I have been following the zone diet for the past 2 weeks. So far so good, but the problem is that some days I get totally foggy. I can't think. I am doing everything by the plan, I even weigh my food, but apparently I am not getting enough carbs to allow my brain to function properly.

Has anyone experienced this issue? What did you do?

Hi Merav,

Mental "fogginess" (aka "poor mental focus") may be a sign that you've had too much carbohydrate in relation to your protein. Here's an excerpt from one of Sue's recent posts, describing this:

"Here are the basics as described in the Zone books. If 4 hours after a meal you are not hungry, have plenty of energy and good mental focus, then you're eating the appropriate balance for you. If you're hungry 4 hours after a meal, you judge the type of hunger you have, "focused hunger" or "unfocused hunger", to determine which adjustment you should make. Focused hunger means you are hungry, and have plenty of energy and good mental focus. Unfocused hunger means you are hungry with one or more hypoglycemic symptom and/or have lack of good mental focus (hypoglycemic symptoms can be one or more of these: sleepy, irritable, unable to concentrate, jittery, faint, spacey, shaky, etc. ). The adjustment for focused hunger is to add 1 C block to each meal. The adjustment for unfocused hunger is to drop 1C block from each meal. If you are having unfocused hunger, in addition to dropping 1 C block at meals, it will also help to use berries for your fruit, to limit fruit to a block or two a day, and not to have too much higher density carb in a meal. "

In addition, you can also check out the "Hormonal Adjustment Diagnostic Chart" on the DrSears.com website:

http://www.drsears.com/Resources/ta...fault.aspx ( <-- copy and paste into your browser's address bar, and scroll to the bottom of the page)

For some, a 3P/2C/4F meal (in place of a 3P/3C/3F meal) keeps us satisfied and resolves the problem of mental fogginess.

Hope this helps!

Laurie

Laurie and Sue, thanks for the great answer. My first instinct was that I wasn't consuming enough carbs, but you say it's the opposite, very interesting! I will give it a try tomorrow and see how I feel.

This site has more resources on it you may enjoy... http://www.drsears.com/Resources/ta...fault.aspx

I tried 3P 2C 3F meal without success. Here's what I ate:

Egg beaters - 3/4 cup
Mushrooms - 1 cup - (1/3 block)
1/3 cup oatmeal - slow cooked (1 block)
1 tomato (1/2 block)
Half small avocado (3-4 blocks)

I must add, I do exercise 3-4 times a week.

resistance training: 3 x week (3 hours)
cardio: 4 x week (4 hours)

I am also having huge headaches that I never usually do.

Please advise. I love this diet, I am losing the weight, I never feel hungry but the fogginess and headaches are killing me.

This is my third week. First 2 weeks were easier.

Thanks!

Merav, You may try adding 1 additional F block to you meals 3P/2C/4F. Some people get headaches and/or fogginess due to the body eliminating AA that occurs when a person first enters the Zone and begins buring fat, the headaches will go away given a little more time. Temporarily increasing your fish oil dose eliminates the headaches.

Thanks Tech support. The headache is not my biggest problem. My biggest problem is feeling foggy. I tried to adjust the amount of carbs, but that didn't help. Any other suggestions.

I am not feeling hungry at all, just foggy.

Hi merav,

Try increasing your Omega Rx oil dose as Tech Support suggested. As you first begin to burn stored body fat in the Zone there can be an initial release of AA, that Tech Support referred to, that causes headaches in about 25% of people, and can also cause the fogginess you're describing. This should subside soon if it's from the initial AA release. In the meantime, the Omega Rx oil dose will dilute the excess AA and bring your eicosanoids back into balance (and will usually lessen or eliminate the headaches). The minimum Omega Rx dose suggested by Dr. Sears for those beginning the Zone diet is 8 capsules (2 teaspoons liquid) daily. Also make sure to drink plenty of water.

Ok thanks. I will give it a try. Been having 3 capsules and upped it yesterday to 6, i will now up it to 8.

You're welcome, and good luck!

Hi all, I just want give you an update and maybe this will help other people. I tried to reduce the carbs by one block - didn't help. I tried to eat oatmeal - didn't help. The only thing that worked for me was to eat 2 mini whole wheat pitas for breakfast. These pitas have 12 grams of carbs for a pair, so together they are 1.5 block or so. I changed my breakfast to:

Egg beaters + mushrooms omelette

A salad:

1 tomato
some green onions
Half avocado
Some olive oil

2 mini pitas

******************

This breakfast has a little more fat than recommended and some higher density carbs, but it does keep me in the zone and the foggyness and headaches are gone.

Hi merav -- thanks for posting the update! It's always really good information to learn what works for different people :-) . Somewhat similar to you, I find that the best breakfast for me includes 1/3 C Fiber One cereal -- not a favorable Zone food, but very high in fiber.

You get more bang for the buck with Kellogg's All Bran - Bran Buds!
I think it tastes better too, and you get more Fiber with less cereal.
Only 1/3 cup = 24g - 13g fiber = 11g net C.
Only 8g of net C are sugars.
Fiber = 3 soluable and 10 insoluable.
.
Compared to 1/2 cup of Fiber One, and I think FO tastes more like cardboard,
and I like the taste of All Bran - Bran Buds.

LOL John -- I have Bran Buds too, but I like the taste of Fiber One better -- go figure!

Speaking of cardboard, I've recently rediscovered the GG Bran Crispbreads -- a delectable mix of cardboard and sawdust :-) ... but with a good topping (hummus or low-fat cheese), they're actually not bad. Although not Zone-favorable, including in a meal or snack really keeps my hunger at bay.

Laurie

Hey guys, the fogginess is back and much worse! It starts at 10 AM, and lasts all morning till early evening. I am not sure what I am doing wrong, but this is very bad. I lost 7 lb, so I am happy about that, but I can't keep on going with this problem. Does anyone else have this?

Hi merav,

Check your block requirement again and reread your Zone book. That's the best way to figure this out.

If you'd like to post a typical day of your meals, including specific foods, amounts and timing, I'm sure you'll get some good suggestions the might help.

A tip, keep experimenting with carbohydrate choices and make them all favorable for now. If you're still eating those pitas for breakfast, that alone could be the problem. When you start the day with a blood sugar spike it can affect the rest of your day even if you eat Zone balanced meals later. It all depends on your degree of sensitivity to carbohydrate.

Here's today so far, let me know if you see something wrong.

Breakfast (7 AM)

1 tomato
Half a cup egg beaters
One green onion
Half a zone bagel
1/4 avocado
1 tsp cream cheese

Snack:

1 zone cookie

I started feeling foggy at around 8 AM, now it's 9:30 and still foggy.

Hi merav,,

This meal looks ok. Keep in mind that if you've been borderline "in the Zone" (which your ongoing fogginess could indicate) one meal isn't necessarily going to resolve it. It would help to see more of your meals in the context of an entire day(s) as I mentioned in my previous posting.

Another thought, some medications (such as beta blockers and some diuretics) increase blood sugar, which interferes with the Zone. Hormone replacement therapy can also make it more difficult to stay in the Zone.

Another tip, make sure to drink a lot of water. The recommendation is to drink at least 1/2 your weight in ounces of water daily. For example a person weighing 185 pounds would drink at least 92 ounces daily, which is about 12 8-ounce glasses. More water is required is to burn fat for your energy, as you do in the Zone, than is required with other diet plans. Slight dehydration, which you might not even notice, can result in a foggy feeling.

The good news is your weight loss shows you're on the right track, so it makes sense to review your Zone book and also to keep a food diary, taking a good look at you meals over several days time. Make sure to note in your food diary how you feel after meals.

Hi all, I just wanted to give you an update and good news. My fogginess issue has been resolved. It went on for a month and I tried almost everything as far as my diet goes (for carbs, less carbs, more fat, less fat, etc.). Then I went to a doctor who used Kinesiology to identify the problem. What she found was very surprising. As it turns out, because I was losing weight and burning fat, the burned fat had toxins in, and I was allergic to these toxins, and that's what caused the fogginess. She right away asked me to consume 20 pills of fish oil (!) and asked me to keep taking 20 pills every day for 2 weeks. I was a bit skeptical but within 2 days I started feeling a lot better and within a week I was back to my normal clear thinking state.

I am still taking the pills but only every other day or so, or when I feel a bit foggy.

It's great to be able to think clearly again -- what a gift!

I hope it helps to those who also experience such problem.

Hello everyone!

I am a somewhat new zoner...Ive grown up watching my dad work through all the zone books, he still is a zone eater and is doing incredibly well. In my younger years I thought I could just exercise away what i ate and beat it, which worked for a while, but now that Im 25 im seeing that this pattern is not healthy and really isnt going to work in the long run. Ive always been interested in nutrition and health.

I faithfully started the zone in Late March early April as well as a strength building program, because i was a cardio junkie, I realized i need to pick up the weights to get what I want. So here i am in July and am still tackleing this eating change...here are the issues I have had:
1.Times when I should eat and shouldnt.
2. I too had the foggyness, completely wiped out feeling..come to find I was lacking in electrolytes, I bought a supplement and was told to take a teaspoon of teramic powder in the morning.
3. I feel awesome compared to how sick i would feel after eating what i use to eat, which left me with unsatisfied hunger in the end which lead to more snacking.
4. weightloss....I know its unhealthy to lose more than 4 pounds or less in a month or so? I am not use to slower results which i know is more healthy but it can also feel frustrating.

anyway just some things i had floating in my head...thanks all!

Molly

merav, I'm glad the fish oil helped. Taking an ultra-refined fish oil concentrate is very good for your body in many ways.