Zone Diet
BARRY SEARS, creator of 'The Zone Diet' has developed a weight-loss system which will: enhance mental productivity, delay ageing and lets you acheive peak physical performance.
Once you enter the 'Zone', Sears claims you'll lose weight permanently.
If your considering this diet it will take dedication on your part - it will require a knack for "portion sizes" and "nutrient profiling". That's because the Zone Diet Plan is based on a precise balance of nutrients fats and carbohydrates. Sears makes it sound easy, but to many the Zone diet is too confusing because of the precise tracking an monitoring of all you eat.
What's the theory?
TIGHTLY CONTROLLED INTAKE OF CARBS, PROTEINS AND FATS - The theory behind the Zone diet plan is to micro-manage your insulin level , which is our bodies mechanism for controling blood sugar levels. By keeping the insulin level in a tight 'zone' your body will burn fat more efficiently.
In order to do this efficiently your body will need a perfect balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in every meal. Sound familiar? It's not radically different in theory or meal planning than other low carb popular diets.
To reach the 'The Zone' - this optimal level of metabolic processing, the diet strives to reach a specific ratio of carbs, protiens and fats to be consumed at each meal plus snacks. The ratio is 40:30:30 which means - 40% carbs, 30% protien and 30% fats.
To make food portioning easier, the creators of the Zone diet plan have developed 'Zone Food Blocks', which are pre-set portions of foods withthe correct 40-30-30 ratio built in. All you have to do is figure out how many of these 'Blocks' you can have throughout the day.
This is determined by your weight as well as your proportionality - more specifically - your weight, height and waist and hip circumferences.
You may be eating 3 breakfast blocks whereas someone else with a different body weight and structure may eat 4 breakfast blocks. The result is acheiving the 40:30:30 ratio.
MEAL PLANNING IS ESSENTIAL WITH THE ZONE DIET PLAN - this can be accomplished by getting the Zone Diet Book or having prepackaged meals delivered to you directly - both can be ordered online.
AT THE CORE, THE ZONE DIET PLAN ELIMINATES CARBS AS A RULE : breakfast cereals, rice, potatoes, pasta, noodles, bread, bagels, croissants, muffins, crisps, pastries, pies, chocolate, sweets, sugar and preserves, as these have the greatest effect on blood sugar levels and therefore insulin levels.
However most lean meats, chicken or fish are allowed at each meal.
Is This Diet Healthy?
NOT BAD. The diet deviates from current healthy eating guidelines that recommend 50% of your calories come from carbs, 35% from fat, and 15% from protien. Some experts are still skeptical on the role of insulin regulation as a control factor in dieting.
ALSO - the diet is not recommended for people with kidney problems; a large amount of protein in the diet can overtax kidneys.
Will this Diet Work Long Term?
YES, BUT YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW IT TO THE LETTER FOR THE BEST RESULTS.The diet is inherently complicated for most people because of the strict ratio regarding the meal planning formula - you would be better probably ordering all the pre packaged meals to elimimate the headache.
If you follow the diet properly you take in about 1000 - 1300 calories a day - AND YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT - just do the math! You will simply burn more calories than you have consumed. So how much weight can I expect to lose? Advocates of the Zone Diet claim you can lose at least 5lb in the first two weeks, followed by 1-1.5lb every week after this.
If you can tolerate not ever eating pasta, potatoes, noodles or cereal etc, you may be succesfull trying the Zone diet
Experts Opinion
PRO - has some similarities to other low carb diets however there is more flexibility with the Zone diet comprared to the 'Atkns diet ' for example, which allows no carbs.
CON - The Zone diet plan cuts out a lot of very nutritious and enjoyable foods like whole grain cereals that are rich in fiber, iron, vitamins and minerals, so if you'll need to plan getting these nutrients elsewhere.
Basically the Zone diet plan WILL ACCOMPLISH your goal of losing weight over time, however you must be disciplined and follow the plan exactly to get the benefit. If you can stick it out for the long haul the Zone diet works.