Hello all, I'm a personal trainer and sports performance coach, as well as an avid 5K runner and newbie to the triathlon scene. I really want to train for triathlons for the summer of 2005, enter around 2-3 competitions in my area. Anyway, I'm tired of fishing through the typical "Food Guide Pyramid" scheme that almost every training book applies to athletes. From what I've read on the Zone, I feel this could be a good way to go. My questions are: 1. Has anyone followed the Zone dieting suggestions and applied it to training for triathlons? Specifically, the sprint distance of triathlons? How about serious 5K racing? 2. What was your success with applying it? 3. Do you find you have the right amount of energy for long workouts? I feel I have a good plan lined up to follow, based on the recommendations of the main Zone book, the Omega Rx Zone book, and the What to Eat in The Zone book. I've even done nutritional analysis of the suggestions and it fits in well with my dieting strategy for fat grams/day and calories I need. Any other athletes have some suggestive strategies to apply here? Thanks, Rick Karboviak www.thetipedge.com

Hi, I'm sorry nobody did reply to you in all this time. I've started doing duathlon in 2003, switching to triathlon in 2004 (sprint and olimpic distance) and I'm now preparing a half Ironman which I expect to do this summer. This means that I have to train for at least 12 hours a week and I had to do some adjustments in my zone diet (which I started in 2002). I'm a 44 year old woman at 15% body fat. In my experience, it is not suffisant to increase the fat blocks. I had to add at least one carb block to my three block meals and also to increase the number of blocks (the calculated blocks should be 11), otherwise I would bonk, expecially if I cycle for three or more hours. I think you will have to try out which adjustments work for you, because this depends from individual to individual but I don't believe that you can do any serious endurance sport whithout adjustments in the zone. All the best. Please, let me know how you are doing in a month or so. Paola

Paola, Thanks for your input and response. So far, I've been one full month on the Zone, my weight has stayed the same scale wise, but bodyfat wise, I've already dropped 2% from 12 to 10%. My energy levels have been really even, and I don't feel tired at all in my workouts of running, biking, lifting, and soon, I'll start testing swimming out. I try to go by the Zone requirements for each meal, taking the fish oil as well. I don't have the money to buy the spendy stuff, but I find that the caplets work well. I've stuck to these recommendations very well, only 2-3 meals which have been pretty 'off' but then I get right back into it. The time where I feel it the most, the benefit of it, is when I'm doing a Time Trial workout tape on my stationary bike. I really feel more focused and full of more energy to go. Its a heck of a workout, but I can't believe how much more focused I feel. I'm partly doing the Zone due to its effects on mood and depression, and its helping out a lot with work-related issues and such. Being a trainer myself, its hard to get away from work with exercise, because I work around exercising my clients all day. But, I feel more mentally fresh and focused at work too, and in a lot better mood as well. So far, so good, and I can't wait to see what happens 2-3 months from now. As far as any major adjustments, I may increase the carb intake after my workouts, but then stick to the rest of the Zone afterwards. That's about the only major thing I've noticed with making any changes. Rick Karboviak www.thetipedge.com

Hi Rick, I'm glad you are doing well in the zone. As long as you don't need to train for longer distances in triathlon, it should work for you without too many adjustments. My big problem, at the beginning, was that I had very low body fat (12-13%) and after about 1 month strictly zoning I started to have terrible carb cravings for chocolat and other sweets, which I never had before. Probably I was pushing my insulin levels too low. I lost also weight and probably LBM. Thanks the zone (with the adjustments) and training I have no added LBM (I have increased my weight since I started three years ago) and have now also a little more body fat. I'm still not sure if my improvements are due to the zone or to the training, but who cares! If I had been told three years ago that I would be able to do a half-ironman I wouldn't have believed it! ciao Paola

sorry, typo: I have NOW added LBM paola