Okay, let's say you have decided to try the Zone Diet. Good for you! And you have already used the Bodyfat Calculator to estimate (hopefully fairly accurately) your bodyfat and lean mass. Now you know exactly how many blocks of protein you need in order to maintain your lean mass (muscle, bone) because it is crucial to your health and fitness that you do not lose muscle. When this happens, your metabolism will suffer and in the long run, this will make losing weight much more difficult.
Why blocks? Well, blocks were developed by Dr. Sears as a way of making the Zone Diet EASIER! Really! This way, instead of having to count and tally the grams of protein, carbs, and fat in everything you eat, you only need to know how many cups or ounces are in a block. This is where the books come in handy. Whenever we are not sure, we just look up the particular food in question. In a way, the system is very similar to Weight Watchers points. Except the Zone takes into consideration whether a food is mostly protein, carb or fat in order to balance these macronutrients every time we eat.
For example, most women will end up needing about 11 blocks per day. If you are a very large woman with a lot of muscle mass, say an Olympic Lifter, then you will probably need more than this. But every female client that I have ever measured has ended up needing 11 blocks per day based on lean body mass. It doesn't matter how much fat you are carrying, because we are mainly concerned with feeding the LEAN portion of your body. The fat is what we are hoping to BURN!
Those 11 blocks can be divided up in any way that suits you, as long as you never go more than 5 hours without eating a meal or a snack. You also do not want to eat too much at a single sitting, so you won't have more than 3 blocks for a meal. But you can choose to have less than 3 blocks for a meal or snack. I choose to have a 3 block breakfast, a 3 block lunch, a 3 block dinner, and then a 2 block snack later in the evening. This breakdown works best for my life style. Others might choose a smaller breakfast, or 2 separate snacks of 1 block each. (BTW, a block of protein = 7 grams. A block of carbs = 9 grams. A block of fat = 1.5 grams.)
Breakfast might look like 6 ounces of cottage cheese (3 blocks of protein) plus 1 cup of strawberries (1 blocks of carbs) plus one whole orange (2 blocks of carbs) plus 3 walnuts, chopped (3 blocks of fat) and sprinkled on top of the cottage cheese and berries. Breakfast could alternatively be 3 eggs scrambled (3 blocks of protein) with an apple (2 blocks of carbs) and a half cup of blueberries (1 block carbs) with one and a half teaspoons of peanut butter (3 blocks fat) spread on the apple. Are you getting the idea?
Most of my clients and students are surprised to discover that their usual breakfast choices are very low in protein. They say things like "I have peanut butter on whole grain toast. Doesn't peanut butter have protein?" Yes, there is a small amount of protein in nuts and legumes, but not nearly enough for it to count as a source of protein on the Zone Diet. Peanut butter, and all nuts and nut butters, are mostly fat. So you can use a SMALL amount for your healthy fats, but to get your 20-21 grams of protein (3 blocks) necessary for a meal like breakfast, you would need to consume more than 4 tablespoons of peanut butter. This alone would amount to over 400 calories and would include over 32 grams of fat! So you can see why choosing peanut butter for your protein would just not work. Cereal and milk is another high carb, low protein choice. Check the nutrition labels on your cereal boxes!
The best sources of protein are low in fat, such as chicken breast, turkey breast, lean beef, pork tenderloin, salmon and most types of fish, eggs, tofu, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. Whey protein powder can also be used to boost the protein content in a meal or shake, though whole foods are always better than designer food products. Try to avoid protein bars which are highly processed and filled with chemicals, fractionated oils, etc.
Now enjoy your healthy, balanced breakfasts filled with whole foods!
Why blocks? Well, blocks were developed by Dr. Sears as a way of making the Zone Diet EASIER! Really! This way, instead of having to count and tally the grams of protein, carbs, and fat in everything you eat, you only need to know how many cups or ounces are in a block. This is where the books come in handy. Whenever we are not sure, we just look up the particular food in question. In a way, the system is very similar to Weight Watchers points. Except the Zone takes into consideration whether a food is mostly protein, carb or fat in order to balance these macronutrients every time we eat.
For example, most women will end up needing about 11 blocks per day. If you are a very large woman with a lot of muscle mass, say an Olympic Lifter, then you will probably need more than this. But every female client that I have ever measured has ended up needing 11 blocks per day based on lean body mass. It doesn't matter how much fat you are carrying, because we are mainly concerned with feeding the LEAN portion of your body. The fat is what we are hoping to BURN!
Those 11 blocks can be divided up in any way that suits you, as long as you never go more than 5 hours without eating a meal or a snack. You also do not want to eat too much at a single sitting, so you won't have more than 3 blocks for a meal. But you can choose to have less than 3 blocks for a meal or snack. I choose to have a 3 block breakfast, a 3 block lunch, a 3 block dinner, and then a 2 block snack later in the evening. This breakdown works best for my life style. Others might choose a smaller breakfast, or 2 separate snacks of 1 block each. (BTW, a block of protein = 7 grams. A block of carbs = 9 grams. A block of fat = 1.5 grams.)
Breakfast might look like 6 ounces of cottage cheese (3 blocks of protein) plus 1 cup of strawberries (1 blocks of carbs) plus one whole orange (2 blocks of carbs) plus 3 walnuts, chopped (3 blocks of fat) and sprinkled on top of the cottage cheese and berries. Breakfast could alternatively be 3 eggs scrambled (3 blocks of protein) with an apple (2 blocks of carbs) and a half cup of blueberries (1 block carbs) with one and a half teaspoons of peanut butter (3 blocks fat) spread on the apple. Are you getting the idea?
Most of my clients and students are surprised to discover that their usual breakfast choices are very low in protein. They say things like "I have peanut butter on whole grain toast. Doesn't peanut butter have protein?" Yes, there is a small amount of protein in nuts and legumes, but not nearly enough for it to count as a source of protein on the Zone Diet. Peanut butter, and all nuts and nut butters, are mostly fat. So you can use a SMALL amount for your healthy fats, but to get your 20-21 grams of protein (3 blocks) necessary for a meal like breakfast, you would need to consume more than 4 tablespoons of peanut butter. This alone would amount to over 400 calories and would include over 32 grams of fat! So you can see why choosing peanut butter for your protein would just not work. Cereal and milk is another high carb, low protein choice. Check the nutrition labels on your cereal boxes!
The best sources of protein are low in fat, such as chicken breast, turkey breast, lean beef, pork tenderloin, salmon and most types of fish, eggs, tofu, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. Whey protein powder can also be used to boost the protein content in a meal or shake, though whole foods are always better than designer food products. Try to avoid protein bars which are highly processed and filled with chemicals, fractionated oils, etc.
Now enjoy your healthy, balanced breakfasts filled with whole foods!
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