Overview
The Zone Diet was not specifically designed for the sole purpose of weight loss. Rather, it is a lifestyle change that uses food to manipulate one’s hormones by regulating and stabilizing the amount of insulin production to help one become energetic, lean, and healthy. Beginning with a standard-sized dinner plate, participants are advised to use a hand-eye technique to determine how much to eat. Lean protein comprises a third of the plate. This serving should be approximately the same dimension as one’s palm, both in size and thickness. Fill the remainder of the plate with carbohydrates, mostly vegetables and fruits. Then top everything off with some monounsaturated fat, such as a small amount of avocado, a handful of nuts, or a drizzle of olive oil. As those on the Zone Diet eat at least three meals and two snacks carefully planned throughout the day, they are always full and satiated.
The Zone is that point where all your body processes are working at their optimum level, so that you feel at your best physically, mentally & emotionally and everything flows. You are strong, bursting with energy and your fat reserves are being used as fuel, so you don't need as much food. Sounds great, doesn't it?
According to Dr Barry Sears
Foods You Can Eat. Eating Options
The Zone Diet focuses on eating a moderate amount of a variety of healthy and nutritious foods throughout the day. The foods the plan concentrates on are mostly low density carbohydrates from vegetables and fruits, followed by lean, low-fat proteins, and a very modest amount of monounsaturated fats. Since carbohydrates enter the bloodstream slower with the presence of fats, the Zone Diet requires that every meal contain some monounsaturated fats such as almonds, guacamole, macadamia nuts, and olive oil. There are specially formulated recipes and grocery list ideas to help give the dieter ideas on what they can eat. In addition, the Zone Diet is flexible enough so that dieters can even dine out while following the regimen.
Dr Sears' book "The Zone" details these processes and how they work. He explains why a high carbohydrate, low protein, low fat diet doesn't work for most people and also covers the importance of eating carbohydrates with a low glycaemic index. The carbs page explains this concept.
This is how you implement the Zone diet. First determine your body fat % using the method given in the book. This enables you to find your lean body mass, eg. if you are 75kg with 23% body fat, your body fat will be about 17kg, so your lean body mass is 58kg. Convert this to lbs ie. x by 2.2 to get 128lbs. Then multiply by the factor for your level of activity: Sedentary 0.5, Light (eg walking) 0.6, Moderate (30mins per day, 3x per week) 0.7, Active (1 hour per day, 5 x a week) 0.8, Very active (2 hours per day, 5 x per week) 0.9, Heavy weight training or 2x a day exercise (5 days a week) 1.0.
If you ride for 3 hours every day, 128 x 0.9 = 115. This figure is your protein requirement in grams.
This figure is then broken down into blocks of 7 grams each (in this example 17) and spread out over the day - you must eat exactly this amount of protein every day. Then for each block of protein you eat, you eat one block of carbohydrate (approx 9 grams) and one block of fat (approx 1 1/2 grams). When you take the amount of fat in the protein into consideration, this comes to protein = 30% of calories, carbs = 40%, fat = 30%. There is a little bit of leeway in the ratios, but this is ideal. Your blocks are then chosen from a list of low fat proteins, low GI factor carbs & monounsaturated fats. So your meals for the day would look like this :
Breakfast | Lunch | Snack | Dinner | Bedtime |
4 protein blocks | 4 protein blocks | 4 protein blocks | 4 protein blocks | 1 protein block |
4 carbo blocks | 4 carbo blocks | 4 carbo blocks | 4 carbo blocks | 1 carbo block |
4 fat blocks | 4 fat blocks | 4 fat blocks | 4 fat blocks | 1 fat block |
Other than eating lots of fruits and vegetables, a moderate amount of lean proteins, and small amounts of food with monounsaturated fats, Zone Diet participants are encouraged to eat throughout the day, beginning one hour after waking up, in intervals of four or five hours. This is so that insulin levels stay constant in the zone that they can be optimally utilized. In addition, dieters are advised to eat at least five times a day and set an eating schedule which ought to be adhered to as much as possible.
Foods You Can't Eat
One should avoid eating carbohydrate-laden foods such as breads, grains, noodles, rice and other starches. These foods are very easy to overeat, and fall in the category of high density, or fat-free carbohydrates. Foods that have too much carbohydrates lead to excessive production of insulin, when unused, will not only store fat in your system, but may be hazardous to one’s health.
"The Zone" has a lot of useful information about how the body works. The chapter on fats is particularly good and easy to understand. Most of the food choices given are sensible, avoiding foods that are highly processed or high in sugar or bad fats. It cites many examples of sportspeople who have dramatically improved their performance using the Zone diet. People who have tried PR bars, which are made in this ratio, have found them better than other sports bars for eating before a ride.
On the other hand, the reported increases in performance were made when switching from a high carb diet, so it may be that changing to a diet moderate in all the macronutrients is enough of a change. It might not be necessary to follow the exact ratios given. In a couple of places in the book, Dr Sears mentions that about 25% of the population can handle a high carbohydrate diet, but 75% can't . This dietary regime sounds good for the 75%, but what about the 25%? Maybe if they can handle a high carb diet, they actually need a high carb diet. In other words, the principle that a balance between the macronutrients is needed is sound. Sticking at this exact ratio could work well for some people, but it doesn't take people's differences into account.
Another concern that he doesn't take into account the fact that different people need different proteins. He uses a lot of dairy & soy in his recipes, for example. Dairy is a common allergen, in it's moder, processed forms. Soy, has many drawbacks, and should only be eaten in fermneted form, and in small quantities.. You need to take into account which proteins suit you. See the protein page for more info.
Although he describes his system as easy to comply with, some people reading this would think it was too much trouble. But if the rewards of this regime are as amazing as he claims, it would be worth any amount of hassle. So if your performance could do with a lift, this is worth a try. But if you don't get a marked improvement within a couple of weeks, this is not the diet for you.
The Official Zone Diet Web Site
