Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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.

Well, after three well-written, very successful books, Sears's 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 Sears's 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 I'll 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.

After noting several mistakes I called the help line. They weren't 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!!

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 doesn't 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 item's 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 doesn't separate food in favorable and unfavorable groups and second, it's a bit pricey.
Buy this book if you don't 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 [...] and [...] websites.
--Reviewed by M. E. Volmar

After all the fantastic advice he has given thus far, this book was a let down. I agree with all the others have been saying. Poor organization, poor measurements, (0.9 tablespoons??) I can't believe his name is on the cover of the book, he should be embarassed!

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 you're 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. It's 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 you're serious about The Zone and have read Dr. Sears' other books, it's 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 you'll be fine.

This is a must have book for someone who is serious about staying in the Zone. If you're 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 you're 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 you're 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 I'm 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.

Nevertheless, the book is great. I use it every day, few times a day. I wouldn't live without it.

Barry Sears's 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 you're cooking for a hearty man's appetite, just multiply 0.9 ounces times 4. That's 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 chemist's balance and weigh thing to the nearest 10th of an ounce.

Simple, yes?

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

The Zone Food Blocks book is very organized. Easy to use. However, it's not the most updated source - I would utilize the Dr. Sears website for the most part. I do believe that this book comes in handy when you can't find the food item on the website. I keep it with my cookbooks!

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, "It's the Quick, Easy Guide to Staying in the Zone"