydrates and protein) by breaking down foods into measurable units, a la Weight Watchers. Its designed to make eating on the run--even if youre stopping at McDonalds--a Zone-friendly experience. But its not exactly a piece of cake.

Anyone who hated word problems in math class may be slightly baffled by the necessary calculations for foods not listed in the charts. For example, if you want to convert a serving of cereal into Zone blocks, you need to look at the label and subtract the grams of fiber from the total grams of carbohydrate. this gives the total of insulin-promoting carbohydrate. Divide this result by 10. (Although to be accurate, it should be divided by 9, as Sears has assigned 9 grams to each carbohydrate block. he says you may as well round up to 10, since that makes the math easier.) And there you get your Zone block. As long as your total blocks stay within the 40-30-30 ratio, youre in the Zone.

Even more confusing are the measurements for some of the pre-calculated foods in the charts. For example, 80 fluid ounces of Rice Dream Rice milk equals 39 carbohydrate blocks and 8 fat blocks. While its unlikely anyone would guzzle down 10 servings at once, it is likely theyd have a hard time finding this product in the listings in the first place, as its listed under milk, nondairy, not rice milk. Many of the other listings are equally frustrating. To get one carbohydrate block of Schweppes ginger ale, you need to drink 3.3 fluid ounces. If youre working with a 12-ounce can, you can do some rounding, but if you have a liter-sized bottle at home, youre going to need a good eye to get that third of an ounce in a measuring cup. Its also hard to believe someone would eat eight-tenths of a slice of Pepperidge Farm bread to get one carbohydrate block, or six-tenths of a teaspoon of Bernsteins Caesar salad dressing to get one fat block. Dieting shouldnt be this difficult.

Book Description
Over two million people worldwide are already experiencing the health and performance benefits of the Zone diet. Based on the hormonal consequences of food rather than caloric content, the Zone treats food like a powerful drug. Properly administered, this drug allows you to maintain peak mental alertness throughout the day, increase your energy, and reduce the likelihood of chronic disease--all while losing body fat.

Now, in this essential new Zone reference guide, Barry Sears, provides you with the Zone resources and Food Block information you need to make every meal you eat a Zone meal, including.

How to use and adjust Zone Food to fit your own biochemistry

Zone Food Blocks for every ingredient, including vegetarian and nondairy sources of protein

Zone Food Blocks for fast food and prepackaged supermarket meals

Rules for modifying prepared foods to make them Zone-perfect

The Ten Zone Commandments for staying in the Zone

Think better, perform better, look better, and live better--get into the Zone.

About the Author

Dr. Barry Sears is recognized as one of the worlds leading medical researchers on the hormonal effects of food. He is the author of the number one New York Times bestseller The Zone as well as Mastering the Zone, Zone-Perfect Meals in Minutes, Zone Food Blocks, A Week in the Zone, The Age-Free Zone, The Top 100 Zone Foods, The Soy Zone, The Omega Rx Zone, Zone Meals in Seconds, and What to Eat in the Zone. His books have sold more than five million copies and have been translated into twenty-two languages in forty countries. He continues his research on the inflammatory process as the president of the nonprofit Inflammation Research Foundation in Marblehead, Massachusetts. The father of two grown daughters, he lives in Swampscott, Massachusetts, with his wife, Lynn.