The Zone Diet

Here is a quick run through of the Zone Diet... I like the basic premise to this diet because it teaches proper balancing of meals (40% Carbs, 30% Protein, 30% Fats) and also portion sizing...

The basic idea behind meal planning is using the foods you eat to manipulate the types and amounts of hormones released by the body in order to regulate energy levels, fat burning, mood, etc...

Here is how to determine your individual Protein, Carb and Fat needs using this method...

First you need your current bodyweight and your current level of body fat...
I'm 187 and roughly 10% body fat which means that if I take my amount of body fat (187X.10=18.7#) away from my total weight I get 168.3# of LEAN BODY TISSUE (Organs, bones, muscle, etc)
THATS STEP ONE... STEP TWO....
Take that 168.3# and multiply it by your current activity level...

• Sedentary - multiply lbs of lean body mass by .5
• Light activity (e.g. walking) - multiply by .6
• Moderate (30 minutes of vigorous activity 3 days per week) - .7
• Active (1 hour per day 5 days per week) - .8
• Very Active (10 hours of vigorous activity per week - .9
• Athlete - multiply by 1.0

I would put myself at .9 to 1.0 so my calculated number is between 151.5 and 168.3 (168.3X.9-1.0) so I need between 152 and 168 GRAMS of protein PER DAY...

From here the rest is easy or hard depending on who you ask :)

The Zone Diet "blocks" things up... In other words you aren't thinking of things in terms of total grams anymore but Blocks of Protein per meal or per day... 1 BLOCK of Protein in the Zone Diet = About 7 Grams of Protein... SOOOOOOO.... I can take in 22 to 24 BLOCKS of Protein Per Day (152-168/7)

Take this 22-24 and divide it into at least 4-5 meals/snacks per day... I would probably do THREE 5 BLOCK meals (15 total blocks) and then put a 3-4 BLOCK Snack between these bigger meals (6-8 more blocks)

From there all you do is add on your carbs and fat blocks and you're set... Your total carb and fat blocks are equal to your protein blocks.... So if I have 5 blocks of protein with each meal then I also have 5 blocks of carbs and 5 blocks of fats too... The zone diet lists all foods into varying portion sizes per block... Serving sizes are larger for better foods... Example... 1 1/4 Cups of Peppers equals a block while ONE QUARTER of a bagel equals one block....

I've linked the Crossfit Journal Article for download with all serving sizes and meal options detailed out for you to download... Hope this helps and makes sense!

Crossfit Jounal Zone Diet Article

Scroll down to ISSUE 21 - Free Download