Diet Plans
The Zone Diet

This was created by Barry Sears, PhD it works on the premise that our ancestors were meat eaters and lived on a meat based diet, as we have evolved carbohydrate have been introduced into our diet more and more causing an imbalance and leading to weight gain.

The Zone Diet contains 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 30% fat and is also known as the 40-30-30 plan.

The Zone diet works by making sure the ratio of food groups is right to regulate the amount of insulin in the bloodstream. If the level of insulin in the body is too high it is stored as fat leading to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes type 2 and heart disease.

The Zone Diet is thought to increase the body’s metabolic function which regulates the blood sugar level allowing the body to burn off excess fat. The diet doesn’t prohibit any foods, although as with any healthy eating advice it does encourage you to avoid or keep to a minimum high fat foods and starchy carbohydrates. The carbohydrates it encourages are fruit and vegetables and it claims the best choice of fats is monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, almonds ad avocado.

In simple terms you should fill one third of your plate with low fat protein such as a lean piece of meat or poultry. Then fill the remaining two thirds of your plate with fruit or vegetables. Also add a little olive oil, avocado or a few nuts these will help to boost your intake of monounsaturates.

The theory is that each meal and snack should have 40 percent of calories from carbohydrate, 30 per cent from protein and 30 per cent from fat. To help with this, ‘Zone Food Blocks’ have been developed, where each ‘block’ contains a standardised amount of carbohydrate, protein or fat. To lose weight, a certain number of blocks are allocated for each meal and snack.

The number of Zone Food Blocks you should have each day is determined by you weight, height and waist ad hip circumference. In general the bigger your measurements the more food blocks you are allowed. For most women it will be 11, and for most men it will be 14. Your activity level will increase your Zone Block daily allowance.

Creating meals and snacks with the right zones can be a minefield so you will need to either purchase the book or visit their website.

How much weight will I lose?

It is claimed by followers that you can expect to lose at least 5 lbs in the first two weeks, then, 1lb to 1.5lbs every week after.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• If followed correctly it will result in steady weight loss.
• It restricts those carbohydrates which lack nutrients, and low in saturated fat.
• It has fewer restrictions than other low carbohydrates diets.

Cons

• It is complicated and takes time to plan meals.
• Unable to eat out as this won’t tie in with the zone plan.
• It says to avoid certain founds which provide essential vitamins and minerals for example cereal and grains which are packed with fibre, B vitamins and iron.

Summary

Any diet which reduces calorie intake is a good idea as this is how people lose weight. This plan however claims to make it easier to follow a low calorie diet using the zones however it is very complicated and doesn’t take into account social situations. It may be a good idea to take some of the principles from this plan to use in your diet however it may be hard to sustain this plan for life.