Barry Sears looks at why Americans still have dietary problems in spite of following the advice of experts. Challenging the current recommendations for a high carbohydrate diet, Sears looks into man's history as well as the diets athletes succeed best on, to build a new dietary picture. Anyone looking for better health through an improved relationship to what they eat should put this book on their list.

From Publishers Weekly
Ciao pasta, good-bye bread, rice and other "bad carbohydrates," which can include carrots, cranberries and corn. It's time to truck in the proteins. Sears, a biochemist, crowns years' worth of research into the effects of food on hormone production and metabolic activity with a program that will lead to "optimal health," peak performance (the zone of the title) and, not incidentally, weight control. Citing the importance of eicosanoids, a class of hormones that figures critically in metabolism, Sears has worked out an approach to eating that reduces one's daily production of insulin and, at the same time, draws on stored body fat for energy. A formula for calculating an individual's Lean Body Mass is tied to an estimated Physical-Activity Factor and used to establish one's daily protein requirement, which can easily be as much as 70 grams for a moderately active, middle-aged woman with 25-35% body fat. Recommending a diet that tightly balances the intake of protein, good (low-glycemic) carbohydrates and a moderate amount of monounsaturated fats, Sears is among those current weight-control specialists (e.g., Drs. Rachael and Richard Heller and Stephen Gullo [see Notes below]) who observe that there are many "insulin-resistant" Americans for whom the new food pyramid recommendations, heavily weighted with "high-density, high-glycemic carbohydrates," can be unhealthy. "Zone-favorable" recipes and food-count tables are included. BOMC and QPC alternates; author tour. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Based on Nobel Prize-winning research, the message is that being fit and feeling good are goals we can reach by eating the right combinations of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Though it's hard to think that noodles and bread can make anyone sick or miserable, the author makes a good case that eating too many carbohydrates can mess up the healthy hormone patterns that affect virtually every major bodily function. Dr. Sears is a former M.I.T. biochemical researcher and consultant for chronically ill patients, but the audio's focus is on the practical eating habits of ordinary people. He explains some pretty complex metabolic relationships in a way that sounds easy to apply to one's life. An accessible program with powerful, lifesaving information. T.W. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Teresa Olson, celebrity trainer, in People
"I've never had the progress with my clients that I've had since they've started doing the Zone. They're less hungry, less fatigued, and more productive. I've seen it work."

Muscle Media 2000
"It's powerful 'how-to' information based on very complex science, approaching the subject of food in a way that has not been done before. ... After reading this, you will have gone a long way to getting your own prescription for food."

Brntwd
"Why is the nation that follows the popular dietary rules continuing to get fatter? Dr. Barry Sears believes he has the answer, and his recent best-seller, Enter the Zone, gives a detailed and convincing explanation. ... The exciting truth of the controversial diet is that it really just calls for balance and a lot of common sense ... the information and scientific approach just may convince you."

Richard Quick, Stanford swim coach, in Swim Magazine
"I am convinced that his program was the difference in helping us take our performance to a higher level."

The Light Connection
"In this scientific and revolutionary book, based on Nobel Prize-winning research, medical visionary and former MIT researcher Dr. Barry Sears makes permanent fat loss and peak physical and mental performance simple for you to understand and achieve."

Gary Morgan, celebrity trainer, in Globe
"You can lose up to five pounds a week on the Zone Diet."

Bill Potter, professional cyclist, in Health & Fitness
"I noticed a difference in two weeks. My weight and muscle mass didn't change, but I was dropping fat. My clothes were looser and I could see the change in my shape."

Playboy
"Sears' advice flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but recent studies support his radical theories, and his credentials are solid. ... It simply takes us back to the good old days, before carbo-mania swept the land."

Donalsonville, GA News
"In this book Dr. Sears provides you with a vast new array of tools, techniques, and tricks that will help you achieve superhealth. ... In following the guidelines you will look trimmer and feel more alert, and your health will be better than ever before -- and you will do it effortlessly."

The Ellenville Press
"Dr. Sears, a former MIT researcher, followed some Nobel prize-winning research and developed a dietary roadmap that causes permanent weight loss, is anti-aging and healthful ... These books are well worth reading, and no surprise they have sold over three million copies and just stay on the bestseller lists."

Book Description
For years experts have been telling Americans what to eat and what not to eat. Fat, they told us, was the enemy. Then it was salt, then sugar, then cholesterol... and on it goes. Americans listened and they lost -- but not their excess fat. What they lost was their health and waistlines. Americans are the fattest people on earth... and why? Mainly because of the food they eat. In this scientific and revolutionary book, based on Nobel Prize-winning research, medical visionary and former Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Dr. Barry Sears makes peak physical and mental performance, as well as permanent fat loss, simple for you to understand and achieve. With lists of good and bad carbohydrates, easy-to-follow food blocks and delicious recipes, The Zone provides all you need to begin your journey toward permanent fat loss, great health and all-round peak performance. In balance, your body will not only burn fat, but you'll fight heart disease, diabetes, PMS, chronic fatigue, depression and cancer, as well as alleviate the painful symptoms of diseases such as multiple sclerosis and HIV. This Zone state of exceptional health is well-known to champion athletes. Your own journey toward it can begin with your next meal. You will no longer think of food as merely an item of pleasure or a means to appease hunger. Food is your medicine and your ticket to that state of ultimate body balance, strength and great health: the Zone.

From the Publisher
What do our Olympic heroes, the cast of Baywatch, Madonna, and thousands of other trim and healthy people around the country have in common? They're all in "The Zone." According to Dr. Barry Sears, "The Zone" is "that mysterious but very real state in which your body and mind work together at their ultimate best." Based on Nobel Prize-winning research, this book helps readers reach this state by teaching them groundbreaking nutritional principles. The basic premise is simple: calorie counting doesn't work. Maintaining the correct ratio of fats (yes, fats), proteins, and carbohydrates is what's important. Designed to take the reader beyond wellness and into truly optimal health, Dr. Sears' life plan helps people lose weight permanently, avoid disease, enhance mental productivity, achieve maximum physical performance, and balance and control hormone and insulin levels. The plan is easy to follow--there are no rigid menus, just clear, sensible guidelines on how to create a personal nutrition program. With sample recipes (such as old-fashioned oatmeal and salmon mousse), a list of good and bad carbohydrates, recommendations on convenience foods, and tips on eating out are also included. Who's in The Zone? Carl Lewis, Alvin Harrison, Leroy Burrell Sinjin Smith, Alicia Silverstone, Tori Spelling Janet Jackson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many more

About the Author
Barry Spears, Ph.D.,is a widely published scientist and researcher who holds thirteen U.S. patents in drug delivery and hormonal control technology. He is the author of The Zone, Mastering the Zone, Zone-Perfect Meals in Minutes, Zone Food Blocks, A Week in the Zone, The Anti-Aging Zone, The Top 100 Zone Foods, and The Soy Zone. His books have sold more than four million copies and have been translated into twenty-two languages in forty countries. He lives in Swampscott, Massachusetts, with his wife and two daughters.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

For years experts have been telling Americans what to eat and what not to eat. Fat, they told us, was the enemy. Then it was salt, then sugar, then cholesterol... and on it goes.

Americans listened and they lost — but not their excess fat. What they lost was their health and waistlines. Americans are the fattest people on earth... and why? Mainly because of the food they eat.

In this scientific and revolutionary book, based on Nobel Prize-winning research, medical visionary and former Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Dr. Barry Sears makes peak physical and mental performance, as well as permanent fat loss, simple for you to understand and achieve.

With lists of good and bad carbohydrates, easy-to-follow food blocks and delicious recipes, The Zone provides all you need to begin your journey toward permanent fat loss, great health and all-round peak performance. In balance, your body will not only burn fat, but you'll fight heart disease, diabetes, PMS, chronic fatigue, depression and cancer, as well as alleviate the painful symptoms of diseases such as multiple sclerosis and HIV.

This Zone state of exceptional health is well-known to champion athletes. Your own journey toward it can begin with your next meal. You will no longer think of food as merely an item of pleasure or a means to appease hunger. Food is your medicine and your ticket to that state of ultimate body balance, strength and great health: the Zone.

SYNOPSIS

Enter a new dimension of health! For years, Americans have been told that fat is the dietary enemy. Now, after eating less fat and more carbohydrates, we have become the fattest people on earth. Sears explains why, identifying the real enemy and presenting a simple plan for lifelong fitness and health. Discusses the "Zone-favorable" diet in relation to chronic disease, exercise, hormone production, more.

FROM THE CRITICS

Playboy

Sears' advice flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but recent studies support his radical theories, and his credentials are solid. ... It simply takes us back to the good old days, before carbo-mania swept the land.

Bill Potter

I noticed a difference in two weeks. My weight and muscle mass didn't change, but I was dropping fat. My clothes were looser and I could see the change in my shape. —Health & Fitness

Gary Morgan

You can lose up to five pounds a week on the Zone Diet. —Globe

Muscle & Fitness

Enter the Zone will surely draw interest - and controversy - among elite and recreational athletes as well as the general public. ... Enter the Zone forces you to question basic beliefs you have about the foods you eat and their effects on health and performance.

Muscle Media 2000