My nine-year-old daughter has chronic health problems and I'd certainly like her to have the benefit of being in the Zone. However, her diet is severely restricted by gluten intolerance, allergies, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, etc. so it's not easy to feed this kid! I'm wondering how far out of the Zone her current diet puts her, and how hard it would be to adjust her diet to be Zone-favorable.

She weighs about 62 pounds and is slim, and she's about average in activity level. Here's what a typical meal for her looks like:

4 to 5 ounces (that's raw weight) of meat (chicken or turkey including skin, or grass-fed/alfalfa finished buffalo) OR 3 hardboiled or scrambled eggs (when eating 3 hardboiled eggs, she typically eats only 1 or 2 of the yolks)

1 or 2 tablespoons of almond oil (she needs this much oil for calories, and can't eat whole almonds; doesn't like olive oil, but eats lots of olives)

1 large serving (perhaps 2/3 cup) of a non-starchy vegetable (zucchini is her favorite)

1 or 2 servings of fruit (things like apples, pears, peaches, watermelon -- no figs, dates, or bananas)

There is virtually no sugar in her diet, grains are not allowed, and starchy vegetables are not allowed. Almost everything she eats is organically grown.

Any feedback, suggestions, etc. would be welcome!

I think that she can easily eat in the Zone! Every food you mentioned can be fit into the Zone. The proteins sound good, I would remove the skin, though. The eggs are great, and if she isn't cool about egg yolks, forget about them. Let her eat the olives-not a problem. Nonstarchy veggies are great for the Zone. As for the fruit, apples, pears, and peaches are good choices. Watermelon is less favorable. Berries are great, if she can eat them.

Do you know how to build zone meals from her food list? I don't know if that is your question, so please let me know if I can help you further.

If you could tell me how to build zone meals from her food list, that would be helpful, I'd appreciate it.

She can eat a pretty wide assortment of fruits, including berries. Veggies are the big problem -- most give her a bellyache (in spite of all the medical treatment we've done trying to solve this), and she won't eat more than a bite of any veggie raw. The veggies she will eat (cooked) are zucchini, fennel, pea shoots, carrots, a little celery, a little spinach, and kale.

It's hard to get this kid enough calories! That's why I let her eat the chicken and turkey skin. We get our poultry direct from a biodynamic farmer whose birds have a healthier mix of fatty acids in their fat than "conventionally grown" birds -- but I can tell by examining the fat that it's still not the ideal mix, so maybe I should reduce the amount of skin she eats (I don't think I could eliminate it altogether without a major kid-rebellion on my hands!)

She takes cod liver oil and extra fish oil daily, so I think she's getting a pretty good amount of omega 3 oils. I wonder if all that almond oil gives her too much omega 6? It's mostly monounsaturated according to the label, but I confess I don't understand what's an omega 6 and what's not.

I understand about the chicken and turkey skin! I wouldn't take it away from her, just perhaps give less of it to her.


If you have not found the food block list, I think that would be very helpful to you. You would just go through the list to find foods that she can eat and use them in your meals. You want to prepare her meals in complete blocks. Choose a protein from the list, and if she generally eats 3 oz of chicken or turkey, then that is 3 blocks of protein. Add 3 blocks of her favorite veggies or fruit, and 3 blocks of her favorite fat. The block list will list foods in serving sizes of 1 block each, and so all you have to do is mix/match the foods together. Here's a link: http://www.zonediet.com/portals/0/r..._guide.pdf

An example of a meal would be: 3 oz cooked chicken, 2 cups cooked zucchini, 1 cup cooked carrots, 1/2 cup blueberries, 9 olives. If you want to cook with some fat, then maybe you could use a teaspoon of almond oil and then cut back to 6 olives.

For breakfast: 4 hard-boiled eggs, yolks removed, 1 apple, and 12 olives. Note, this is an example of a 2-block meal. Also, since the yolks are removed, now you have to double the amount of fat in the meal.

Thanks for the sample meal plans! I have a couple more questions that maybe you can help me with?

How do I calculate how much protein per day my child needs, so I can figure out how many blocks of protein per day etc.? The Zone books I have, which are pretty old, don't give any information on calculating for kids. Are there instructions for calculating for kids on this website somewhere?

Second question -- I printed out the Food Block Chart that you gave me the link for. Oh dear, I'm looking at amounts per block for some familiar veggies and the amounts for some are VERY DIFFERENT from the amounts per block given in my copy of "Mastering the Zone" (1997 edition!). Can it really be true that 1 cup of cooked sliced carrots is just one block?! My "Mastering" food block chart says 1/2 cup is a block. And artichokes -- my old book says 1 medium artichoke per block but the website chart says 4 large artichokes per block?! And 3 cups of broccoli is a block on the website chart compared to 1.25 cups on my "Mastering" chart? Why are the amounts different, and why are they SO DIFFERENT? Do you know?

Use the block list you printed from the link provided. Information changes constantly, this is the most current block list. Artichokes have a ton of fiber that's why you get to eat so many.

Utilize these rules for kids: For children, assume that they have 10% body fat when you make their lean body mass calculations. Then, whatever their activity factor actually is, increase it by two levels. This is to ensure more than adequate protein for growth spurts.

The average child before puberty will need about 15 grams of protein per meal with the appropriate amounts of fat and carbohydrate. After puberty, they should eat the same amounts as a typical adult.

Kayla, hopefully your questions got answered by techie. If you still have more questions, let me know. Good luck with your daughter!

Thanks very much, Cranberrycat and Tech Support, for your help!
One more question -- What's an appropriate amount of fat for an active child who doesn't need to lose weight? If you answer this in terms of "fat blocks" could you please tell me whether you're talking about a "complete fat block" of 3g or a "added to fat content of low-fat protein fat block" of 1.
Looks like my daughter needs 8 blocks of protein per day so I'm figuring on three 2-block meals and two 1-block snacks.

That sounds right. I'd start her on the "standard" (2 blocks for her/meal) F block. If she is having meat as her protein source consider 1.5gF/oz and add and additional 3g mono. fat to equal her 2 blocks(6gF total).

If that does not hold her weight I would up only the fat an additional block for a total of 9g. Labels will tell you how much fat is included in a serving of a product.

I'm not sure what she can eat but good sources would be olives, Olive oil, avocado, almonds in any form (oil, butter, or whole)see the blocks list http://www.zonediet.com/portals/0/r..._guide.pdf

I hope that helps.

Yes, this additional information on fat definitely clarifies things, thanks!
Seems like there are many new foods in the food block charts (compared to the lists in my Zone books, which are over a decade old now!) -- that's great!