The Zone Diet (long post)

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-06-2003
The Zone Diet (long post)
7
Mon, 08-23-2004 - 11:05pm
I mentioned in my journal post below that I'm using the zone diet as a guide for eating and there was some interest in more information about the diet, so here it goes.

I've been using the zone diet as a guide to eating over the past few months. There have been times I've followed it strictly and other times when I've completely toppled off the wagon. According to the diet's designer, Barry Sears, PhD, "The Zone" is the metabolic state in which the body works at peak efficiency. This can be achieve by eating the right amount of protein, carbohydrate and fat with every meal and snack. The approach to weight loss and improved health is based on the body's hormonal response to food. I got started by reading "Enter The Zone" by Barry Sears, PhD. In the book, he gives a detailed explanation about how insulin levels affect the body's metabolism and why it's not a good idea to swear off fat from our diet entirely. The Zone diet seeks to achieve a healthy hormonal balance through diet which keeps insulin levels low and causes your body to burn stored fat. The primary rule is to maintain a beneficial ratio of protein to carboydrate every time you eat. The ideal is about .75, which is three grams of protein to every four grams of carbohydrate. That may seem confusing, but the author explains how to calculate this ratio in an easy way. Math is involved, but once you get used to it, it sort of becomes second nature. The simplest way to do it is to divide your plate into thirds. One third of the plate should be protein, which for most women is a 3oz portion which is roughly the size of the palm of your hand. The other two thirds of your plate should be fruits and vegetables. Add a small amount of monosaturated fat. Your own daily protein requirements are calculated in order to determine how much you should be eating per day. Breads and grains can be eaten, but sparingly because the are high on the glycemic index and as such, the cause insulin levels to rise. They are considered more like condiments. Most carbs should come from fruits and vegetables that are lower on the gylcemic index.

If anyone's interested in this diet, I strongly recommend reading one of Dr. Sears' books. I would not have been able to figure this diet out by the website alone. I read Enter the Zone. You might not care about the scientific principles behind this diet, but I thought they were interesting, even though I didn't retain enough of it to be able to explain it to anyone! There is also a book called "A Week in the Zone" which proports to be a good book for beginners. It outlines how the diet works and gives food recommendations. I didn't read that particular book because all of the info was contained in Enter the Zone, which I had already read. The "official" zone website is at www.drsears.com If you click Zone Tools, which is at http://www.drsears.com/drsearspages/zonetools.jsp and look on the left of the page, you will see links to FAQs, a summary, a day in the zone, etc. The site also has a calculator for determining your percentage of body fat.

Before I read about The Zone, I was eating lots of low fat foods and I really cut out the extra fat - mayo, salad dressing, nuts, butter, etc. I ate lots of high carbs like pretzels, bagel, bread, cereal, etc. After I read this book, I started eating protein with every meal and snack. I'm eating a much bigger breakfast on this diet than I ever have, but I got used to it. It was hard to eat a lot of protein in the morning, but it certainly tied me over til lunch. I also started eating a small amount of monosaturated fat with each meal. I was shocked to add fat to my diet and not gain weight!! I am sure that it makes me feel fuller, especially with snacks. As far as weight loss, I have lost six pounds of body fat and gained two pounds of muscle. Not a tremendous amount in five months, but my focus was more on eating nutritiously as opposed to losing a lot of weight. I'm 5'4 and 127 now which is a healthy weight for me. Plus, I can't say I follow the diet strictly enough to be able to comment much on how well it helps with weight loss. I am not sure how much weight loss is attributable to this diet and how much is attributable to an increase in exercise, although with exercise I have not been consistent. I suspect it's a combination of the two. I can say that after following this diet, I notice a difference in how I feel when I'm "in the zone" as opposed to when I overeat the carbs. When I eat zone favorable meals I do seem to have more energy and be able to stay mentally more clear. As far as additional health benefits, I noticed an improvement in my complexion which I attribute to eating foods in the zone which don't cause the body to have an inflammatory response, as well as drinking more water and exercising.

It seems that lately I've seen a number of experts advocating eating protein with each meal, eating monosaturated fats, increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables and eating foods more foods which are lower on the glycemic index which is essentially what this diet is recommending. It was tough at first to give up a lot of the bread & starch that I'd been so used to, but now I don't even love the taste of pretzels like I used to! Even when I don't follow it strictly, I still like to use it as a guide.

Debbie


Edited 8/24/2004 8:52 pm ET ET by esperada

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 7:51am
Thanks for posting that Debbie- I've added it to my favorites to look at later....as I'm running off to work now. Looking forward to reading it though. Thanks ~IG
~-~ Moderation is Key ~-~

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-04-2003
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 11:34am

Thanks for the great post Debbie.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-06-2003
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 9:00pm
I made an edit to my post. In the original I wrote that the ideal ratio is about .75, which is three grams of protein to every four grams of fat. However, I meant to write four grams of carbohydrate.

Miranda, if you do look into this further, let me know what you think.

Debbie

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-04-2003
Wed, 08-25-2004 - 10:48am

Debbie, I have a recollection of a woman at work doing this plan before her wedding, and she became quite a fanatic, and seemed to be unable to eat ANYTHING!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-06-2003
Wed, 08-25-2004 - 10:58pm
Technically you can eat anything, just maybe not all at once. It is recommended that most protein comes from lean meat like turkey, chicken, fish, and that you try to eat carbs that are low on the glycemic index. It is not restrictive in what you eat as much as it can be restrictive in how much you eat of some foods, mainly high carbs. For instance, it's easy to use the maximum carbs for one meal just by drinking a big glass of orange juice or a whole banana. You can eat a bagel, but not necessarily a whole one. However, once I started reading labels more closely I was able to put together very satisfying meals. I try to look at it in terms of eating as nutritiously as I can. Whereas before I'd opt for the sandwich on a roll, now I'm more apt to choose fruit and/or veggies as the source of my carbs and eat the meat out of a sandwich, leaving the bread. As far as your pickiness, since there's nothing that you "can't eat" you may be able to avoid the foods you don't like. For me, a bit of my protein comes from cheese and cottage cheese, particularly for snacks. It's a preference and convenience thing. That's not to say that I have to eat dairy. I just have to eat protein. Protein powder is an option too, although I haven't tried it yet. It took some getting used to. It definately changed the way I think about eating and it changed what I eat and how much. It was hard getting used to eating more protein and less carbs and eating a lot more food for breakfast that I was used to. I have trouble following this diet strickly. My snacks tend to have a few extra grams of carbs, but I still try to keep my choices low on the glycemic index. I like this diet because even if you're not "in the zone" after eating one meal, you can get right back in it with the next meal or snack.

Debbie
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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-20-2004
Thu, 08-26-2004 - 8:04am
I think it’s great that the zone diet works for you. However, I think that I prefer an eating plan that doesn’t require calculations and ratios to figure out. That’s just not a normal way to eat for me and just would be a hindrance. I choose to do South Beach/Hamptons Diet because it’s easy to do, helps me lose weight and I don’t have to calculate.

BUT I am really glad it works for you. The only way I’d do Zone is if I could afford the 35 dollars a day to have it delivered or if I had a personal chef. I am much too busy for all that. LOL

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-04-2003
Thu, 08-26-2004 - 11:57am

Hey Debbie, thanks for the info.