I have had success in the past with the Zone diet, mostly enjoying the energy I hadn't felt in years. I recently went to a detox class which has lead me down the path of meatless / dairy free raw food diet. My challenge at this point is how to stay in the Zone witout abandoning a Living Foods lifestyle. Any ideas, suggestions or resources would be appreciated.

Can you use soy with this diet? Soy has a good amount of protein, and comes in several forms. Not sure if things like tofu would work for you, but edamame would work pretty well. You can also check out other veggie sources of protein. Most veggie proteins are not counted in the Zone, but I think there can be some degree of absorption. Obviously, this is not a zone recommendation, so I think some experimentation on your part will be helpful to you.

Edamame is a great idea. I can't say that I've ever seen it offered fresh in the produce section, but I've never looked either! I'm not sure about soy. The detox instructor essentially steered us away from it, but never came right out and said "don't". I think you're right in that soy is the way to go as I continue look for raw food alternatives. Thanks!

the raw protein source is sprouts.....(is whey raw...?) but I see problems in trying to combine these two diets...it will be like bending over backwards and it might not work....although a vegtarian cn do it, I know I did it as a veg. yrs ago....lots of soy and dairy.

I don't know if this product interests you at all, but I found that there is a product called "Raw Power", and it appears to be a powder which is high in protein for vegans, might be particularly useful with the raw food diet.

I looked into the Raw Power and saw it contained things that I've heard of, like hemp protein powder and maca powder ... things I've "glanced" over in places like Whole Foods and Karyn's in Chicago. I'll have a better look. Also, in the process of calling around local health food places, the mention of Spirulina came up. You started me in a good direction for sure. So here's the next question ... how much does it really matter from a Zone point of view that a protein comes from vegetarian source instead of animal? I wonder what it is about soy that makes it acceptable over say the protein in a mushroom?

I'll have to admit, I can sprout a mean wheatberry! ~ and after a little research have learned that a cup of sprouted wheat has 8 g of protein and 214 calories. I haven't found how many carbs, but I'm guessing from that calorie count~ a fair few. It's interesting that when I first started the Zone as a person who ate meat and dairy my tendency was to eat too much protein while struggling to eat enough healthy carbs. Funny that my challenge has now flip flopped! <img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/hehe.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='HeHe' align='absmiddle'> When I do get this all worked out, I'm writin' a book! LOL

Hi w!

As far as your body is concerned, protein is protein regardless of its source. The reason why many veggie proteins are not counted for the Zone (soy and gluten powder begin exceptions) is that protein in veggie sources is trapped in insoluble fiber, the extent to which it's trapped (the amount trapped in the insoluble fiber) varying among different types of veggies. Insoluble fiber does not breakdown in the human digestive system
(you eat it and it comes out unchanged), so the protein trapped in it's structures are not made available for absorption by your body. The result is that you absorb varying amouts of protein when conuming veggies, and usually minimal amounts because most veggies contain very little protein. One major drawback to trying to eat a raw Zone diet is, as you're finding out, that you're not going to have many viable protein sources.

Another thing to be careful of when eating a raw diet is dehydrating your food, which is a common practice in many raw diet recipes. When a carb is dehydrated, it's GI and GL usually increase, changing it to unfavorable carb.

Hi Sue! Let's talk turkey ... if you will. I just had avacado with marinated mushrooms, diced plum tomato, half an orange and 4 oz of wine (which when consumed on Sunday between the hours of noon and midnight is considered a raw food choice <img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/wink.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Wink' align='absmiddle'>... little known fact.) The grand prize total is 11.5 g fat, 30.9 g carbs, 10.7 dietary fiber, and a dismal 5.7 g protein (nutritional values courtesy of nutrihand.com, a free online service which I love!) Doing the math, the mushroom protein was 1.6 g with .3 being dietary fiber. As I'm going to need every protein I can lay my hands on, can I simply subtract .3 from 1.6 and count that as 1.3 g protein? OR, let's say, I add say a cup of tofu. That will push my protein up by 20 g, but it also will push my fat up another 10 g as well. Does the additional tofu fat count toward my overall fats? Would I have to give up my avacado? <img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/sad.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Sad' align='absmiddle'>

Hi!

How about we talk tofurky? (jk,though do I like tofurky! he he)None of the stuff you just ate contains any protein that would be considered countable for the Zone. Subtracting grams of fiber from grams of protein won't give any useful information. BTW, tofu is not a raw food. But if you do add 3 blocks of tofu, I'd cut back on most of the fat in the meal. A 3 block meal contains a total 9 grams of fat. A few more grams of fat is ok, but a total of over 20 grams (your current meal plus the tofu) is too much.

w,

I am not at my normal computer right now, but I had bookmarked a website that discusses the amount of available protein from various sources. I wish I could remember the web address, but it was really good and informative, definitely something that you could use. It does not really line up very well with the way that the Zone treats veggie proteins, but I think it helped me to understand it better, and that perhaps we ARE getting more benefit from veggie proteins than what we are led to believe in the Zone.

But, once protein is released into the body, the body doesn't care if it is a veggie protein or a meat protein.

In your example, I don't think it is quite as simple as subtracting the protein grams from the fiber grams. Again, I think the article that I described above would probably be more useful in determining how much protein you are getting from those mushrooms.

If you add the tofu, looks like you will have too much fat. In the Zone, a little too much fat won't hurt you. So, maybe you can cut the amount of avocado in half?

and wine really is a raw food.....I've watched my husband make it many times....no cooking!

good news indeed !!!

Hi again! Your response answers a question I've always had about foods that don't fit neatly into one category ... like a cup of tofu that although may be 20g protein but 10g fat as well. I was hoping you were going to tell me to count it only as a protein and nevermind the fat ... wishful thinking I know, but hey- worked with the wine, right? You're right about the use of dehydrators in a raw food diet. I don't use mine a lot, but I do use it and I'll definitely keep what you said in mind. I also don't know much about tofu and whether or not it's raw or cooked. It being cooked explains why it was down played at the detox program. And now that I know it's cooked already I won't be concerned about heating it up. It is looking like I'll be supplementing my raw diet with it as I continue my search with everyone's help for viable raw alternatives. Thanks!

Yeah, that is why I was thinking the edamame would be a better solution for your protein.

Hi! I can definitely live with half the amount of avocado. I'm very interested in the website you mentioned; it sounds like just the kind of information that will help me in making this work. When you find it, please send it my way! I feel like with the use of the raw vegan protein powders, more sprouting, the information from that website, and some flexibility- I think I will be able to get back in the Zone and leave the meat, dairy, and (most of the) cooked food behind. Thanks!

I was just now trying to search for it, but can't find it. I think I may have it bookmarked on my home computer, so I will check there. Also, Karen (another forum member) is famous for bookmarking some interesting posts, and so she may have it saved somewhere, too. I can send her an email and maybe she can find it!

In the meantime, if you do a google search on protein digestion or protein absorption, you may come across other interesting articles.

You're welcome w!

w,

Here is the website that I was looking for:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/ca...on/protein

Thanks to Karen who had it bookmarked for me and sent it via email!

Anyway, I think this information will be helpful to you. Also, if you read the SOY ZONE, there may be more ideas on getting some veggie proteins, perhaps. I have not read that book, but I am hopeful that you may benefit from it. Maybe you can check it out at the library, cruise through it to see if it helps any?