I should begin by saying that I do not have a formal education in nutrition. I am a wife and mother who has worked for years, trying to keep my family fit and healthy. We have tried several different diets over the years, but none of them had lasting success until we found "The Zone" diet.

My daughter, Diane, introduced me to a couple of books written by Dr. Barry Sears. The first, "The Zone," I found very hard to understand. His next book, "Mastering The Zone," was a little easier to read, but still very hard to put into practice. I don't know exactly why this diet works so well, but when we stay in the "Zone," the fat melts away. "The Zone" diet is based on eating meals in which the PCF's (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) are "balanced". This maximizes the body's fat burning characteristics for some reason. The problem with this diet is that it requires a lot of math. You have to calculate the blocks of PCF's in a recipe, make adjustments and then recalculate. You do this over and over until the meal is properly balanced. Diane didn't have a problem with this, but then she has a Ph.D. in mathematics.

I went to the bookstore to try to find a book that had meals that were already balanced. When I did find one, it used a lot of "diet foods." I knew from experience that my family would not stay with this diet if they had to eat tofu, alfalfa sprouts, watercress, protein powder, soy products, etc. They wanted to be able to eat the way we normally ate, and still lose weight. At that time I thought it would be an impossible task.

Back to the bookstore again; determined to find a cookbook with recipes we could live with. None! I was ready to give up, but my daughter wouldn't let me. She found one called "40-30-30 Fat Burning Nutrition," by Joyce and Gene Daoust. Their book made more sense, but again, although the foods were closer to the way we were eating, they were still just too different.

With Diane's encouragement, I started trying to adapt my everyday meals to "The Zone." It was a slow and tedious process, but I kept at it. The result was almost unbelievable: my family didn't even know they were on a diet most of the time. Other family members and friends began asking about our weight loss, and I recommended the above Zone diet books to them. They all complained that the book was too hard to understand, weren’t crazy about some of the “diet foods,” and the math too difficult. When they tried some of my pre-balanced recipes, they loved them. They found the diet easy to stick with as long as they didn't have to go through all the math calculations.

I think the Zone diet is wonderful. By eating this way, not only have I lost weight, but I have been able to sleep through the night and awaken in the morning virtually pain free. This in itself was wonderful, but I soon found many other great side effects. I now feel more alert, and have more energy. I no longer have gas or bloating, my heartburn is gone, I feel happier, my clothes fit better and the pounds just keep melting away. Food is no longer on my mind every waking moment, and I am never hungry.

My husband had been sleeping with his head on 3 or 4 pillows to combat his heartburn, but now he sleeps with just one. Our blood pressure and cholesterol levels are in a very acceptable zone. This was all the extra encouragement I needed. I became a zealot. I told everyone I knew about the Zone (and even some I didn't know).

I adapted more and more of my recipes to Zone meals, and tried each one out on my family. The meals they gave me the thumbs up on were added to this book. Believe me, it wasn't easy. I drove my daughter crazy with all my questions, expecting her to know the answers. After all, not only is she a math professor, but she had two friends on the Zone, and they were losing weight. (It was amazing how much they had lost.)

I am sure there were days when my family wanted to run away from home. (I know I did.) Instead, each time I attempted to balance a new meal, they would make suggestions on how I could make it taste better. Next I started on my friends and other family members. I sent them sample recipes to try out and got feedback from them as well.

What follows are some hints and ideas that made it easier for us to stay on this diet. "Diet?" It's not really a diet, just a way to fix meals that are balanced, healthier, and easier on the tastebuds.

I have no idea what Dr. Barry Sears or Joyce and Gene Daoust would say about my meals, but it is working for us. I have found meals that my family will eat and still lose weight. Hopefully, as time goes by I will learn more about the process and make my recipes better and healthier. But for now, not only does my family no longer frown at me over the dinner table, they are also healthier and more fit. What more could a mother ask!