Hello. I hope this is the right place to put this, I didn't see an "introduce yourself" forum.

My name is Jeremy and I found out about the Zone yesterday after I stumbled upon an article from Crossfit. I did some more research and ended up buying "Mastering..." later that day. By the end of the day i finished reading the book and was pumped to try it out.

I figure I'll try to keep this little topic going as somewhat of a personal journal, and hopefully for some support from the community. I'm just really excited to see where this idea takes me. If anyone has any tips at all, let me know, I'm eager to learn.

I'm 26 years old, 5'8'', 260lbs. My Lean body mass is about 153lbs. My current meal block plan is 3-3-2-3-2

--April 11--
For breakfast today I had 6 boiled egg whites (thank you, Easter!), a cup of quick oats mixed with 1.5 tsps of creamy peanut butter. In reflection, I'd like to add 2 cups of milk to the breakfast, so I'll try to adjust that tomorrow. I felt great at work afterward. I think I started getting hungry just before lunch. Other than that, I was fine, just planning out my lunch and snack to prepare during my lunch hour.

I got up in my office and did a few "pushups" against my desk and some squats, like the book says. 3 sets of each.

Funny story: Food on a chart is hard to imagine on a plate. Laugh with me as we look at my lunch menu: 3 ounces canned tuna, 1/2 head of lettuce, 1 cup diced tomatoes, 1 sliced cucumber, 1 cup of broccoli and cauliflower mix, drizzled with 1 tsp of melted butter. So, half a head of lettuce is a lot of food! I think I'll swap out lettuce for more cauliflower and broccoli next time :)

For my snack in a couple of hours, I'll have: 1/2 cup of green grapes, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 6 almonds, 1/2 orange diced, all mixed together. It looks so delicious I can't wait. I've actually never had cottage cheese before, It looks and smells pretty good so that should be a fun experience.


Update after I eat the rest of today's meals

Welcome!

I enjoyed reading your post! As you go through this, you will find ways to adjust the volume of the food. Or, you may just find out that you enjoy some weird food combinations! LOL

Looking forward to hearing more about your progress!

Nice to meet you Jeremy! You're off to a good start. Some tips...

Read "Toxic Fat" by Barry Sears to see how the Zone has evolved since the earlier days when MTZ was written.

Put your stats into the Body Fat Calculator on this site to determine you daily protein (block) requirement. If may differ from the average14 blocks daily (the calculator link is in the Tools tab at the top of this page.)

Switch those quick oats to steel cut oats and add another 3 fat blocks to that breakfast. Quick oats are not recommended because they stimulate too much insulin production. The extra fat is needed when you choose a fat free protein source (like egg white) to achieve the minimum fat for Zone balance. The block system was designed taking into consideration that the protein choice would be low fat and contain half the fat needed for Zone balance. I wouldn’t recommend adding two cups of milk to the breakfast because it would become a 5 block meal.

The Zone is all about lowering inflammation. For best results focus on insulin control by choosing veggies and fruit for most of your carbohydrates, and on further lowering inflammation by avoiding Omega 6 fats as much as possible.

No worries if you don't happen to like cottage cheese when you try it. It's simply a suggestion not a necessity.

Consider adding Omega Rx fish oil daily. It's amazing stuff and an integral part of the Zone, not mentioned in MTZ because it was not yet available when that book was written.

Last of all, read, read, read all you can. I've read the Zone books many times and each time I notice some little bit of info I hadn't realized.

Keep us updated!

Thank you very much for the warm welcomes. I'll be sure to pick up that book today. The cottage cheese wasn't bad at all, just a little different! I think I can get hooked on it though. What I meant about the milk was to take away blocks of protein and carbs in order to add the milk, so like 3 egg whites, 1/2 cup oats, and add the milk. I don't know if those amounts are actually correct because I dont have my chart, but that's what my thinking was.

Thank you for the tips again, and please come back and see if there are other things I've missed. I'm going to see if that book is on Kindle now...

Enjoy "Toxic Fat". I have it on my Kindle too.

You are very welcome!

I personally love the book MASTERING THE ZONE. It was the book that helped me to master it. I think it really goes very well into building zone meals, in much more detail than many of the other books. Although, if it is the science that you like to read about, then the more recent books may be helpful in that regard.

Plenty of tips are available, and switching from quick oats to steel cut oats would be a great start. But, it sounds like you are definitely getting the picture, as you showed in your post about adjusting some of the ingredients in order to make room for adding your milk.

Just let us all know if you need more help, one or more of us is usually hanging around!

Nothing more to add (YET);
but, welcome!

Hi Jeremy I am starting again on the same day too.. I am 5'5" and last time I checked I was at 230 lbs... But I did the zone once before and it worked so I am triyng to do it again also.. Good luck

I found Toxic Fat, I was only able to read a couple of chapters though. Hopefully I can finish it today. Thank you again for your support.

@Christine- Well welcome back to the zone! Maybe we can keep each other accountable. Yesterday I planned on baking some chicken for dinner, but after work I was tired and wanted to just get some Sonic. Luckily I talked myself out of it and baked the chicken anyway.

--April 11 cont...--

My dinner consisted of about half of a boneless skinless chicken breast (3oz) and a mixture of sliced okra, onion, and mushrooms. I don't remember the measurements of each but it came out to 3 blocks total. Then I drizzled some melted butter on top again. It was soo good. i stored the rest of the chicken for the next few days. I get tired of tuna very quickly, but I can eat chicken forever.

I was pretty tired by the end of the day and didn't feel like preparing anything for my 2-block snack. So I just had a glass of milk (2 cups) and 6 almonds.

End of the day closing thoughts:

The next morning I woke up very groggy though. I had a full 8 hours of sleep. I hope this is a temporary adjustment to the new way of eating, I normally wake up with a bit more pep. The morning before this I was dancing to my Pandora music :P

The thing that concerns me the most (and the reason I"m really trying to take hold of the situation) is that for the past couple of months I have been getting VERY sleepy at about 2PM. I'm afraid to contemplate what this means, as I don't remember being so tired in the past. I started working out in the mornings a couple weeks ago, and that didn't seem to help so I thought it was what I was eating. We'll see how that works out. I mean, my job keeps me pretty busy but it's not (normally) physically intensive to the point of making me sleepy in the middle of the day. I'm a computer nerd at work and the most intense thing I do about once a week is climb to the top of roofs to change cords and antennas. Other than that, I do quite a bit of walking, but no more than I've ever done in the past.

Jeremy,

Just a couple of thoughts, maybe the milk was the culprit? Some people just don't do as well with milk as others may do, and drinking 2 cups of it might have been too much glycemic load for you? If you want to, maybe try 1 glass of milk and then a 1 block snack with it.

Also, as you go along your Zone journey, one thing you may want to change is drizzling some olive oil over that meal, as opposed to the butter. It is a better fat choice, so will be important in terms of anti-inflammatory health.

Welcome back, Christine!

Cat, good idea! I would have never thought of the milk. I'll try something different tonight and see if that makes a difference. And I'll do the olive oil also.

Hi Jeremy,

Another tip, when beginning the Zone diet about 25% of people temporarily experience the negative symptoms of too much AA (arachidonic acid, the inflammatory fat) caused by the initial AA release as they enter the Zone and begin to burn stored body fat. Grogginess is one of the symptoms. These symptoms can be alleviated by temporarily I creasing your Omega Rx dose. A dose of 8 capsules a day is recommended for people who are overweight and also for anyone beginning the diet.

Sounds great, Jeremy!

Please let me know how it works out. ;-)

I'm about 1/5 of the way through Toxic Fat, and it is pretty disturbing, but also inspiring. I'm starting to learn about AA, and I'm going to pick up some Omega 3 later today. The book says something like "high-dose" Omega 3 though. Is this the normal kind you find at the Pharmacy or are there different doses of Omega 3?

Also, so far today I've felt pretty hungry. It's not too bad, just a little distracting. I'm sure this has to do with what Sue just mentioned. I'm willing to plow through it though until I get equalized, in that respect. I've also felt rather sluggish all day. It's a slow day at work, but I've still managed to do my office exercises and get a fair amount of walking and lifting boxes this morning to try to wake up. It's getting near 2PM right now and it's really starting to hit me.

The book also talks about testing your blood for various ratios. I've never been a sickly person, and have never been in the hospital other than to visit people. I'm wondering, how does a person get blood testing done? I was under the impression you need a prescription. I'd like to test my blood now and one year from now.

--April 12--

Breakfast: I had 4 boiled egg whites, 2 cups of milk, and 6 almonds. I was in a bit of a hurry, and it looks like I did one too many blocks of protein and one to little blocks of carbs without thinking about it at the time. A little more advanced preparation on my part would help for tomorrow. Sue said I may need to add more blocks of fat, I'm still reading Toxic Fat, and haven't gotten to the part that mentions it yet. Hopefully I'll finish reading today. I started feeling hungry about 1 hour before lunch.

Lunch: It had to be a quick one since I had to go downtown to pay a couple of bills. I grabbed 3oz of cooked chicken, Two units of 3/4 cup frozen sliced okra, and the remainder of my sauteed onions from last night that was just under 1/2 cup. I drizzled 1 TSP of olive oil over it. I was hungry again very soon afterward. I think if I had time to chop up some lettuce it would have been more filling.

Snack: I'll eat this in about an hour. 1/2 cup grapes, 1/2 orange (69 cents a pound right now woohoo!), 6 almonds, 3 oz of chicken. The chicken was all I had, I don't know if I'm going to do the cottage cheese again. If I do, i'll need to supplement it with another protein. 1/2 cup is just too much for me. I think it's the texture :)

Again, I'll update tomorrow on what else I ate and how I felt afterward. Thank you all again for reading and the feedback.

There are various doses of fish oil available, and it is likely you won't find the "good stuff" at the local pharmacy.

If you want to look around locally, look for a fish oil with a 2:1 concentration of EPA to DHA. Zone's fish oil has EPA 400 and DHA 200 per capsule.

Also, many Zoners will recommend that you choose a fish oil that has passed IFOS testing for purity and pollutants.
http://www.ifosprogram.com/IFOS/Con...eport.aspx

You can use the consumer report to find a fish oil, some may be available in stores, while others will have to be ordered. If you find one that is the right concentration and is not on this list, many Zoners will recommend that you don't use it. Personally, I don't use one that is IFOS tested, but the concentration is spot on.

As far as your day is going, it could be the AA release, or it could be the missing carb block of your breakfast, and/or the 2 cups of milk. So early into this, it won't help you to get hung up on it, you probably will want to wait a few more days before you make any adjustments. The only adjustment I would suggest is cutting the milk down to 1 cup, get all of your carb blocks in using favorable carbs, and see what happens.

The testing would involve you setting up an appointment with your doctor and having the labwork drawn. The Zone has a special going on, in which you can get a free test if you order 6 month supply of fish oil (look around the site for the info). They would then send you a requisition to take to your doctor, and I imagine that there are specific instructions enclosed.

Have a great day in the Zone!

Jeremy..

I know from personal experience that there is a BIG difference in Fish Oils and many on this forum will agree . I personally have taken many other brands of fish oil prior to coming to work with Dr Sears. The difference is remarkable. Take a look at the reviews of Dr Sears products.

http://shop.zonediet.com/product/de...4-NSF.aspx

-OmegaRx® Fish Oil - The purest fish oil you can buy, with or without a prescription.
-More than 2400mg of EPA & DHA per serving
-No detectable levels of lead or mercury when tested down to 10ppb
-Independent 3rd party testing on every lot - view our most recent report
-Proprietary validation and testing processes to achieve pharmaceutical-grade quality
-Contains only wild fish from pristine waters and never farmed fish
-Delivers 8 times more omega-3s per serving than typical retail fish oil supplements
-Developed by Dr. Barry Sears, an internationally-recognized expert in fish oil research

OmegaRX taken with Dr Sears Seahealth Plus and Polyphenol XT has amazing positive effects.

Hi Jeremy,

Here are some tips and answers.

Re "Is this the normal kind you find at the Pharmacy or are there different doses of Omega 3?"

No, the kind in stores, including pharmacies, is not the same thing. You want an ultra-refined fish oil concentrate with a 60% concentration of EPA and DHA in a 2/1 ratio (twice as much EPA as DHA), the has attained the IFOS 5-star rating to ensure it's safe to take in regard to heavy metal and chemical pollutants. Check out the Omega-3 Fish oil tab above. Zone Labs Omega Rx is the only fish oil I recommend, and I have tried many. Basically, it's the only one that worked. I know many others who have had the same experience.

Re "Also, so far today I've felt pretty hungry. It's not too bad, just a little distracting...."
The hunger would be due to the balance of you meals. First of all, it takes about 4 days of appropriately zone balanced meals adn snacks 24/7 in order to lower insulin levels into the range of the Zone. As you get to know the ropes for the first few weeks, a couple things will be going on, 1. Your meals may not quite be balanced and 2. Your body will be adjusting. Then also, there's the 4 hour hunger test that will determine what your actual balance really is (the drop/add carbohydrate adjustments, which you've probably read about in the Zone books).

Re, "Sue said I may need to add more blocks of fat, I'm still reading Toxic Fat, and haven't gotten to the part that mentions it yet."

Here’s Dr. Sears explanation of fat blocks (taken from MASTERING THE ZONE, page 292 and 293).

“Why is a fat block only 1.5 grams?
Every block of low-fat protein contains approximately 1.5 grams of “hidden fat”. Therefore, by adding one extra fat block (which is defined as 1.5 grams of fat) for each block of low-fat protein, you are actually consuming 3 grams of fat or two blocks (one internal in the protein and one external) for each protein block. If you are using fat-free protein sources, such as isolated protein powders, then you should be adding two blocks of fat to achieve the same ratio. Obviously, if you are eating higher fat protein choices, you would not be adding any extra fat blocks to your meal. Remember that every time you add additional fat blocks to a meal, they should be composed primarily of monounsaturated fat.”
Common fat free proteins eaten on the Zone diet are egg whites, protein powder, fat free dairy products, some deli-style meats, and some soy products. You would need to add a minimum of almonds to your breakfast, 3 almonds for each protein block(4 P blocks; 2 BL eggs and 2 bl milk) and 3 almonds for each P block the is missing fat (the 2 blocks of egg white). That’s a minimum of 6 bl almonds, or 18 almonds. If your milk was fat free then you’d add 6 more almonds for that missing fat, for a total of 24. Fat slows the entry of the carbohydrate into you bloodstream. When you don’t eat enough fat with the meal, the carbohydrate gets into the blood steam quicker, stimulates too much insulin production and leaves you feeling hungry prior to 4 hours after the meal.

For your fruit and chicken snack in the afternoon, you’ll need a minimum of 3 blocks of almonds because you have 3 blocks protein. And, speaking of the chicken, if this is leftover cooked chicken, 3 ounces is closer to 4 blocks. The block measures are given for uncooked poultry and meat, with the exception of the deli-style meats. When the chicken is cooked it weighs less per P block than when raw due to the loss of moisture during cooking. Figure 2/3 ounce of cooked meat to a block.

IF all this sounds mind boggling, that’s because it sort of is. Dr. Sears has devised a much easier way to put together a Zone meal. Don’t quote me but he says something like this...All you need is a hand and a watch (like I said, don’t quote me on the one, I think there’s a third thing, the eye maybe? lol!). Here’s what he says to do. Take lean protein no larger and thicker than the size of you palm. Fill the rest of your plate with colorful vegetables and fruit, and then add a dash of good fat (like almonds, avocado, olive oil, etc.). This works great, it’s easy, and it frees you from all the calculations. If you’re thinking it sounds far less precise, the fact is, whichever method you use, if you have early hunger you’ll be adjusting the amounts and it will boil down to the same amount of the same foods on your plate. I have firsthand experience that it works. This is the method I used to lose 100 pounds, and it’s the method of putting together Zone meals that I use today.

And last but not least, here’s why milk doesn’t work great for some individuals. It’s the fact the its a liquid. Liquids have a greater surface area than a solid and because of that the carbohydrates in liquids enter the bloodstream more quickly than those in solids; your stomach simply doesn’t have to take time to break down the liquid as it would piece of broccoli, a tomato chunk or a grape. The quicker the rise in blood sugar, the more insulin that gets produces. The more excess insulin that is produced, the greater the corresponding drop in blood sugar, hence the early hunger.

Enjoy you reading and keep up the good job.

Hi, me again. :) I forgot to write the part about the watch. It's to make sure you eat at least every 5 hours. Have a good night!

About the easy method, It's called Zone At-a-Glance™. You can find it here: http://www.zonediet.com/tools/zone-classic

Sue, I read your explanation of adding fat over and over, and then read the exact passage in MTZ over and over. About 15 minutes later it finally clicked and it seems so obvious. Now I understand. I guess I skimmed over that part in my first reading.

I assumed the 1oz of chicken was meant to be cooked because I didn't see it specifically stated in MTZ in the food block index. Also, that PDF from crossfit says 1oz of cooked chicken breast. I have that on my fridge because it is so organized and easy to read. I plan on making a similar looking excel table that has everything listed in the book, as the crossfit one does seem to be missing a few basic carbs (last night I needed the amount of cooked mushrooms as opposed to raw).

But thank you so much for your insight, I'll add more fat to my breakfast tomorrow. Eggs have always been my staple breakfast, and in the past I have done egg whites as often as eggs with yolk. I used to like the variety. So, I have no problem sticking to just whites.

Jeremy, I have an excel spreadsheet that some one put together a while back.
He called it a Brick guide, so as not to confuse folks that it came from Dr. Sears,
nor to infringe on Dr, Sears use of Blocks. Though it is in line with his requirements.
I use magnets and keep it up on my refrigerator (in a plastic shell to protect it),
and refer to it for those foods I do not eat all the time.
.
I can send it to you, if you want.
But you will have to contact me at my disposable e-mail address.
I use a temporary, throw-away e-mail address, when posting - to prevent Spam in my real e-mail address,
but I will get your request. kyyakr4-spam AT yahoo DOT com.

That would be great, John. Thank you!

Jeremy, the fat info...great!

Re teh crossfit food block list. If you're going to do the Zone I'd say defer to Dr. Sears' version of his Food Block Guide. Here the most recent on from his other website: http://drsears.com/ArticlePreview/t...fault.aspx The meat fish and poultry in this guide uncooked weights except for the obviously cooked items. If you're wondering why the deli- style meats (cooked) weigh more than 1 oz per block rather than less as I described in my last posting it'sbecuse they include added broth and water, which adds to their weight.

Hi I'm new to this and having trouble determining the proper way to calculate how much each block of fat contains. The book is somwhat confusing.

You need at least 3 grams of Fat per 7 grams (block) of Protein.
(At least to start with...)
Dr. Sears defines a block of Fat as 1.5 grams. WHY?
Because almost all low fat Protein has some Fat, and that Fat is counted.
SO, To your Protein block (7 g Protein), add 1 block (1.5 grams) of Fat to get the total 3 grams of Fat needed.
Unless your Protein is Fat-Free or nearly so.
Then add 3 grams of Fat to each Protein block (7 g).

P.S. Edgar - WELCOME!
And feel free to ask away!

Edgar,

John is correct.

If you are breaking things down gram per gram, you need a total of 3 grams of fat per zone block. However it is assumed that there is already 1/2 of that in your protein source, and so the fat block list is in proportions of 1.5 g fat. So, if you are consuming a fat free protein, just double the fat block.

This is something that tends to get a lot of zoners confused, I remember being confused about this early on in my zoning days!

THANK YOU!

Hello Everyone, My name is Gail and I'm a newbie as well. I really like the "at a glance method" I haven't been hungry at all in between meals
in fact I'm having trouble remembering snack time. Steel cut oatmeal has really been a big help,it goes great with the egg white omlette, my
question is that since the majority of my protein is from fish ( I love grilled fish) do i still need the fish oil supplements? so far I've been feeling
better. I'm actually sleeping better,waking up less foggy and that annoying 3:00 blues is gone. My mini stairmaster arrived yesterday and
too my surprise I actually had the energy to get on it. I haven't had energy for a long time until now.

Hi Jeremy, I hope your starting to adjust. I'm new at this as well, I'm noticed that back on the 4/12,you ended up getting hungry before lunch, It might
help to switch out the milk and have the steel cut oatmeal instead or maybe an omelette with cut up mushroom/ tomatoes/spinach and a dash of cheddar cheese for flavor, It really helps, why drink these calories when you can eat them instead?? Your appetite will be kept at bay if you eat instead.

I've been having trouble remembering to eat my snacks I set the alarm on my computer at work for a reminder. another thing that has really helped me is if you can, try to prepare as much of your food in advance as possible. It will be your saving grace

I grill several servings of chicken breast and some of the fish on sunday and salads can be prepared ahead as well in a big container. its stays fresh longer as long as you don't add the dressing until you're ready to eat. also omelettes are great the next day. steel cut oatmeal in the crockpot overnight will rock your world. I'm one of those people who really likes to eat so eating raw vegetables and fruit really helped my pschologically
since theyre so dense and very filling. I luv the rice vinegar with the garlic in itand it mixes well with oil.

It's really nice to come home from work after dealing with the freeway and picking up kids too just have to warm dinner instead of having to making it

Since I've been on this new lifestyle I have more energy than I've had in years. Keep the faith, you're going to start feeling great soon once you adjust. :)

Hi Gail, great advice. Yes on the fish oil question. You'd need to eat several pounds of fish each day (or more, depending on the type of fish) to come close to the 4 capsule avrage dose of Omega Rx.

Hi Sue, thanks for the info. As much as I love fish, several pounds a day is a bit over the top, even for me. I think I'll buy the omega RX instead. :)

Hi Sue, I forgot to ask you one thing, Is it ok to steam vegetables in swanson's chicken broth? I used to always steam brocolli or asparagus,with
the chicken broth with fresh garlic. If so is that a block of fat??

I think it comes in fat free, but I don't know how that will taste, I'm kind of suspicious whenever a label says fat free, that usually means they've sneaked in some kind of sugar. Thanks for your help.

Gail, I wouldn't bother to consider the fat in the broth if its that small an amount. If its more and you're consuming all the liquid you used for steaming the veggies you could consider it. I prefer just to add a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and call it the fat in the meal.

Gail, you are correct... fat free usually means that there is added sugar in some form or another.

Generally you would count the additional fat, as the food is going to absorb some of the fat in the cooking process. Maybe not all of it, but it would be difficult to measure it, so I would favor counting it.

But, considering this specific product, there is not a whole lot of fat in the product, so per serving probably only 1/2-1 gram of fat to count,so in that case I would not worry too much about counting it.

Another tip, to paraphrase Barry Sears, it's better to err on the side of too much fat than too little. Gail, what he means is a little extra dietary fat will give you better insulin control without interfering with the loss of stored body fat. In fact a little extra fat usually enhances the loss of stored fat, but not having quite enough fat can make the difference between being in the Zone or not. Dietary fat eaten with carbohydrates controls the rate of entry of the carbohydrates into the bloodstream. The more fat you eat, (within reason), the slower the entry into the bloodstream and the better the resulting insulin control.

Another tip,
extra fat does contribute to extra calories. While it is not necessarily harmful to have a little added fat, too much fat is too many calories. Even though we don't count calories in the Zone, Barry Sears does state that excessive calories will reduce your fat-loss efforts and will prevent you from staying in the Zone.

It doesn't seem to be a problem with the Swanson chix broth, though, due to the low amount of fat.

Just speaking in general, you probably don't want to go too far over on your fat blocks, or else you risk having excess. So, it is definitely mindful to keep watch on it. Personally, if I am going to go over on fat blocks in a meal, I generally allow for 2-3 extra blocks, which is 3-4.5 additional grams of fat.

Thanks Cranberry and Sue, this is very helpful information. Although I normally throw away the broth when I'm done steaming,I hadn't considered
that the fat could be absorbed into the vegetables.. I suppose I could experiment by adding a little of the olive oil to the water when I'm steaming at least that would be an omega 3 instead of and omega 6. I think I'd better look at some of the zone recipes,although I like raw vegetables I still want
to have some variety. If you have any good vegetables recipes let me know. Thank you two for all your help. :)

Do you like asparagus? This is a good time of year for it.

I adapted this vegetable blend from one of the Zone book recipes (can't remember which one, but I believe it was originally an omelet).

You can use proportions that suits you. I saute asparagus, onion, and mushroom in some olive oil, and I season it with salt, pepper, curry powder, turmeric, and some worcestershire sauce. If I can't find fresh asparagus, or if it is just too expensive, I buy frozen and it works great!

I love asparagus, I'll try this recipe it looks good. Thanks!

Jeremy, how are u doing?? I am back on track only the 3rd day today but I am doing already better... hope you are doing good... ttyl xox