Hi, everyone. I'm coming back to The Zone after being off it for several years.

I'm a 49 year old male. 6' 3" tall and about 260 lbs.

I'm currently exercising 6-7 days a week (just started Tony Horton's Power 90 program) alternating cardio/strength days with a day of yoga/stretching.

The Zone Calculator says I should get 23 blocks per day. That seems REALLY high to me.

When I was on The Zone before, I ate around 16 blocks per day (no exercise) and had really good results. This was about 5 years ago.

Can anyone confirm/comment on this? I just want to make sure I start off on the right foot.

Thanks!

-- Marty

Hi Martin,

If 23 is the result when the Body Fat Calculator on this site with the Active level, it would be appropriate. Since you didn't mention your waist and wrist measurements, I can't check it.

Thanks, Sue! My waist is 43 and my wrist is 8, btw.

I still can't get over the idea that 23 blocks is just a crazy amount of food when I want to lose weight. (at least 60 pounds)

I know from my time on the zone a few years ago that you get to eat more than you would think, especially veggies and such, but I just think even with my workouts (30-40 min. a day) I should go lighter.

I'm thinking 16-18 blocks. When I try to plan out my meals at 23 blocks (three 5 block meals, two 3 block snacks and a 2 block snack) it just reaffirms my concern.

Let me know your thoughts when you can.

Cheers,

-- Marty

Hi Marty,

23 blocks is correct for your stats. If you eat fewer than 23 your body will begun to cannibalize your muscle tissue to get the protein it needs , which will result in the loss of LBM (not good). The goal
is to lose only excess stored fat to lower your level of inflammation. If you feel the meals are too large you can break them
up into even more frequent smaller meals. You can include favorable vegetables of varying carbohydrate densities in the same meal to cut down on meal volume if you need to. An example is sautéed green beans and chick peas. The lower the volume of the food per block, the more dense it is in carbohydrate. Some examples of lower volume per block veggies are salsa, fennel and hummus. A cup milk is a great way to add to your block count without changing meal volume. A cup of 2% milk ia a fully balanced block of P, C, and F