mine said that I need 13 blocks each..can that be right?

Yes. I eat 13 blocks daily. Your block recommendation is based on both your LBM and your activity level.

Hi, I'm new to the zone (only 2 weeks).
I don't know how many daily blocks I need because I don't know what activity level I should go by. I am almost 19, 139lbs, and 5'7". I've been trainning for triathlons all summer, as well as nordic ski dryland trainning. I train 6 days/week for 1-3 hours daily. Right now, I'm not doing a ton of weight trainning. If I go by elite athlete standard I should have 17 blocks, but if I go by the active person standard I should only have 13.

I've also been very tired these past 2 week, so that's why I think I may want to increase block level. I have been at about 13 blocks daily for the past 2 weeks. I would also like to bring my weight down to 130-135lbs (what I have been for past 3 years), so I don't want to gain weight by increasing block level. I've lost about 3 lbs in 2 weeks. Mostly, I just want to make sure I'm fueling myself properly, so I can improve my athletic performance. I've been eating 1/2 zone bar 30min before and after workouts too.

Hi!

Use very active and poivide for any additional energy needs by adding extra monounsaturated fat blocks. Also check out the info on the Elite Athlete page (in the FiTNESS tab above). In the videos there, Barry Sears explains how to be an athlete in the Zone.

Thanks for the quick reply Sue! I will stick with 13 blocks.

You're welcome. I'm happy to help! Please keep us updated.

Hi Everyone,
HELP.
I am a believer in the Zone, however, I vacation there more than live there for one reason: I had thought I needed to "tough out" the hunger. Now, I can do that for a month or six weeks on force of will, and commitment to it, but I finally "fall off the wagon," eat more food (which after all this time is actually greater amounts of mostly Zone favorable foods without regard to blocks.
HOWEVER, after reading the CF posts and watching Dr. Sears in CF Journal, I am getting the fact that it is not only about 30:30:40, but about individual needs.
I am older- in the vanguard of the baby boomer generation, 5'4", 106 lbs, with 18% body fat. Block calculator puts me at 11 blocks. I CF 4-6 days/week, do CFE on some of the same days or on CF off days (2-3 days as prescribed on CFE) including a long run every week. As I said, hunger has driven me to look elsewhere or just "do my own thing," but I want to stay where I belong... in the Zone. I have tinkered with foods... no oatmeal or any unfavorable carbs, or oatmeal only post workout, no fruits, only a few blocks of fruit per day, only veggies for carbs, etc. No caffeine (despite how much I love that one cup at 5 a.m. or decaf, then back to regular coffee because I want a nutrition plan that I can live with forever (however long that is). The one thing I have not done is play with blocks, because my LBM is only 87 lbs. I still would like to lower body fat, because my stomach/hips look like I should, so I don't want to increase fat yet. I just want to live happily in the Zone.. I mean really be in the Zone instead of relying on whatever will power I have left. Please HELP.

Elaine, if you'r hungry, you're not in the Zone. To try to help, we'd need to know exactly what you've been eating and how much of it, how you feel 4 hours later, the timing of your meals, the type of hunger you have (focused or uncofcued), etc. If you'd like to post these details here, I'll be happy to take a look and see what could be adjusted.

It might also help you to read (or reread) a Zone book, to get a better ideal of what it is you're trying to accomplish hormonally in the Zone, and the best way to achieve it. TOXIC FAT and THE ANTI-INFLAMMATION ZONE are both excellent choices.

Elaine,

I have often struggled with hunger, as well. It is an ongoing trial for me, as I tinker with foods to find the right combination.

With you, as a crossfitter, you may have higher nutritional needs. For one, you have a relatively lower bodyfat%, and you are fairly active.

Since the Zone puts you into the mode of burning fat for energy, and you are fairly active, I think that the one thing you could do is increase your fat intake to accommodate your energy needs.

You could also do the hunger focus/unfocus test as Sue described, that would be a good thing to do before tinkering with the fat. But, I just wanted to give you another perspective.

HI Sue,
Thank you for the quick response... wow!
In 2002 when I first lost a lot of weight on the Zone, I read all the Zone books available at the time.. and, after a cross country move, I still have a couple of them to which I refer quite a bit. I have not read TOXIC FAT, however. I will look into it since I know some of the information in earlier books have either tweaked a bit, or clarified over time... if the site here and at Dr. Sears' site are any indication.
I do know I should be either losing some more body fat, and building lean muscle, because a sports performance nutritionist noted that I am losing muscle... perhaps, due to more running than I owned up to.
He suggested a meal plan which is very Zone like, however, it included whole eggs, 1 T of nut butter at two different snacks and colostrum powder pre-workout, and at each snack... I think as a protein source. However, I can't find any macronutrient breakdown anywhere on colostrum powder. Have you any info on it?
I usually have a 1 block snack at 5 a.m. before I leave for CF. On CF off days, I will have the block about 6 a.m. before going for a run- 2-6 miles.
Post workout, I have breakfast... usually 2 blocks.. 4 egg whites and 2 blocks of oatmeal or 2 blocks of protein powder and oatmeal. Sometimes I have 2 whole eggs, although I know that is not recommended on Zone, because my body really seems to need something in the yolk. I may have 2 blocks of almond butter or almonds or 2 blocks of low fat coconut milk (recommended by the sports nutritionist). Often I will have 2 blocks of fruit instead of the oatmeal (steel cut, "sprouted" over night in a thermos).
Depending on the day, I will try to have a late morning snack of 1/2 apple, 1 block of nuts or nut butter or I take a serving of fish oil at that time and per sports nutritionist (hereafter SN) some CLA.
Lunch is usually around 1-1:30, and I have a 3 block meal. Some lean protein- chicken or fish, or egg white salad, and either a salad with homemade olive oil dressing or a mix of veggies and fruit.
If I do a CFE on same day as CF, I will have a preWO meal... usually homemade protein bar because I know what I put in it... uncooked oatmeal, protein powder, fat free milk and nut butter, which I am pretty compulsive about breaking into one block pieces. Also may have 1 block of deli turkey and fruit with 1 block of nuts.
Dinner is around 5 since my husband leaves right after that for work. Sometimes I will wait until after he leaves for dinner... 3 blocks of protein and some veggies with olive oil, nuts, or some good fat.
I have a pre-bedtime snack around 9, and it may be some string cheese and grapes or 1/2 apple and some good fat, or cottage cheese and fruit with nuts, or hard boiled egg white with garbanzo or black beans smashed with a little olive oil (per something I read in Zone book).
As you can see, I keep it simple.. and like it that way.
By the way, did you say you had your Zone success with the "eyeball" method. Perhaps, as Dr. Sears said in the CF stuff, I got too compulsive with measuring.
Thank you, again, for your help.
PS- I have to confess that although after time I am very hungry on the Zone, there are also days in which I am very satiated... but there appears to be little differences in food choices and workouts.
Elaine

Elaine,

You certainly can't afford to lose any LBM! Aside from the fact that the bodyfat calculator calculated out your protein requirements, I would be inclined to suggest to you to up your block intake, by adding a complete zone block and then see how things go. I think you definitely need more than what you are getting.

The fact that your hunger varies despite how regular your exercise and diet are, really doesn't help much to determine if you have focused or unfocused hunger. But, you could try eating more veggies in place of some of your grains and fruit, just to see what would happen there.

Your protein bar sounds interesting! Are you using old fashioned oat flakes? Would love to know your recipe, as I would also like to have a protein bar that I can trust the ingredients.

Cranberrycat,
I want to thank you, too for your help.
Sorry, I forgot to mention that my mental focus is always good... even when I physically feel wasted and hungry.
I only keep oatmeal and fruit in my diet, except when I am experimenting, because after some run days, my body seems to need something more dense. I have noticed, however, that although oatmeal is one of my all time favorite foods, along with grapes... after a week or so without oatmeal, I don't seem to "need it" anymore.. so could be some bad habit craving or something. I have not tried eliminating both fruit and oatmeal and I try to have only about 3 blocks per day of fruit, but perhaps I have some sensitivity to fructose or something.
I found the bar recipe on line on a musclehead site and tweaked it a bit.
The original recipe was 3.5c oatmeal, 5 scoops of whey protein, 4 Tbs peanut butter and 1 cup of milk (but this was too watery, so I cut it to 1/2 cup and it worked well). I also use fat free milk. The recipe is uncooked and is easy, so although there are a ton of recipes for bars on-line, I picked this one. (Although some with the powdered milk look interesting and could end up being cheaper since you could keep that milk for a long time). Directions:
Mix ingredients. Spray a plate with PAM or the like. Place mixture on a plate in rectangular shape, and put it in the refrigerator to set for a few hours. Cut into bars. I always recalculate blocks when I do this to account for the ingredients I use for that batch, get the totals, and divide into one block servings... getting good at being equal.
I also believe that with creativity, this could be adapted to other personal preference ingredients.
Maybe doing CF with all those young kids influences my interest in lowering some body fat, the sports nutritionist seemed to indicate that with increasing muscle, I should be lowering body fat a smidge- although if I can increase muscle mass, percentage wise, that should lower body fat percentage. Not that I am all mush- but all my work, I should have more muscle... at least not be muscle wasting.
Thanks, again.
Elaine

P.S. Cranberrycat,
Yes, I use old fashioned oatmeal flakes, straight from the box or buy-in-bulk bin.
Elaine

Elaine, thanks for all the info, I see a lot the can be improved on. I'll work on it and get back to you within a day or two.

I have a question in the meantime. Could you please explain a bit more what you mean by feeling "physically wasted when hungry? Thanks.

Yes, I lost 100 pounds in a little less than 2 years time, doing the plate method of the Zone (aka eyeball method, or hand eye method) , and never measuring a single block of any food. Also I'm a carb sensitive person an on top of that, I had undiagnosed hypothyroidism at the time (it's since been diagnosed and is being treated). That's proof that the method works when done correctly. But that doesn't mean I was lax about it. It simply means I wasn't measuring everything to exacting portions. I strictly adhered to the Zone principles according to types of foods, supersizing my plate with veggies, eating little if any unfavorable carb, fruit once or twice a day, adding plenty of monounsaturated fat and not eating polyunsaturated fat (was fastidious about that, and I still am). I paid close attention to eh insulin stimulating effects of the foods I chose adn also tried to maintain lots of variety in my meals. I drank lots of water, too, about 4 liters daily. I still do all of these things, but I've come to think more in blocks over time. While I'd say that I now do the block method, I still don't measure things exactingly because I know what the block portions look like, and it is not necessary to be exacting to the gram. I can't stress enough though, that it is very important to add enough monounsaturated fat. As Barry Sears says, it's better to err on the side of a little too much fat than not to have enough fat. Too little fat and you won't be able to stay in the Zone. A little bit of extra monounsaturated fat will enhance your ability to maintain insulin control. Again , if you haven't tread a Zone book recently, it's a must, in order to familiarize yourself again with the basic principles necessary that are necessary to have in place in to keep you insulin in the Zone.


To get you started, here's the difference between your egg white and your two whole egg meal, and it's a crucial one for maintaining satiety in the Zone. The 4 egg white meal doesn’t contain enough fat (same goes for when you eat the protein powder and oat breakfast). Your body feels it needs the yolk because it needs more fat in the meal. When using the Block Method, you should be making up for the missing fat when you choose a fat free protein (like egg white), by adding the fatback in the form of additional fat blocks, 1 extra fat block for each block of fat free protein being consumed. You need to add at least two more fat blocks to your egg white meal to bring it into Zone balance.

Here’s how Dr. Sears explains fat blocks (taken from MASTERING THE ZONE, page 292 and 293).

“Why is a fat block only 1.5 grams?
Every block of low-fat protein contains approximately 1.5 grams of “hidden fat”. Therefore, by adding one extra fat block (which is defined as 1.5 grams of fat) for each block of low-fat protein, you are actually consuming 3 grams of fat or two blocks (one internal in the protein and one external) for each protein block. If you are using fat-free protein sources, such as isolated protein powders, then you should be adding two blocks of fat to achieve the same ratio. Obviously, if you are eating higher fat protein choices, you would not be adding any extra fat blocks to your meal. Remember that every time you add additional fat blocks to a meal, they should be composed primarily of monounsaturated fat.”

Some common fat free proteins eaten on the Zone diet are egg whites, protein powder, some deli-style meats, and some soy products.


'll get back to you soon with the rest.

Sue,
Thank you very much.
We moved recently, and many of my books are still in storage in the state in which we lived... including most of the Zone book "stash." I have been rebuilding my collection at used book sales and on-line used books. When I realized that I needed to get back into the Zone, I began re-reading. There is a lot discussed on this site that have led me back to the books for more information.
Sometimes I get just worn out...at which time I usually take a day off from intense workouts. I was getting physically tired later in the afternoon until the sports performance nutritionist recommended supplements, as I said. Now I feel a bit like an under control energizer bunny.
Today I have been really focusing on the Zone.. not a hybrid of Zone and sports nutritionist... because I was not sure which way to go. As I mentioned, his suggestion is pretty Zone-like. Bottom line is that today, after an intense 10k run and a lot of work to do, I have been feeling great.. no hunger at all. Moving between approaches is a problem... but it grew out of the hunger- which gets old after a month or so.
After hearing from Cranberrycat... i.e. the need to always be adjusting.. I realize I need to be open to that.
I did not mean to imply you were haphazard in the eyeball method... it is, after all, recommended by Dr. Sears. I am just thinking that by be open to eyeball method, it could take some of the "perfection" pressure off, i.e. less likely to lead to "rebellion" in the future. It is also amazing how, after some time off the Zone, how much I remember about block values, etc. Even when I tried some other approaches such as the one recommended by a fitness trainer certifying body with which I am working, I could use Zone info to figure out grams of macronutrients I was taking- with some modifications for counting each and every macronutrient.
Thank you, again. I appreciate your input. I need to wrap my head around the erring on more fat thing. By the way, MASTERING THE ZONE has always been a very helpful book for me.
Elaine

Sue,
One more question. Since meat is measured in raw ounces, is the palm the raw or cooked amount of meat? Also, I checked on line... since I don't always don't want to work a lot with raw meat.. and found that cooked meat is approx. one ounce less than raw if weighing after cooking. Is that your understanding? Thanks, again.
Elaine

Elaine, I haven't forgotten you. I'll post a reply here soon!

Hi Elaine,

I've finished a detailed reply for you, but due to family commitments won't be able to type it up to post for another day or two

Most important, begin now by eating 12 blocks daily and also doubling the number of fat blocks you add to meal and snacks. A one block snack will be 1P, 1C and 2F; a 3 block meal will be 3P, 3C and 6F. If you're choosing to do the plate method, this simply means add another 1 block snack to you day, every day, and be very generous with the fat you add to your meals. The extra monounsaturated fat blocks supply additional energy for your workout s. Most CF'ers double or triple their fat blocks. As long as the CF you do includes strength work (I assume yours does) you should gain some LBM over time on 12 blocks daily. If you activity level changes you may need to change your daily block amount.

I'll post the rest of the reply soon.

Hi Elaine,

Here’s the rest of the reply. Sorry it took a little while! I’m going to try to include everything you asked about, or that I noticed, that I haven’t already replied to.

The Zone Diet itself has not changed. The changes are in the food block list (mostly carb; was changed over 10 yrs ago, I think it was; when in question, use list on this site). Of course, fish oil info continues to be updated to reflect the newest developments.

At 18% body fat it wouldn’t’ be wise to attempt to lose more body fat. Maintaining this body fat would be great.

When you do the Zone correctly, you don’t lose LBM. Losing LBM means You aren’t eating enough protein.

Stick with egg whites, eating little to no yolks. Egg yolk will work against your Zone efforts because they are rich in AA, an Omega 6 fat that increases inflammation.

Make sure your oats are slow cooking steel cut oats that take 30 min to cook (the quick cooking version of steel cut oats is not favorable carb). Rolled oats are unfavorable carb for the Zone.

Use berries of most of you fruit for now. This will help lower your insulin into the Zone.

Pass on the coconut milk. It’s working against your efforts to stay in the Zone.

Your late AM snack of apples and nuts (or nut butter) is missing protein. This will prevent you from lowering insulin into the Zone. IF you’re in the Zone, it won’t allow you to stay there. It’s very important to eat protein, crab and fat in Zone balance every time you eat.

Re your lunch and dinner, I can’t comment without having more specific info from you.

Re meat (cooked meat/raw meat/palm of hand), try not to get caught up in over thinking it. I’d suggest to decide to use either the plate method and be ion the more generous side, or the block method. If you want to know exactly how much protein you’re putting on your plate, an easy way is to divide the number of ounces in the entire package by 3 (1 oz is usually 1P block) to find out out how many 3 block portions are in the entire package.

I’ll be happy to help if you have questions.

Have fun getting reacquainted with the Zone!

Good luck!

Sue,
Thank you so much for giving so much of your time to help me. This is just in the nick of time. I think I may have stumbled into the adding more fat blocks, when the hunger was driving me to consider giving up. Luckily, instead of eating non-Zone foods, I did add some more fat. I, however, felt guilty, and was working on getting back on track- only to find that I am not on track, I just need to institute it into my plan. This last week I also gave up coffee- a taste I love, but I wondered whether it was causing a problem- even the decaf. So now I drink neither, and I think it is helping.
One weird thing happened: this past weekend, after an intense workout, I was starving. I had half a yam (or sweet potato- can't tell) in my fridge, so I had it with my chicken for dinner. I was immediately satiated- to the point that I had no interest in my pre-bedtime snack. I woke up feeling great, although I forced my preworkout block before leaving the house. I never eat those complex carbs.. but it seemed to work that night. I am not about to repeat this, however.
Interesting about the Old Fashioned oats being unfavorable... I guess I was thinking in terms of Instant or Quick Oats as unfavorable. I will stay away from them. Kind of sad, because a couple of times a month, esp. after a long run or hard weight workout I would make a "pancake" with some raw Old Fashioned Oats, egg white and cottage cheese (all of which I "block out.") I may miss it. Also, my homemade 1 block bars use OF Oats. One problem at this point is that we are not in a position to be buying very many Zone products- so I am improvising.
Thanks, again for the detailed response and for putting in the time. I am going to institute your suggestions immediately.. and I am very excited. Now I no longer need to look elsewhere for something that works for me, because I know from past experience that for weight loss, the Zone can't be beat.
Elaine

Hi Elaine!

I'm glad to help. About the yam, dont' hesitate to have a little now and then with a chicken dinner if it works for you. Just keep it in moderation, a little goes a long way. While all very low density carbs would be best in theory, it's not always best for everyone. A lot depends on your personal response. Some people do better with all very low density veggies for their carb, some with a mix of densities. Keep listening to the cues from you body and don't be afraid to experiment, as long as you do it within the parameters of the Zone rules. You could also discover that what works for you now, may change in a year. Bodies change, and the beauty of the Zone is that it can be adjusted, in many ways, to meet your needs now and in the future, whatver they might be.

Please keep us updated!

Hi Sue,

I see that you are an expert on the Zone. Congrats on the 100lbs! I am currently on 14 blocks a day.

My results from the Zone calculator were:

Body Fat %: 31.00
Body Fat Weight (lbs): 71.30
Lean Body Mass (lbs): 158.70
Daily Protein Requirement (g): 95.22
or # of Blocks of Protein: 14
# of Blocks of Carbohydrate: 14
# of Blocks of Fat: 14

I do have a bit of an issue here in the United Kingdom...I ahve read several books, and its almost like its impossible to figure out how many blocks an item (like pine nuts for example) if they aren't in a book.

Is there a calculator (or a general maths rule you can tell me!) so that I can figure out the block amount for myself?

Cheers

Chris

Thanks Chris!

Yes, there are lots of free online conversion tools for converting to metric. You can easily find them with Google.

A couple helpful bits of info, in the US we use two different kinds of ounces (oz), dry oz that measure weight (these convert to grams), and fluid oz that measure volume (these convert to dl, liters, etc.). You'll see a lot of cup measurements on the Zone block carb lists. 1 cup is very close to 1/4 liter.


Good luck as you starts the Zone!

Hi Elaine

I think we 'met' awhile back on the accountability thread.....

In your last post you mentioned about the Old Fashioned Oats being unfavourable...this is true...but I'm not sure if you are aware that Steel Cut Oatmeal IS favourable as long as its the slow cooking kind. Maybe you could just change your pancake and homemade bar recipes to include the steel cut instead of the old fashioned? If the recipes work maybe you could post them? I'm always looking for new recipes and if I could make homemade bars it would be fantastic!

thanks and good luck with your 'tweaking' in the Zone.

Thank you, Jana. I do need to play around with some of my recipes.

If you need any help with converting them Elaine we could have a look if you post the original recipes.

I've really learned to enjoy the steel cut oatmeal. Now when I'm in the situation where I need to have OF oats or even instant (rare occassions when I'm away from home) the oatmeal seems so mushy and uninteresting. I like the nuttiness of the steel cut oats.