I'm new 2 zone. Do I understand correctly that eating in the specified amounts will result in slow and steady wait loss and that I do not need to start at a lower level like most weight loss diets? In other words, I will eat now like I will continue to eat... Developing Long term lifestyle and nutritional habits that are consistent through weight loss phases and maintenance?

Hi Jill,

Welcome to the zone. Yes, the zone will give you slow and steady weight loss if you master its principles. Basically you have to balance fat, carbs and proteins in the right ratios (with the average being 11 blocks) which are called blocks. There also is a list of favorable fats, carbs and proteins and unfavorable ones. I have found the eyeball method much easier at the start than the block method. As you get more advanced you will want to add the supplements which include fish oil, polphenols and micronutrients. Reading the books helps but most likely you will have to read them more than once because they are very scientific and unless your backgound is medical take some time to understand. I am rereading toxic fat and everytime I reread a book I feel I never read it the first time. This diet is not just for weight loss but also for your health which after awhile you will realize goes hand and hand. Welcome, and good luck

Hi Margaret I think the fish oil and polyphenols should be taken as soon as you start the Zone. Margaret (from Australia)

Hi Jill,

Here are some ideas for a plan that can get you started quickly. The good news is...... that there's a tremendous amount of... information on this site, so you can get a good solid start. When you can, you could purchase Zone books.

1. Go to the Zone Diet Body Fat Calculator on this site, enter your numbers and it will tell you how many protein blocks you need to eat per day. here's the link...
http://www.zonediet.com/tools/body-...calculator

2. Go to the Quick Start Guide and read the Basic Zone Rules tab: http://www.zonediet.com/tools/quick-start-guide

3. Check out the Zone Food Blocks tab of the Quick Start Guide for foods that you can substitute into the meal and snack examples if you don't like or have the foods on hand:
http://www.drsears.com/ArticlePrevi...fault.aspx

4. Use the "Search" feature in the upper right corner of the website to type in keywords for your questions -- it's amazing how much you can learn from that! For example, I typed in "hunger adjustments" and got a ton of info on how to adjust my foods and blocks to extend the periods between hunger.

Thank you to all who responded! I am feeling good already, after several days feeling very even keeled. I truly think this balance is good for me, as I struggle with blood sugar levels and starving/eating/crashing. Carbs have been my 'go to' since early in life, so I have a lot of retraining to do!

It's so worth it, Jill! Keep up the good work and keep us posted on your journey.

I am also new to the zone and am having trouble with the number of meals per day. As I figure, my day would have 3 meals and 5 snacks!!! If I try to exercise at 6am I need something before and after, then breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, another snack since I won't eat supper till 6pm, supper and finally a snack at 8pm before I go to bed at 10pm. If I am on an 11 zone daily, sacks would have to be 1 zone and 3 meals at 2 zones. Won't that be awful tiny meals?

Hi Shirley,

You could do all those frequent mini meals and snacks if you want, but here's another option. It's very common for people who exercise before breakfast to eat 1 balanced block of their breakfast (that's 1P, 1C and 1F) for the pre-exercise snack and eat the remaining blocks of their breafast post exercise. To get the rest of your 11 blocks in for the day, you could then eat a 3 block lunch, a 1 block afternoon snack a 3 block dinner and a 1 block evening snack.

________________________

sue
Consultant of Zone Labs
Certified Zone Affliate

It's best to get the 1-3 blocks of food post exercise, within 30 minutes after exercise, if possible. But not critical. Exercise breaks down muscle among other things, and muscles are ripe to start rebuilding over the next 24 hours.

I find that having shake for breakfast before I exercise works great! I get a much better workout if I'm not hungry and a shake doesn't make me too full.

Yes. Then, the only change you make For maintance is adding just enough mono fat to prevent further fat loss.

LOL! Trying to work with my phone and dont know if my last post went to the right area.

I am totally new....havent even started yet but ordered the Fast Track Weightloss 2 week plan & 2 books.

After doing the calculations, the website said I needed 11 blocks of EACH P, C & F (which means 33 blocks consumed per day?).
But when I read these posts it looks like people are only eating 11 blocks in an entire day? Im confused.

Also, if I follow the 2 week program menu but I need an additional snack between breakfast and dinner can I eat an apple?
Does that mess up my "blocks" and meal plan??

Joie,

When we talk about blocks, generally a complete Zone block is a combination of 1 block protein, 1 block carb, and 1 block fat (2 blocks fat, if your protein is fat free). So, 11 blocks is really 11 complete blocks made up of each of the 3 macronutrients. Does that help?

The zone foods contain most of the foods that you will need, each product is balanced with the right ratio of protein, carbs and fat. You can add small amounts of other foods, and these guidelines will be found in your shipment. If you add an apple as a snack, though, you will probably want to eat 1/2 apple it with some protein and fat. A Zone rep might be able to help you with adjustments. I don't eat these foods.

Ahhhhhhh!!! That explains the confusion! I've been scouring the website and others to learn as much as I can -
but that explains the descrepency Ive been seeing.

11 blocks of each per day - but combine them for 11 'combinations' total in a day. GOTCHA!!

THANKS SO MUCH!!

You're welcome--glad to help!