Barry Sears and Mary Goodbody - Mastering the Zone: The Next Step in Achieving Superhealth and Permanent Fat Loss

UPDATE AS OF 12-21-2007: It's been a rather long time since I wrote the below review involving Barry Sears' "Zone" approach. Life goes on, and we (more or less) learn new things and modify our opinions accordingly. Regarding "lifelong diets", I would now say that some are "good", others are "better", and one is the "best". My current opinion is that Barry Sears' "Zone" approach (assuming you avoid his "processed-food" products--including "nutrition" bars--and stick primarily with natural alternatives) is one of the "better" approaches. However, I've come to feel that the "best" approach is that of Joel Fuhrman, M.D. (author of Eat to Live and other books). Not only can you lose just as much weight with Dr. Fuhrman's approach, but also you'll likely be eating significantly more healthfully, the way that nature actually intended. For more information, check out the related web site, drfuhrman.com. (Just don't get distracted by the plethora of more or less "unnecessary" items for sale there. Instead, focus on Dr. Fuhrman's fundamental, dietary information.)

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"Mastering the Zone" (1997) was Barry Sears' second book (i.e., the sequel to his best-selling "The Zone" of 1995). For the Zone neophyte, "Mastering the Zone", in some respects, was a far easier book. Its predecessor not only "jumped around" a bit much, but also it deluged the layman with far more "biochemical theory" than he might care to digest. "Mastering the Zone," by contrast, made a conscious effort to rectify those faults for the lay reader.

At this juncture (given that Barry Sears subsequently published numerous other "Zone" books--most recently "The Anti-Inflammation Zone"), "Mastering the Zone" still can be of use for the Zone beginner. But, for many folks, I can't necessarily endorse all the (frequently) too complicated recipes that fill a huge portion of this book. Many people simply won't have the time or inclination to implement such recipes into their daily routines.

On the other hand, I can reasonably endorse--for starters--the first 57 pages (which comprise a pretty good, overall introduction to "Zone" basics), not to mention the continually useful appendices, most notably the "food block sizes" made simple in Appendix B. [But, frankly, the author's subsequent paperback, "A Week in the Zone" (2000), generally makes a still better introduction for the neophyte, not to mention it's a compact book that you can more easily transport, conceivably even to restaurants.]

In a nutshell, what the author wants you to do is to think of (virtually) all your food--for the rest of your life--as a "prescription drug". Everything you eat should be chosen on the basis of whether it's truly good for you, not merely whether it tastes good. BY NO MEANS does this mean that your pleasure in eating need diminish one iota. In fact, there are all manner of perfectly scrumptious foods/recipes (discussed in the book) that you can (virtually) freely indulge in, while avoiding certain other foods that, alas, too many folks have become all too used to wolfing down.

For example, instead of processed, high-sugar desserts (e.g., pies and cakes), why not substitute some fresh, chilled plums, strawberries, blueberries, or oranges? In my own experience, once you're actually munching on your favorite fresh fruit (assuming it's high-quality produce at the ideal stage of fully sweet ripeness), you will most assuredly NOT miss that accustomed slice of highly processed pie, cake, etc., with all that "refined" (!) flour, sugar, and/or fat. You will be eating real food, not manmade food, and your body--not to mention your taste buds--will thank you for it.

Barry Sears (a "doctor of biochemistry" and NOT a doctor of medicine) is perhaps the most entertaining and intriguing contemporary author in the area of diet, nutrition, and health. I should add that you'll be doing yourself a favor by not only reading his books (including this one) but likewise listening to his audiobooks (and, yes, there is an audio edition of "Mastering the Zone"). While I sense that he is endowed with a healthy measure of self-promotion (as when he pretty obviously is pushing his own brand of fish oil in some of his recent works), this trait is, for me, rather forgivable when you consider that his overall message is sure to improve the health of the majority of readers who take it to heart.

In "Mastering the Zone", Sears repeats (and sometimes expands upon) the most basic concepts introduced in his first book, including such things as:

--Determining, respectively, the amounts (and types) of protein, carbohydrate, and fat you should consume per meal (and per day);

--Why the (former) US-government-sanctioned "food pyramid" is "dead wrong”;

--Why high-protein (or high-carb, or high-fat) diets are unhealthy;

--Why using balanced, moderate portions from all three food categories--(lean) proteins; (high-fiber/low-sugar) carbohydrates; and (monounsaturated) fats--is the way to optimize your health and keep you "in the zone" (i.e., your crucial insulin level will continuously stay neither too high nor too low);

--Why it's generally not fats but rather (high-sugar/processed) carbohydrates (e.g., bread, pasta, potatoes, corn, peas) that make/keep you fat.

There is a "Frequently Asked Questions" chapter toward the end of the book. At that juncture, Sears deals with many additional topics that will surely interest the reader. A mere sampling of the questions from that chapter includes:

--If I follow the Zone diet, does this mean I can never have rice, pasta, and bagels again? ["Of course not. But take them in extreme moderation"]

--Should I be concerned about such a seemingly low daily caloric intake? [No. Sears points out that if you have any excess body fat, then all the calories you need are already stored in your body, etc.]

--Doesn't ANY low-calorie diet cause fat loss? [Nay, says Sears. It depends on the particular balance--or lack--of proteins to carbohydrates to fats]

--Why should I eat my scheduled meal or snack even if I'm not hungry? [Actually, that's an ideal time to eat.]

Now, for the benefit of those souls who stumble onto this review (and, at the time of this writing, their number may be few, for, curiously, the lifelong, balanced, moderate Zone "diet" gets less media exposure--and, consequently, seems less "fashionable" to the common herd than such "crash" diets as the "South Beach" or even the "Atkins"!), I also want to counter what another reviewer of "Mastering the Zone" remarked about Sears' Zone approach being "too hard" for the busy person to follow day-to-day. Having been "in the zone" for over two months, I can tell you that it's really very easy. Space won't allow complete details, but, just for starters, let me advise NOT to take all the book's recipes too literally. Instead, just make sure you refer to the book's "Appendix B" regarding "food-block" sizes.

For example, for breakfast (or lunch or dinner) the average male can have four times (or the average female three times) the weight of any given amount of a particular food listed there. Thus, since 1/2 ounce of dry (uncooked) "old-fashioned oatmeal" equals one (so-called) "food block", the average male could have approximately 2 ounces of such oatmeal for the "carbohydrate" portion of a given meal. Now, how difficult is it to simply pour about that much oatmeal into a bowl (I myself employ a cheap, digital scale for precision), add some water, and pop the bowl into the microwave for a very few minutes?

Analogously, regarding the "protein" portion of a given meal, I've found that measuring portions of (skinless & boneless) baked chicken breast or canned salmon is easy and quick, especially if I remove the guesswork by simply setting the bowl of meat onto my kitchen scale momentarily.

As for the "fat" portion of a given meal, how hard is it to use a "teaspoon" measurer (or merely your eyes) to allot your appropriate "fat block" portion per meal (again, referring to the simple chart in the book's "Appendix B" makes this easy for the beginner, not to mention that a bit of daily experience soon commits this to one's memory)?

I've likewise found it plenty easy to pour part of a bag of frozen "Oriental" mixed veggies into a stovetop pan (along with a dash of olive oil and some precooked chicken-breast strips) to make for a delicious, "hormonally balanced"* meal. For dessert, eating a fresh, chilled orange (or various other fruits) is quick, easy, and delicious.

I hope this helps somebody. The "Zone" approach to eating and living is relatively easy to implement into your daily life, and--stressing, as it does, "balance & moderation" of all food components--certainly it's infinitely healthier than something like the "unbalanced" Atkins diet!

Also: Make "mastering the Zone" truly easy for yourself by viewing a colorfully informative, supplementary VIDEO; just go to Amazon.com and "search" (under the "VHS" category/product heading) for a now out-of-print (and dirt-cheap!) "Zone Perfect Nutrition Program Made Simple and Easy" VHS videotape that will really make it ridiculously easy for the beginner quickly to understand and apply all the basic principles of staying "in the Zone"! Good luck, and good health!


*FOOTNOTE: If I've understood the "Zone" theory correctly, Barry Sears maintains that his Zone diet engenders a (more or less) "hormonally balanced" condition within the human metabolism because it keeps the crucial insulin level neither too high nor too low (i.e., within an optimally healthy "zone") such that previously stored body fat (rather than primarily stored carbohydrate, which, overall, is a much less efficient or desirable "fuel" than is fat) can be utilized as needed for the energy of metabolism, as opposed to remaining/being continually stored in the body (producing, eventually, obesity and very possibly a host of still worse conditions).