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The Zone
Pros:Promotes eating fat and protein in the diet.
Addresses the importance of drinking plenty of water throughout the day.
Recommends exercise in combination with diet for weight loss.
Recommends snacking throughout the day. Allows one glass of red wine a day.
Promotes low-fat protein foods. You can still eat just about anything as long as its in the proper amounts/proportions. The plan promises and in many deiters reviews does boost the bodies natural immune system, be good for the heart, improve mental activity and overall vitality.
Cons:Very tedious diet with strict regimented plans. Can be costly. Many calculations to consider with tables and charts that can be somewhat confusing. Engaging in endurance exercise risks the result of poor energy levels and muscular fatigue due to an inadequate carbohydrate intake. In a fast paced lifestyle this diet can be hard to follow- I guess thats why many famous people are on it- it is no big deal for them to hire people to cook and prepare for them- in the real world its another story. Complicated rules make up the jist of the diet. Calculations of protein requirements based on complex charts and tables are sometimes hard to understand and hard to keep up with. Must also follow something called the "macronutrient block method" to determine how many "blocks" are allowed per day and when they can be eaten. Diets recommending less than 800 calories may be dangerous and should be medically supervised.
Cost:shop wisely and search for bargins and you can keep it under control.
Ease:Not "easy" - has many charts to follow and counting games. Hard to stay on top of while engaging in a fast paced lifestyle, and can be daunting.
Results:People who stay on this diet do lost weight and feel better in many aspects of their life.
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 | Originally developed by Barry Sears, PhD, this nutrition assesment is centered around the almost drug-like effects of food, to position your body within a hormonally controlled "Zone" 24 hours a day. The Zone Diet plan consists of balancing your diet and ensuring 40% of your daily caloric intake is in the form of carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 30% fat. Food is broken down into it's basic components, glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids, and enters you bloodstream. The Zone Diet argues that food should be thought of as a drug that has a powerful effect on the body. With drugs, its too much and it becomes toxic, too little and it would be inefficient. Therefore everything you eat needs to have the right levels of nutrients (protein, carbohydrate and fat) to produce an appropriate hormonal response. A key point of the diet plan is not to focus on calories but the ratio of protein to carbohydrate. You need to aim for a ratio of 0.75 protein to carbohydrate. i.e. 1 gram of carb to 0.75 grams of protein. However, each of us require a different ammount of protein. This is based on your physical activity, weight and body fat. For example if you're sedentary you would only need 0.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass, this, multiplied by your lean body mass would give you your daily protein requirement. The zone diet plan book has tables to help this calculation. The Zone Diet doesn't count calories at all! The authors of the zone diet believe significant swings in insulin levels affect mood, endurance, mental acuity, and weight gain or loss. They have concluded that over time, insulin levels left uncontrolled will have a negative impact on your overall health and well being. There are four key elements to the Zone program:
1) the Zone diet,
2) the use monounsaturated fats,
3)supplementation of diet with Omega-3 fish oils, and
4) exercise. It's just that simple. All of these elements combined together make up the brains behind The Zone Diet . As with all diets please consult with your physican to decide which is best for you.
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