{Giveaway} The ZoneFast Weight Loss Program - Retail $179

Well, folks - the post you've all been waiting for is finally here!

After 2 weeks on The Zone Diet I have lost a total of 8 (yes, I said EIGHT) pounds! The food tastes awesome and having it already portioned made life so much easier. Between chasing children up the stairs, off the couch and down the hall I could pluck something from the fridge and my meal was almost done. The only things that took a little longer to prepare were the pizzas and the pastas. Everything else - the breads, sandwiches, granola for breakfast and snacks - were really just grab and go pretty much.

Lunch is no problem with a bowl of veggie soup and croutons:

Dinner one night consisted of browned tilapia, snow peas and a plain bagel as my roll (I only ate a small bit of the fish - as allowed by the diet - and my kids ate the rest):

Some days I moved my meals up a few hours and ate my snack as dessert (seriously, I wish I could have like 5 of these a day...they are so good):

So now, the giveaway you've all been waiting for!! Three - yes, THREE - lucky winners will get the same 2-week plan that I reviewed (here and here) to try for themselves. While not required, I would LOVE to hear how things go for those who get the plan...so I will be featuring each one - if they agree - in a blog post to hear their opinions about the food and anything else they'd like to share. I can't wait to see who wins!

{Wordless Wednesday - Diet Food}

I bet YOUR diet food (if you are on a diet, that is) doesn't look this good!!

Pizza from dinner one night:

Yummy Caesar salad with croutons at lunch:

Plain bagel chips with hummus for a snack:

Lesson #134 - Diet Food Doesn't HAVE To Taste Bad

Whoever says diet food tastes horrible - hasn't tried the Zone Diet!

The day before I began this not-diet diet, I weighed 146 pounds (you're just going to have to take my word...because I forgot to get a picture)...and now, a week later, I have already lost 5 pounds (yes, folks...down to 141 after 1 week):


Having options like this awesome parfait with strawberries, plain yogurt mixed with raspberry Agave syrup and Zone Granola for breakfast

One day I had a sandwich with hummus (used as a spread - in place of mayo), avocado, tomato and cucumbers for lunch

Maybe on another day I'd have a Caesar salad with romaine lettuce, shredded parm, lite dressing and a Zone flatbread

Dinner options include this great Zone fusilli pasta that I paired with yellow peppers, cucumbers, grape tomatoes and a lite Italian dressing 

After the first week, I am definitely looking forward to the next - and wish it didn't go by so fast! So far, these are my thoughts:

PROS
- The bread and pasta taste no different than the ones I ate before being on the diet
- The granola is actually BETTER than others I have had in the past
- I never felt hungry, even after chasing around 2 children all day
- I definitely feel like I have more energy after only 7 days of the program

CONS
- The week 1 box contains a lot of the same things; for example: 2 plain bagel chips, 2 white flatbreads, and 2 white bagels...though, I am thrilled that I got 2 granola packets - they were so yummy
- I don't like sesame seeds, but the week 1 box has a sesame pretzel (snack) and a sesame bagel (breakfast)...I ended up pulling the seeds off, but I would have liked a pick-your-own box option
- The bagels are a little heavy...I usually can only finish 1 half at a time because I get tired of chewing

{Blog Series - The Zone Diet Introduction}

I love getting packages in the mail...as if there is any other way to get packages...but I digress!

You can imagine my excitement (seriously, like a kid at Christmas) when I found THIS on my doorstep:

As some of you might know, my struggle with these last few (okay, 25) baby fat pounds are really getting to me. I have tried A LOT of different diets, but nothing has worked out yet. So, I jumped at the chance to do a review for Dr. Sears' Zone Diet!

I was a little skeptical when first reading the information on their website...the main reason being I can eat bread. Bread has been my enemy (along with pasta and sugar) because I know it will cause more weight gain than loss. After reading about their patented baking technology, I decided that this could be just the thing I need to get my weight back to normal.

The best part about the not-diet diet is that I can replace the current foods I would eat - pasta, rolls, bagels, cookies, croutons, pizza crust and flat bread - with the specially made Zone items and still eat what I would normally. Okay, so maybe I didn't limit myself to only 1 oz. of meat in my sandwich, but I could definitely try.

The ZoneFast Weight Loss Program includes breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners. There is a meal planner, suggested recipes and I also get access to a Zone Coach who is always available by phone to help me with the process. This box is the first week in the two week series.

Seriously, if everything in the box looks as good as this chocolate chunk cookie...I think I'm good to go!

I'm excited to see how this goes...wish me luck!!