I've been reading about the zone diet but can't really get it figured.. Can anyone tell me more about it? if it works and if it's too complicated to follow..

http://www.drsears.com/drsearspages/
Hiya, have you actually looked at the official site? Some of that makes for interesting reading!
Emma xx

I have not been on it, however when I was in the grocery recently, I met a woman who had lost over 50 lbs on it. When I looked at her cart, I was so envious. I was on Fat Flush at the time and her cart of food looked soooooooo much better than mine. But that is probably because "FF allowed" food was so incredibly limiting and dull.

It is based on proportions, and hence called the "Zone". It is called the 40-30-30 diet by others, and you get food "blocks" of the various types.

I am no longer on FF, but still losing, and I'm keeping the Zone in the back of my mind. My new plan is kind of "made up". It still resembles Fat Flush for the most part, but I took away most of the *extreme* restrictions on salt, herbs, peppers and to a lesser degree, caffeine. I never was heavy on any of these except maybe the herbs, but I resenting having them taken away completely too. Especially since I considered the counter-weight-loss effects, of herbs especially, negligable. If I really believed they were bad, I'd be off of them. I've given up way bigger habits that those.

But back to the Zone, if my made-up plan starts to stall out, the Zone is definitely the one I will try next. I was on Schwartzbein before, and it simply wasn't working for me. FF did get me losing again, but I see it more as an occasional boost to your overall loss plan and NOT the main WOE. My main problem is staying motivated for the long haul. As soon as I make it into my favorite clothes I start to take liberties and then in a few months, I'm back on my way up. I sure hope it is different this time, but I really miss pizza.

Donna

You don't have to miss pizza.
I make a pizza dish on Friday nights. I take Jimmy Dean sausage and spread it out on a pan and bake it, then drain off the liquid. Then I add a thin layer of crushed tomatoes and sprinkle it with Italian seasoning. Add some bell peppers, pizza peppers, olives (I use both black olives and green olives) and pepperoni. I bake it about ten more minutes and then top it with lots of mozzerella cheese and bake until it is melted. I allow it to cool for about five minutes before cutting. Honestly I don't even miss the crust. My whole family loves this. My 15 year son told me he liked this better than pizza with the crust. We feel like we are having pizza once a week. Just like we use to in the old days. It's great!

Thanks, Sun angel,
Does it have to be Jimmy Dean? Does it crisp up better than other types? Could I use turkey sausage? I season ground turkey with pepper and fennel seeds. I'm finding I can't digest pork so well now days. I made some low carb bar-b-q the other day and most of it went to the dogs because it gave me indigestion.
Donna

It can be any kind of sausage. I just use Jimmy Dean because it doesn't seem to be so greasy. Turkey would do fine. I might try that this Friday. It sounds like a good idea. Less fattening.

I read the book and tried the diet 15 years ago. My info may be wrong but this is what I remember:

Barry Sears, PhD, developed the Zone Diet by looking at a lot of research articles, many of them noted in his book. In essense, he says balancing protein and carb at a ratio of 0.4mg protein to 1.0mg carb AT EVERY MEAL will stimulate hormones called eicosanoids. These hormones control many aspects of digestion such as insulin secretion. Fat is considered neutral in terms of hormonal control He included enough fat to control hunger pangs.

I lost a lot of weight while on the diet. But I found it difficult to stick with that ratio business with every meal. A typical meal might be a piece of fish, about the size of a deck of cards, and a huge bowl of green vegetables. You count grams, not calories. It worked out to be about a 900 calorie per day diet for me.

There is a lot of online support for the Zone Diet. It predates Atkins and most other contemporary diets that are listed in the lowcarb web. What I carried away from the diet is the habit of including protein with every meal. This is supposed to keep the carbs from stimulating too much insulin.

Hi,

I tried the Zone awhile ago. The diet was re-written to make the minimum calories 1100, not below this.

It is tricky to figure out the ratio of foods at first, but I find that I have a hard time NOT eating the foods in that ratio now that I "get" it. For a 5' tall female, I get 11 blocks (plus another block for being more than 30 lbs over my ideal weight. More if I up my activity!) A meal for me would work out to be 30g net carbs, 20g protein, 10g fat. Three meals a day, plus 2 snacks.

A typical meal for me looks like:

1 chicken breast, a large salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing and then some carbs, fruit salad or a nice glass of wine.

The neat thing about the Zone is that no food is forbidden. If you want something (fruit, ice cream, wine) you just work it in. Obviously, you have access only to a limited portion size of certain things, but it kept me from craving foods because nothing is off-limits. It is true, as with all food choices no matter what plan you are following, that you should make the healthiest choices available to you, but when I have PMS, and really crave for something... I can work it in. Plus, even though the diet is low in calories I was almost never hungry.

Drawback for me was that weight loss was painfully slow even though I was exercising , drinking a lot of water and sticking to my plan. But... I WAS losing. (Going in the right direction at least...)

Look up Dr. Sears site and the Zone Perfect site. Also Karen's Kitchen - she has a neat laminated poster for the refrigerator that makes food blocks make a lot of sense.

Good Luck!

carrie

Hi, I haven't actually been on The Zone, but I did do The Formula (by Gene and Joyce Daoust), which is based on the same research (they credit Barry Sears for much of their information), and which I found relatively easy to understand and follow. Also, in the Fat Flush phase, you still get a very wide selection to choose from, and I never felt deprived (although, I did get hungrier on it than I do on a more carbohydrate-restrictive plan).

Another plus was that I had much more energy on it than I'd had on other plans, and was able to run 2 miles about 4 to 5 times a week, which really helped me lose fat and build muscle faster.

Oh, and I also found it was easier to prepare food that my husband didn't see as "diet" food, although he seems okay with South Beach, too.

I have done the Zone, and lost weight, but with much slower results than Atkins and mistakes can set you back easily.

The principle is to balance your insulin by eating a balance of good fat, lean protein and good carbs, at every meal. This includes snacks.

Basically, carbs, proteins and fats are broken down into micro blocks.

1 micro block of carb = 9 grams
1 micro block of protien = 7 grams
1 micro block of tat = 3 grams

The first thing you must do, is to find your "lean body mass" LBM. Dr. Sears book "Enter the Zone," has the formular.

Once your LBM is known, you then have to determine your activity level, again, in Sear's book.

Once this is known, you will know how many protein blocks you need, per day, by using the chart, in the book.

So, if you need 12 protein blocks per day, you merely divide it up for the day and balance each meal with carbs and fats.

Example
Breakfast :
3 blocks protein
3 blocks carbs
3 blocks of fat


Morning Snack : 1 block protein
1 block carb
1 block fat

Lunch : 3 blocks protein
3 blocks carbs
3 blocks fat

Afternoon Snack : 1 block protein
1 block carb
1 block fat

Dinner : 3 blocks protein
3 blocks carbs
3 blocs fat

Evening snack : 1 block protein
1 block carb
1 block fat

Total 12 protein blocks.


Don't go more than 8 hrs without eating.

For myself, I found that if I don't exercise enough, it doesn't work.

Also, from the above example, you'd be taking in 108 grams of carbs per day,(9grams X 12 blocks). Most people who have a weight problem, can not lose while taking in more than 90grams of carbs per day.

The Zone diet, if you follow it correctly, you'll feel great. No fog brain and no sleep apnea due to low blood sugar.

It just takes more diligence than Atkins does.

I'm following it now, but I'm not so strict on avoiding saturated fats as Dr. Sears suggest. I eat whole eggs, not just the egg whites, etc.

I can't get over how many diets recommend egg whites. YUK.
Aren't the fats in egg yolks OK? Or is there some other reason not to have them? I thought eggs had been exonerated as a culprit in heart disease. Or is there some other reason for avoiding them? So many questions!
DD

Yeah, there is something about eggs and cholesterol, I believe it's the fat in the yolk that's too blame for it, but not sure.. I just eat them and don't care

Dr. Sears has a problem with arachidonic acid found in egg yolks, which according to his theory, is a building block of bad eicosanoids.

The Zone Diet, suposedly produces good eicosanoids, which are hormones which promote good health and a felling of well being.

Sears doesn't say not too eat egg yolks, but reduce the amount and he recommend's using egg whites alone.


Myself, I personally have a problem with throwing away good food, which God provided us with. Hence, I eat egg yolks without concern.

I have been reading about the zone for days now and semi-working my way into it. So far I love it. I have no cravings and like someone earlier said nothing is forbidden.

You want that pizza? You can have it from Pizza Hut and your choice of two thin crust slices or one pan and work it into your plan.

I have tried Atkins and south beach. Atkins took it off fast in the beginning but I got so bored with the choices I found I couldn't stick with it. South beach I actually gained weigh on. On both plans I did not count calories. Bottom line for me is I think thats a must.

With the zone I know my calories are around 1200 and best of all I am NOT hungry. Once you figure out the blocks its really very easy. You don't have to eat HUGE amounts of veggies if you choose the right ones. Three cups of broccoli are way too much for me but I can do one cup of asparagus or 1/4 cup of chick peas.

The best part is sooooooo many carbs. I love them! I finally found a way of eating where I can have it fit me and not me trying to fit into it! Yes, it takes more planning but to me it will be worth it in the end.

Carrie and other Zoners:

Hi! I'm Rosie and new to the Zone. I started Friday April 8 and so far, I love it! I am struggling to get all of this food in and I am NOT a bit hungry! I have MS and read that this plan may be helpful to me. Well, so far, my energy level has soared in just these few days. I have been exercising daily for about 2 years but this weekend was my best output ever! Wow, am I impressed!

A question:
Carrie mentioned adding snacks for exercising and having more than 30 pounds to lose. I searched the books for this information and found nothing. Can someone tell me where to find this? I exercise in the morning (9:00-11:00) and my breakfast is around 6:30-7:00, lunch at noon. My old habit was to have something before and after the gym. I am doing fine without this extra snack but am thinking that the harder I am able to exercise, the more I may need that snack. I am on 11 blocks (3,3,1,3,1) right now.

I would appreciate any input on this and look forward to chatting with all of you here!
Thanks~
Rosie