Zone Diet Review

Joining Fee:

$52 every 13 weeks (which works out at $4 per week or $20 per month).
Basic Terms & Conditions: (For full details of please consult ZoneDiet.com)
After a minimum of 4 weeks on the program, you can receive a refund for unused membership.

Prices are subject to change. For the most up to date information, please refer to the actual website.

Features:

Diet Features:
- The Zone 1-2-3 method is an easy way to make sure you get the right balance of fat, protein and carbohydrates to "turn on" a fat-burning metabolism and satisfy hunger at the same time. So for every gram of fat you consume you need to eat twice as many grams of protein and three times that amount in grams of carbohydrates.
- Basic Zone Rules:
  1. Eat a Zone meal or snack within one hour after waking.
  2. To keep your insulin levels in the Zone so you are burning stored fat instead of accumulating it, eat every 4 to 6 hours after a meal or 2 to 2½ hours after a snack (including one at bedtime), whether you are hungry or not.
  3. Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.
  4. Start every meal or snack with low-fat protein. Next add low glycemic-load carbohydrates (i.e. vegetables and fruits) and good fats (i.e. olive oil).
  5. Supplement daily with a highly purified Omega-3 concentrate like OmegaRx ® .
  6. Don't beat yourself up for straying here or there. Your next meal or snack can get you right back on track.

Fitness Features:
- Male and female body fat calculator online.
- According to Dr. Sears, 30 minutes of moderate exercise 3-5 days a week, in conjunction with the Zone approach to eating, can help decrease inflammation within your fat cells and simultaneously help control insulin levels. No specific exercise plans or tools are provided at ZoneDiet.com however.

Community Support:
- ZoneDiet.com has organized its forums into the following categories:
  - Weight Loss
  - Cooking Tips
  - Health
  - Vegetarians
  - Athletic Performance
  - Anti-Aging
  - Kids
  - Zone Philosophy
  - Zone Pals
  - Pets
  - What's New on ZoneDiet.com
  - Website Feedback
- The interactive facility also tells you how many guests and members are currently on-line.

Expert Advice:
- Dr. Sears has created a line of specialized supplements to help you achieve your goals and optimize the benefits of OmegaRx and eating In the Zone.
- Quick, easy access to articles from Zone Diet's Newsletters and selected third-party
  providers, and the ability to search their archives provide you with valuable information for living in the Zone.

Help Files / Technical Support:
- You can contact Customer Support by telephone or email 9.00 a.m.- 6.00 p.m. (EST) Monday to Friday and 10:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. (EST) on Saturday.

Extras:
- Zone Products are available on-line. These include
  - Foods: specially formulated with a precise balance of fat, protein, carbohydrate and micronutrients to keep your insulin levels within the Zone and keep hunger away for up to 4 hours. Select from great-tasting Bars, Shakes,Cereal, even olive oil.
  - Omega-3 concentrates: enriched with EPA and DHA are engineered to enhance the benefits of the Zone Diet by helping normalize inflammation within your body.
  - Specialized Supplements: designed to help support heart and bone health, manage cholesterol levels and more.
  - Books: to date more than 5 million hardcover copies of Dr Sears' Zone books have been sold in the U.S.A.
    - "The Zone" (1995)
    - "Mastering the Zone" (1997)
    - "Zone Perfect Meals in Minutes" (1997)
    - "The Anti-Aging Zone" (1999)
    - "Omega Rx Zone" (2002)
    - "The Anti-Inflammation Zone" (2004)

Editor's Verdict:

Dr. Barry Sears, an American biochemist, created the Zone Diet Online in 2002 as a spin off from the bestselling Zone Diet books, which first went to print in 1995. The premise of the program is that by eating foods which keep your insulin levels 'In The Zone' throughout the day, the Zone Diet can help you: lose weight, fight the effects of aging, reduce the risk of chronic disorders, improve mental and physical performance.

The Zone Diet is based around the concept that successful weight loss and generally feeling healthy is based on a proper hormone balance, triggered by eating the correct foods, in the correct quantities. 'The Zone' is therefore this ideal hormone balance that should be attained in order to facilitate a healthy lifestyle and stable weight loss. The diet that should be followed in order to achieve this perfect balance is based upon a 40:30:30 ratio intake of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, and thus could be described as a 'moderate carbohydrate diet' (as compared to the high carbohydrate diet of most American's today). Dr. Sears' diet has been popularized through a range of incredibly successful books, of which more than 5 million copies have been sold in the US alone. The diet has also been a hit with celebrities, with Jennifer Anniston, Renee Zellweger, Cindy Crawford, Charlie Sheen, Tom Cruise, Maribel Guardia, Levi Leipheimer, BJ Penn and Tiger Woods all having been reported to have followed the diet at some point. The diet was also examined on the PBS show Scientific American Frontiers, in a non-scientific study. Of all the diets examined, the Zone Diet had the greatest fat loss of the users in the study, and users also reported it as the easiest to follow - having the fewest adverse health effects such as fatigue or continual hunger.

Dr. Sears, as well as promoting his particular brand of healthy eating, also suggests that all dieters following the Zone Diet plan should take a pharmaceutical grade Omega-3 supplement in order to boost their health and wellbeing, and improve weight loss. Whilst this may be good in terms of the Zone Diet, it is normally not a good idea to take additional supplements in order to lose weight, as it distorts the benefits of the diet plan, and can often be harmful. That said, the website for the Zone Diet has a great number of items for sale, all of which are 'recommended' for inclusion within the diet for optimum weight loss. Whilst the Zone Diet's monthly membership fees are not a great deal different from other sites we have reviewed, at $20 per month, the additional cost from purchasing all of the supplements and suggested additions to the diet would run at more than $100 a month, a great deal more than the cost of an alternative diet plan which focuses on a more holistic and clinically proven diet plan. Similarly, the lack of fitness features leaves a questionable hole in the overall health benefits that can be gleaned form this kind of diet plan.

While the Zone Diet has undoubtedly been successful, and many users report great success by following the plan, we're not convinced the plan is for everyone. With strict rules, supplements and additional expenditure, we aren't sure the plan translates into something that is easily slotted into daily life. If you're still interested, hit the link below for more information, otherwise check out some of the other sites in our top ten in this category.

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Zone Diet Reviews