My question is this ... I have 2 kids (daughter 8 and son 6) they are great eaters (meaning they have a wide range of foods they will eat and are always wiling to try new things). How do I know how many blocks they should be eating? I believe I am a 3 and my husband will be a 4. In order to make this work, the whole house needs to be on the same plan, not to mention I want them to be healthy, experience the optimal benefits of the Zone diet, and learn good eating habits early. So, when planning meals for the week, I am having trouble figuring out portion sizes etc which incorporate them as well. Thank you for your help with this.

Hi Liz,

Kids of elementary school age usually eat 2 block meals. By middle school to high school they will eat 3 blocks or more. There's an entire chapter devoted to kids in the Zone in the book "Zone Meals in Seconds" by Barry Sears and Lynn Sears. My youngest (of 3 kids) was 8 or 9 when we began eating this way (he's 22 now). We always made sure to keep quick P, C and F choices on hand and let out kids take part in deciding what they wanted to eat. Kids pick up the Zone quickly. If you're offering Zone choices they'll get the portions pretty close with a little help from you.

I have iids, ages 11, 8 and 4, so I know what you are going through.

I generally fix the approximate equivalent of 2 blocks for my kids, although my 11 year old is beginning to require more. BTW, I am not "rigid" in that they don't have to take exactly 2 blocks and eat it. Rather, I let their appetite be their guide. Kids will eat until they are full. It is we adults who try to force them to eat more, and then they learn this bad habit! But, you will be doing them a big favor by putting out the good healthy foods, and teaching them excellent nutritional habits.

I tried with my 7 year old giving her 2 block meals, but it wasn't enough for her. Now I give her larger portions, 3-4 blocks worth and as CC said, she stops eating when she's full. However we do teach her to eat "in proportion" if she's not going to finish everything.

This approach is good for several reasons: first it teaches her that leaving food is ok (I was taught to always finish what I was given, which I don't feel is a healthy approach to food); Secondly it automatically manages her changing appetites due to growth spurts etc.

i have a 3 yr old and a 5 month old....i understand to give the 2 yr old a variety of the three and to keep it in proportion....she is a very tall, skinny, active 3 yr old, si i'm not as worried about her as i am my youngest....she is leaning more toward the heavier side (even at 5 months) when should i start actually trying to zone her? should i wait until she is 2 yrs old and had plenty of time to run off some of the baby fat?

i am just starting to us the zone and would like to know if the zone plan is safe for overweight kids. My son is 12 and is overweight. He has tried other plans but they didn't help. any sugestions would be very helpful. i have spoken with his doctor but all he says is to watch his diet.

The Zone is perfectly safe in kids. Sears says that overweight kids often carry silent inflammation and toxic fat. The Zone is an excellent approach for combatting silent inflammation and toxic fat.

A big step in controlling this will be the switch over from processed carbs, starches, cereals, etc. to veggies and fruits for carbs. I would recommend keeping meals in proportion, but allowing him to eat until he is full. He will fill up with larger sized meals! The only trick will be to get him off of the bad stuff.

Good luck!

I'm new to the community, and this is my first post.

Thanks for this thread. I have only begun "zoning"--although for the last two days my afternoon slump was very mild, very short--so I have already seen an improvement.

Kids 10, 8, 4. The 10 year old has high blood pressure, for which they have been unable to determine a cause. The nutritionist who works with the kidney specialist instructed us in the DASH diet, a very low-sodium, low fat diet. It was an utter failure--my kids started sneaking food, my daughter looked guilty every time she ate almost anything. She started skimping on breakfast, then binging later in the day. She has always been a big kid, but not so that the docs were looking to her weight as the cause of her hypertension--like in the 98th percentile on the growth charts. When we went on the DASH diet, she went from 4f 6in at 98 lbs. to 4ft 7in at 127 lbs in about three months. And the guilt and negative feelings that go with it.

So we backed off completely on the food thing, trying to eyeball what she was eating, but no real measuring or structure. This diet is so balanced that I hope it is our answer for her, as well as the extra 30 lbs I'm carrying, and the low energy, etc.

So, getting to the topic--my instincts are right where a couple people have said: expect the younger ones to eat approx. 2 block meals, but offer 3-4 blocks, and let them adjust. For my oldest, I expect her to eat at least as much as me, or more, since she's basically a very active, prepubescent, short adult.

Thanks again,

Julia Hernandez (Connie, the 10 yo, wants me to put "some guys" on here)



<img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/biggrin.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Big Grin' align='absmiddle'><img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/cool.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Cool' align='absmiddle'><img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/rolleyes.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Rolled Eyes' align='absmiddle'>

that didn't work! that gatbage at the end was supposed to be smiley guys

Julia,

Welcome!

I have 3 kids, ages 12, 9, and 5. I don't "block" my kids. I let them choose what they want to eat from the selections that I put in front of them. They fill their plates, and that is about it.

I limit what comes into the house, and so there is nothing around to "sneak". I always have a bowl of apples sitting out, and sometimes other fruits, like oranges (and even bananas). I also have grapes in the fridge. They like oatmeal for breakfast, and they also enjoy home made smoothies. We don't have a lot of bad things in the house, no chips, cookies, etc. I usually don't have bread in the house, but when I do, it is usually a sprouted grain bread. Oh, and we don't have potatoes, either. If I happen to buy potatoes, they usually rot before they get used up!

So, rather than worrying about blocks, I basically just give them the healthy choices.

(BTW, smileys don't work for me, either!)

Cranberrycat,

thanks for the welcome and advice. My DH is one of those guys who has never needed to worry about his waistline. In fact, his diet has been quite terrible, high in sausages and prepared meats, rice (he's asian), salt (the only person I know who uses salt on top of soy sauce). He's 40, Heart rate of 54, normal blood pressure and blood work.

So he has never been motivated to alter his diet, was the original to bring in the junk food. I couldn't fight him.

Anyway, he started doing CrossFit, and they recommended this diet, and it's the first time he's been motivated, so I'm really hopeful that this time we can make some great changes.

Still--after our previous experience, I intend to study, and phase in our changes over the month or 6 weeks. Don't want it to go any longer than that.

Thanks again,

Julia

LOL! Don't you just love it when people can eat all of that junk and you just never see it? And, then others just look at junk food and gain 5 pounds!

Anyway, if you happen to read TOXIC FAT, Sears writes about how people can be skinny people and still have elevated levels of inflammation in their bodies, while others happen to be heavier, but their fat is not toxic.

Good luck with the phase-in! Your family's health will be your reward!