How to enter the Zone?

The first thing to clarify is that The Zone is not a diet, but a way of eating. Its creator by Dr. Barry Sears, who believes that this diet is followed to achieve hormonal balance in the body. According to him, there should be a balance between insulin and glucagon .

Maintaining this balance is directly related to a person’s health. This leads to a decrease in inflammatory processes in the body, provoked by bad habits.

Basic rule – nutrition in the Zone should be based on the following ratio – 40% carbohydrates, 30% proteins and 30% fats. If you observe this, much of the task will be accomplished.

Entering the Zone is not difficult, just a few steps must be followed invariably.

The first step is to calculate the number of food blocks for the day. What is a block?

1 protein block = 7g of protein

1 carbohydrate block = 9 g of carbohydrates

1 block of fat = 1.5 g of fat

Calculating blocks is done using a calculator created by Dr. Barry Sears. It is based on using a coefficient for the current level of physical activity as well as the current level of athleticism – measured by the percentage of subcutaneous fat.

The calculator will show you exactly how many protein blocks you will need daily. You can make it easier by trusting Dr. Sears, who recommends eleven blocks for women and fourteen blocks for men daily.

If your calculator shows that you need eleven blocks, that means that for the day you need to take in eleven blocks of protein, eleven blocks of carbohydrates, eleven blocks of fat.

These blocks should be spread over several meals throughout the day – five or four. Each meal should be a combination of the three types of blocks. For example, breakfast three blocks of protein, three blocks of carbohydrates, three blocks of fat.

Intermittent breakfast – one block; lunch – three blocks; afternoon snack – one block; dinner – three blocks.

Here we need to specify what a block contains. For this purpose, there is a table with described foods by Zone , food blocks and their weights.

The next rule is to eat breakfast within an hour of waking up.

Meals should be every 4-6 hours after a main meal or 2-2.30 hours and after a snack, regardless of whether you are hungry or not.

For best results, eat low-fat protein, low-glycemic carbs first, and finish with good fats.

Drink at least eight glasses of water.

For those truly interested in the Zone diet , visit Dr. Barry Sears’ page for more information and ready-to-eat recipes.