Customer Reviews

The Soy Zone

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This is an excellent book for vegetarians interested in the Zone, as well as those who simply want to increase their soy intake. The recipes are clear and easy to follow; over half are totally vegan or can be easily modified to be so, and about four or five contain fish. The rest are ovo-lacto vegetarian.

Since soy protein has not been shown to decrease calcium in bone, it is an excellent way to increase protein in the diet. In addition, this is a diet high in fiber, low in calories, and very easy to live with, once you get used to counting "protein blocks."

For an author whose previous books are so heavy in animal protein, this book is a delight for those of us who don't wish to partake in chicken, fish, or beef. He is very careful to steer clear of "hidden" animal products, such as chicken broth and gelatin.

Finally, the author explains his theories very clearly. I highly recommend this book.

I was very much looking forward to a restricted-carb diet for vegetarians, but found this plan difficult to figure out. Unless you are familiar with Zone theory from Sears' previous books, don't buy this the night before you hope to start the diet. There is no "shortcut" chapter that boils everything down for you, so it will take a few hours to puzzle out the plan. You may also need to make a trip to a health food store for some of the more bizarre items ("stevia extract," I'm looking at you).

A big problem with the book, however, is that virtually all of the recipes are designed to create one "4-block" portion-the standard portion for men. If you are a woman on this diet, you will need to convert all recipes to a standard "3-block" portion. Get out your calculators, ladies, because you'll need to figure out things like what 75% of 2-2/3 teaspoons of olive oil is.

On the plus side, the diet seems much more balanced than other restricted-carb plans (no unlimited fatty foods or other common-sense-defying meals) and there are lots of fruits, vegetables, and calcium sources.

I've been on the Zone diet for four or five years now, have lost 135 lbs. (!), and have never felt better in my life. I've recently begun incorporating more soy protein in my diet as a result of reading this book, and I love it.

I've learned how to prepare Zone meals that are quick, easy, and delicious (I never follow the recipes in the books, as they are too complicated). For breakfast, I have a Zone drink.... Nothing could be easier. They come in chocolate or vanilla, are delicious, and satisfy me for four or five hours. You could also make an omelet with Egg Beaters, soy cheese (delicious!), and vegetables. For snacks, try soy nuts (toasted soy beans) with raisins and almonds, or an ounce of soy cheese with unsweetened apple sauce and almonds. For lunch and/or dinner, I've found that stir-frying is the way to go; say, tofu with black beans and your favorite vegetables (I'm partial to onions, broccoli, and cabbage). Or bake some cod (pour a little lemon juice, soy sauce and ginger over it), then stir-fry some vegetables. Or just open a can of tuna, add olive oil, maybe some balsamic vinegar, and garbanzos (chickpeas).

I suggest you look through the list of "favorable" foods in the Zone books, pick out your favorites, memorize how much of these foods equals one block (not as hard as it sounds), buy some spices (soy sauce is a lifesaver for me, as are ginger, oregano, basil, and garlic powder), and just have fun experimenting with combinations. You'll be making up your own quick and easy recipes in no time. If I can be of further help, feel free to email me.

The crux of the Soy Zone diet is a careful combination of fats, proteins, and unrefined complex carbohydrates that strives to maintain constant blood sugar levels. As you might well imagine from that description, the Soy Zone diet is complicated and can be difficult to follow. No simple Atkinsonian rule-of-thumb like "eat only meat" works for this diet. You have to follow the recipes carefully.

Fortunately, the recipes are well designed, both tasty and satisfying. Unfortunately, they are time-consuming to prepare.

After following the diet for a few days, I feel a bit more energized and have fewer sugar and starch cravings. The real test of this diet will be how long I can stay on it, how much weight I loose, and how much more alert I am after a few months.

By now you have probably figured out that the four earlier online reviews of this book are worthless, because the reviewers talk about the spin and the politics rather than what its actually like to follow the diet. (Can you believe those jejune reviews from Irvin and Sunil? Do you think they read more than the title and the jacket?...

Author Barry Sears makes it known that he believes that soy can improve your health and reduce your weight, so much so that he modified his famous and very popular "Zone Diet" to include a significant amount of SOY. "The Soy Zone" is a brand new book and is already getting a lot of press and attention. I am interested in getting as much information about the value of soy, not so much from a weight loss standpoint, but for overall improvement in health and for disease prevention. The author makes some good points regarding soy's value that appear to be valid. Much of the current literature (professional and lay) point out soy's benefits for better health. Mr. Sears provides many interesting recipes (in color) from top chefs around the world that look tempting, and are worth trying. He promises readers that those who follow his diet will think better, feel more energized, look better, experience fewer sugar cravings and lose weight after a few short weeks on his diet. Only time will tell how valid this is. This book's worth reading, at least to learn the values of soy in your diet.

This is a great book, and a wonderful diet for me. Since I'm a real grump when I get hungry, I had to find a diet that didn't leave me feeling hungry all the time. I was a bit skeptical of this diet but thought I would try it anyway. Well, as hard as it is to believe, at only 1200 calories a day, I wasn't left feeling hungry. My energy level is great, and I don't feel the need to eat junk food, and I'm losing weight. I cannot verify the accuracy of all of the scientific data in this book, but I don't care. This diet makes sense. It's a very good balance of protein, carbs, and fat, and the meals are satisfying. For those of you who don't like to cook, don't let this book scare you off right away. There are some very simple recipes, and some more difficult ones. I just stuck with the simple recipes, and after getting the hang of counting blocks, I've created some of my own very simple recipes, and now it's so easy. By the way my favorite breakfast recipe is the Banana Berry Sunday (yum).

Since the publication of the Zone in 1995, the scientific literature has supported the premise that adequate protein intake (from a variety of animal/plant sources) is essential to reduce the risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, and a host of other "western" diseases that are ultimately a consequence of elevated insulin levels and the resulting overproduction of a series of inflammatory and immune-depressing eicosanoids. This was further confirmed in a study appearing in the AJCN whereby vegetarians who also consumed fish and or eggs/dairy had a lower risk of heart disease than strict vegans. This poses a dilemma for those who do not wish to take part in animal protein. Thanks to Dr. Sears, the Soy Zone provides the necessary means by which to achieve all the wonderful Zone benefits without having to rely on animal protein. The book is not as technical as his previous works, and one may have to refer to them to find support for the underlying science, but then again, the program has been criticized as being too difficult and so The Soy Zone lays it out simple and effectively. Simply a wonderful eating plan that can be enjoyed by vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores. And with the planet's population expected to reach 9 billion in another fifty years, the Soy Zone should contribute to addressing not only the world's food shortages but malnutrition as well. Its too bad political, financial and personal agendas continue to attempt to discredit Dr. Sears' work...

I recently bought this book, and can't believe how well it is going!! The diet is incredibly easy to follow (for both men and women)and I've been incorporating it into my children's diet too - although they don't need to lose weight! My cravings for carbs have virtually dissappeared, and I thought that would be impossible. I've been a vegie for 12 years, and this is by far the best food plan I've ever tried. I'm losing weight, feeling great, and reccomend it to all.

Dr Sears has distorted his description of the okinawa diet in his book.

It's true that they eat fish and soy, but they only eat 100-300g of fish per day, practically no meat. They eat soy, small to moderate amounts of fruit and heaps of vegetables - so far so good. But he forgets to mention that they eat between 7-13 serves of whole grain products such as rice and noodles, and large amounts of imo (sweet potato). Thus their diet is actually a wholefoods higher carb 55-80%, lower protein(10-20%), low fat (10-25%) diet !! This is obviously not a zone diet.

He left out the bit about the grains and sweet potato to fit his own philosophy, this is fundamentally dishonest.

If you wish to know more about the real Okinawa diet, read "The Okinawa Way" or "The Okinawa Diet" by Bradley Willcox (Md). Bradley Wilson has actually been to Okinawa personally. It is interesting to not that in the notes at the back of the book, Dr Wilcox distances himself from the zone and states categorically that the Okinawa diet is NOT the zone diet because it is C55% P20%F25%. I am sure that Bradley Wilcox is horrified that his research has been distorted by the dishonesty of Dr Sears.

I bought this book about a year or more ago. I have read it about 3 times, which is amazing in itself because I am not a big reader.

While I can't say I follow all the "soy zone" rules, I do keep them in mind when preparing meals. I still haven't gotten the hang of figuring out blocks and all that stuff. So I do a lot of guesswork, and basically have cut out a lot of the "bad" carbs I used to depend so heavily on as a vegetarian.

The recipes in this book are NOT useful at all. There are a couple that I can manage, and I usually change stuff around a lot. I wish the author would invest in a really good chef to put together recipes that I can actually use on a daily basis. Maybe they will re-write this book in the future....I would hope so!

Since my half-hearted attempt at aiming my diet towards the "soy zone" - I have lost 7 pounds without even trying hard. Also, I usually get sick 3-4 times per year, and I haven't been sick at all since practicing bits and pieces of the soy zone.

I wish I could get more into counting blocks and using the recipes. But it may just have to wait for a future version of this book. In the meantime, I plan on sticking to the guesswork, which seems to be working for me.