Zone Diet
 

Hi
I'm a 41 year old male 5'3 and currently 161lb. I was 165 at the start of 2011 so the regime I was following is showing modest gains.

However... my trainer is putting me on a strict Zone Diet for 1 month starting next weekend. He wants to boost my fat loss to improve my training results.

Does anyone have experience / advice about this diet. I reckon I can handle it for the required month but it's too strict to do full time.

Hey, good for you changing things up a bit--the trainer sounds like a good idea.

I don't follow the Zone, but I DO follow their recommended calorie mix of 40/30/30 carbs/protein/fat and it seems to work pretty well for me.

Give it a shot and let us know your results.

Regards,
Michael

I did the Zone for a year about 10 years ago and lost 70 pounds while working out with a trainer twice a week and the the other 5 days on my own. Its really not hard to follow once you figure out the blocks.

Yes, I used to follow the zone (for about 5 years actually)...I gave myself one day where I would eat foods a little heavier on the carbs (pizza is my favorite food) even :)

I was at my lowest adult weight ever, and felt the best I had ever felt in my life!

Sadly, after a few years in college, I got away from following it but I do try to stick with it when I can these days - I just need a little more motivation because for me it takes a LOT of planning ahead :)

It's actually not all that hard to follow...especially if you are going with the plate/eyeball method - place 3-4oz. piece of protein on your plate, fill the rest up with veggies (and some fruit if you want), and then have a sliver of fat...

The Zone has recently revamped their web site and took down their forums temporarily, otherwise I would say you could visit their forums there for some more detailed advice. They do have a Facebook page though and I believe their recipes are still on their main page. It's definitely a good idea to get some recipes ahead of time because I've found it's not incredibly easy to just throw a zoned meal together when you're out and about ;)

Let me know if you have any more questions, I can definitely help out :)

Thanks for the responses, guys. I do have a follow-up question...

I do have one question... a lot of the Zone quantities for carbs are measured in cups, which I guess is a US thing because we don't really have them in the UK (We measure veggies by weight, not volume).

I read that a cup is equivalent to 8 fluid ounces. Is that right? Because I'm on a 4 block routine, so 4 x 8 fluid ounces is a serious pile of veggies and just looks too much.

If I remember correctly a 4 block meal is the whole meal 1 cup of cantalope was 1 block. I had a sheet of what was what....i will try to find it for you...

Thanks Steve,

I've already got the sheet. I just need to be sure what a "cup" is.

Geoffers - you are correct, a "cup" would be equivalent to 8 fluid ounces :)

Editing to add: I just saw that you mentioned that would be a serious pile of veggies, and you are CORRECT! Many people complain that on the zone they simply cannot finish all of their food - lol :) So much for being starved on a diet.

One good way to get some cut down on quantity is to add in a bit of favorable fruit along with your veggies, so like apple or orange/mandarin slices. The other items that REALLY help out are legumes. Chickpeas/Hummus are great in some hardboiled eggs as a snack :)

Jennybeeb is correct. If you keep the grains and breads a special treat, there is alot of food to eat, by staying away from the "expensive" foods. Looking over these sheets has me thinking of going back on again!!!!!!! Enjoy!

Thanks guys.
An apple a day keeps the bulk veg away!!

I just did my food log for the last two days since starting this new diet. I've built a deficit of almost 2000 calories in just 2 days! And I'm not hungry coz I've had well over 100g of protein each day. It's bloody amazing!

I'm determined to keep this up.

Way to go Geoffers! :)

It does get to actually be pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

Are you doing the eyeball/plate method, or are you measuring everything out? I think people typically find it more enjoyable to do the eyeball/plate method because measuring everything for most people seems too daunting of a task.

Glad to hear you are having great results with it, keep up the good work! :D

I'm measuring and eyeballing, depending on what food I'm handling and how often I've had it. For instance I've had a lot of chicken so I know that 4oz of chicken is a breast fillet. Any given fillet might be a bit more or a bit less, but overall it averages out.

Results? I'm 3lb down in the first 4 days!

Glad its working for you! I am realizing I am basicly still following it myself, looking at my daily graphs I am right about there...keep us posted on your progress!

Another pound down. That's 4lb down for the week. And I added more weight to my dumbbell exercises yesterday so something's going right. :D

Fantastic news for sure...You'll have to keep us updated on how your progress continues, and if you are finding you have more energy throughout the day now than you previously did or not.

Also, I forgot to ask...are you also taking the Fish Oil supplements, or just following the food portion of the diet?

I have started taking fish oil supplements, but that's a coincidence. I didn't know they were suggested as part of the Zone. I just heard they were good for tendonitis.

I seem to be ultra slow at responding...ha ha :)

Nonetheless, yes, Dr. Barry Sears wrote a book (I believe back in 2005 maybe?) that is called "The Anti-Inflammation Zone" stating that fish oil is great for reducing inflammation - it's part of the Zone because the anti-inflammatory properties help you stay in the zone and there are other effects as well that are all outlined that book in lots of detail :D

But yes...He definitely suggests the fish oil, and he more specifically states high doses of pharmaceutical grade fish oil are what really help - I don't remember if it was in the book, or elsewhere but it was said that lower doses (just one or two pills) of typical off the shelf fish oil don't do much. You have to take 1-2g of fish oil per day for you to benefit. It is definitely worth it though, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and less inflammation are just some of the benefits!

It has helped me when I remember to religiously take it! :D