I'm a little frustrated and I want to make sure I'm not making mistakes and correct them early rather than waiting months with poor results. For background, I'm 42, 6'3", weigh 208 and the blocks calculator says I need 18 blocks based on an Active lifestyle. I'm an amateur triathlete that does 3 days/week of circuit resistance training and another 3 days of tri specific aerobic training. My immediate goal is fat/weight loss as that will have the biggest initial impact on my performance.

I've been on the Zone a week and a half and initially lost 5 lbs in the first 4 days. Since that time I've gained 2 lbs back and already seem to have plateaued - neither scale nor my measurements are moving. I track things religiously daily as I am an engineer and data is my life. Here's a typical day's diet:

4:45 am - wake up
5:15 am - eat Zone Perfect bar 30 min before workout
5:45 am - workout for an hour
7:00 am - drink light Muscle Milk protein shake post workout on way home (20g protein 3g carbs)
7:30 am - eat breakfast, typically consisting of:
- 2 fried egg whites
- 1.5 cups lowfat yogurt mixed with:
- 1/2 cup berries of some kind
- 12 almonds

10:00 am - snack consisting of:
- 1.5 oz deli turkey
- 1/2 red apple
- 3 almonds

11:30 am - lunchtime - typically dine out where I eat fist sized portions of chicken, veggies and black beans. For fat I ask for olive oil as a dressing or guacamole depending where we go.
3:30 pm - same snack as above
6:30 pm - eat dinner, typically consisting of:
- 4 oz. grilled chicken strips
- a block of brocolli or green beans
- 1 apple
- 1/2 cup berries

10:30 pm - bedtime snack consisting of
- 4 oz. red wine
- 1 oz. lowfat soft cheese

Is there anything glaringly obvious in that routine that I'm overlooking? Too much fruit maybe? I can't seem to find a dense substitute that's also favorable. I do occasionally swap out some fruit for black beans, but I don't know what beyond the blocks guide is a reasonable amount of black beans in a given meal. Any suggestions are welcome!

Hans,

Try switching to a Zone Labs bar. They are patented in regard to hormonal control. Barry Sears is no longer associated with Zone Perfect or it's bars, and he does not endorse their use. The Zone Perfect bar formulation has changed since the days of Dr. Sears mention of that company in his earlier Zone books. Also consider a different snack than the Muscle Milk. It's not Zone balanced, not even close, and won't provide the hormonal control essential to recovery. Try a Zone Shake instead (they're used for a recovery drink by world class athletes) or a Zone balanced smoothie. You're not too bad with the fruit amounts considering you're shooting for an 18 block day. Don't go too heavy on the black beans. Give it some time, don't forget to take your Omega Rx and polyhenols (Polypheonls XT is an excellent product), and please keep us updated.

Hans, the Zone Labs bars and shakes I mentioned, they're available on this site (click "Products" in the tool bar up top).