hi sue or one of you other zone experts,
i was looking over the meal timing suggested on the website...i cannot go 5hours without eating and also, my nurse practitioner said i should be eating every 3hours for adrenal hormone control, is there a proper way to adjust meal times for what i'm eating? also, if i'm doing the plate method, how do i know portions for snacks?
thanks,
cindy...still somewhat lost and confused about zone

Hi cindy!

The rule abut 5 hours is not to go over 5 waking hours without eating. It doesn't mean you're supposed to wait 5 hours to eat. the 3 meal 2 snack configuration is simply a suggestion that fits the typical 3 meal style of eating. You can spread your blocks throughout the day however works best for you as long as you follow the basic rules (eat within an hour of waking, eat a bedtime snack, don't go more than 5 waking hours without a Zone meal or snack, don't eat more than 5 balanced blocks at one time; the exception to the last one being professoional athetes).

Assuming your block requirement is 11, here are a few other ways to split your blocks:

1-2-1-2-1-1-2-1

2-2-2-2-2-1

3-1-2-1-1-2-1

2-1-1-2-1-1-2-1

A 1 block snack keeps you in the Zone for a couple hours, 2 blocks a few hours, 3 blocks 4 to 5 hours. You may even find that you do well with Zone balanced meals eaten following the 3 meals with 2 snacks plan because the Zone provides excellent hormonal control. Play around with the timing to find what works best for you. If you are having adrenal concerns, you should practice strict adherence to the diet for best results. This means to follow the rules, eat little to no unfavorable carbs, and have most of your carbs from veggies rather than fruit. Stick with berries when you do eat fruit. They give the best insulin control of the favorable fruits. It's actually pretty easy to eat with this type of strict adherence. I've been doing it for over 10 years.

To make a snack with the plate method, simply begin with a dessert sized plate, taking protein 1/3 the size of the palm of your hand.

I'll be glad to help if you have questions.

i think i get it.
for example, today for breakfast i had cottage cheese with almonds and then lunch i had 1/2 a salmon burger (no bun of course), a 1/2plate of sauteed broccoli with red, green and yellow bell peppers and then a salad with romaine hearts and arugula w/ persian cucumbers, 1/4 avocado, and a housemade caesar dressing.

are you familiar with bumble bars? i was wondering if you knew if they are zone friendly...
http://www.bumblebar.com/ProductImages/products/CashewBarPhoto.jpg

dr. sears should employ you if he doesn't already. you are a wealth of knowledge.
i've been doing massage therapy and holistic health education for 12 years and am now entering a holistic nursing program, so i have a pretty good nutrition background, but just learning the "zone" tricks is a class in itself. i do feel better and better everyday. getting off gluten and soy...has helped tremedously, i don't wake up feeling lethargic and "hungover" in the morning anymore.
if you read about the history of grains in the us, it is pretty interesting, we never used to eat grains, therefore our bodies have a hard time digesting them, same with corn. anyway, thats a whole other topic.
thanks sue!
cindy in sf

Cindy,

Your lunch sounds not only Zone balanced and favorable, but delicious. You breakfast however, had almost no carbohydrates.

Low-fat cottage cheese is an excellent source of Zone-favorable protein, and the almonds are an excellent source of monounsaturated fat. But, you need to add some carbohydrates. Dr. Sears recommends ignoring the carbohydrates in most protein and fat sources (tofu and yogurt and some others are exceptions and are "mixed" proteina nd carbs) and adding Zone-favorable fruits and veggies as carb sources.

Matt

Hi cindy,

I agree with Matt's comments about your meals. Try adding berries to your breakfast to balance.

That cashew Bumble Bar is not Zone favorable based on this nutrition info I found on their website:


"Ingredients

(All ingredients are gluten-free)
�Organic sesame seeds, Organic roasted cashews, Organic brown rice syrup, Organic evaporated cane juice, Organic almond, Organic flax seeds, Organic vanilla, Organic ground cinnamon, Sea salt, Natural Vitamin E for freshness Processsing agents: Organic sunflower and/or safflower oil
Nutritional Analysis

Serving size: 1 package (45 grams)
Servings: 1
Amount per serving DV* Amount per serving DV*

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Calories: 230 Vitamin A: 0% Niacin: 4%
Calories from fat: 130 Vitamin B6: 10% Phosphorous: 15%
Saturated Fat:: 2g 4% Vitamin C: 0% Potassium: 160mg 5%
Total Fat: 14g 22% Vitamin E: 15% Sodium 60mg 2%
Cholesterol: 0mg 0% Folate: 8% Thiamin: 10%
Total Carbohydrates: 21g 7% Calcium: 20% Zinc: 15%
Fiber: 4g 17% Copper: 45% Riboflavin: 4%
Sugars: 11g Iron: 20%
Protein: 5g "


Here's how I determined it's unfavorable. It contains too much fat (and some of it in the form of omega 6 which we try to avoid in the Zone), and far too many carbs with little protein. The carb is coming mostly from rice syrup and evaportate cane juice. There is no substantial protein ingredient. The protein listed probably occurs mostly in the nuts. Dr. Sears doesn't consider protein in plant foods (with a couple exceptions, mainly soy) because some of it is usually bound in insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber doesn't break down in the human digestive system so the protein bound in it is never released for use in your body.



Thanks for the compliments!

I'm fascinated by the topics of diet and nutrition also. You'll probably enjoy reading many of the Zone books, if you haven't read them already. They contain a wealth of information. I use them almost as manuals, or textbooks. Rereading them had given me much more insight into the Zone.

Have fun with it!

thanks matt and thanks sue for your wonderful replies. i'm sure you'll be hearing more from me!
~cindy

[quote]Posted By Matthew on 06/26/2008 12:03 PM

...(tofu and yogurt and some others are exceptions and are "mixed" proteina nd carbs)...

Matt[/quote]

Thanks for pointing this out Matt. To prevent any confusion, its the soft tofu that's considered a mixed carb and protein. For Zone purposes, the firm and extra firm varieties of tofu are considered protein only.

My husband has a thyroid condition and has been on the Zone as well. Some of his hormones go out of control if he isn't consistant. The consistency of our meal plan has helped both of us. We stick to the rules Sue outlined. A snack before bed, eating an hour after waking, spreading out the meals throughout our day. It took a bit to make sure we were on a schedule and we have built tricks to help us, but so far so good. He have both lost about ten pounds each in the past month and we didn't start it to lose weight, but what a benefit.

That's great Tara!

Tara,

Welcome to The Zone way of life and the most pleasant "side effect" of weight loss.

I "fell into" The Zone looking for information on Soy protein - a long time ago.

The luckist day of my life.

I was not looking for weight loss - I was looking for health.

I really didn't believe the part about it being a "side effect".

Then - a few weeks in weight started coming off at regular clip while I felt better and better. At the time I was being monitored through a cardiac rehabilitation program and it was amusing encountering the reactions of the cardiac nurses as this occured.

Of course, at first, they all thought it was great and frequently encouraged me to continue doing whatever I was doing regarding my diet - but never asked what I was doing !

After about 50 pounds came off the "encouragement" started to turn into "mild concern" - "you're not starving yourself are you now ?"

However - since all my "vitals" were getting better and better they were clearly a bit miffed as to how I was doing it - but interestingly - still didn't ask how I was doing it in regards to diet.

At 70 pounds down - and I was approaching the "upper limit" of one of the "normal" weight charts for my age, height etc and the "mild concern" turned into some pointed questioning one day. I told them about the Zone diet. None of them were more than superficially aware of it. More than a bit surprsing because obviously of their profession but even more so because the clinic is located not more than 20 miles from the home and headquarters of Barry Sears.

Well they "clucked" among themselves about the mystery of The Zone diet and being clearly embarrased none of them knew anything about it - asked me to bring in one of the books.

It's a good thing they WERE monitoring my vitals because they were clearly getting better and better WITH significant weight loss - EXACTLY WHAT THEY AND THE PROGRAM WERE LOOKING FOR. I was the "star" of the program - clearly doing better than anyone else - and they had no idea how I was doing it !

So I bring one of the Zone books in and while I'm doing the program for the session they are all looking through it.

Afterwards I ask them what they think. Clearly they were a bit bewildered. They admitted later that they were convinced I was going to bring in some radical off the wall acute denial starvation diet that some how mysteriusly had tricked my biochemistry into the picture of health.

What they found instead was a clinically sound "well balanced" nutritionally [ they even used the description "balanced" ! ] excellent program.

They were truly non plussed.


I've put some information together about "meal timing" that might ad to the advice already given :

ZONE MEAL AND SNACK TIMING RULES


As far as meal timing goes here are the two basic rules :

Eat a Zone meal or snack within one hour after waking.
Eat every 4 to 6 hours after a meal or 2 to 2½ hours after a snack, whether you are hungry or not.

The complete information can be found on the Zone website under the EATING TAB then QUICK START tab.

Remember a "Zone Meal and Zone Snack" have a set composition of "blocks" or amounts of food.

The number of "blocks" may end up being adjusted to YOUR special needs but you need to start somewhere to determine that – if necessary.

The Plate Method of “balancing” a Zone Meal or Zone Snack at the “Basic Zone Rules” tab right next to :

Follow these three
SIMPLE
steps and enter the
ZONE


These rules as you can see allow for ENOURMOUS timing flexibility.

You put "snacks" - where you want/need them to serve YOUR purposes.

You can be "off" here and there in time intervals - IT IS NOT THAT CRITICAL - the typical person eats at totally erratic amounts at totally erratic times and often never repeats the same schedule twice in a week.

Do not fret the details. Do not be afraid of "playing" with the intervals and/or amounts of food you are consuming to "get through"

WHAT ?

Yes - if eating at 9am and getting hungry just before "lunch" maybe increase breakfast to a FOUR block meal ?

DO NOT FRET ABOUT THE "EXTRA BLOCK" - let's get the diet basically functioning and work out the adjustments as we go - OK ?


Now as to "fitting in" the two snacks :


Depends on what has happened as I discussed above.
Again - do not fret the details - we are not fitting YOUR LIFE into The Zone - we are going to fit The Zone into your life - big difference.

Say you eventually are going through the day and have had no [Zone] snacks and haven't been hungry. One way or the other have a "snack" before bed - about 1 hour or less - if hungry or not - do not skip this and of all the meals and snacks through the day THIS one is the most important to get "balanced" as well as possible. You can fret about the "balance" of this snack if you like.

I know you are saying well this only means 3 meals and 1 snack - so what ?

Again - IF YOU have gone through the day and obeyed the TWO RULES ABOVE and have not been hungry - YOU'VE DONE IT

We are fitting The Zone Eating Plan to your life - not the other way around.


So - you have ended up with "a snack extra" - a few "blocks" "to spend" if you will - in other words if this pattern were to emerge you could do a number of things with the extra "snack" [ 1 block extra of each nutrient fats, protein and carbs ]

1. Nothing
2 .Have a snack after DINNER 'just for grins" and another one just before bed - hungry or not.
3. Have a FOUR BLOCK Meal during the day.


AS long as you can follow those basic simple rules and not be hungry - IT'S ALL OK.



SUGGESTION:

Start using the "plate method" right away - it's simple and IT WORKS.

The important thing is to START. You will learn as you go but you cannot "learn" if you're not "going".

You must first AIM for The Zone to have any chances of "hitting" it.

We can work on your “timing” and exact Meal or Snack content once underway.
Once you have picked up the rifle and are shooting - we can work on your aim.

DO NOT be concerned with missing the target a few times.


Being "in the Zone" remember is hitting a RANGE - it is not necessary to hit "dead center" to get the basic benefits.

Being NEAR the Zone is far, far, better than being "out in left field" – where the majority of Americans are from one end of the day to the other. You may be surprised to learn that the current "American nutritional lifestyle” has not been around for very long at all – about two generations at most ! It has/is being caused by two basic factors : the incredible growth of the food industry, in particular the restaurant industry – and – modern chemistry.

Americans have in the last 20 years or so started to experience the disasterous health effects of following this diet. This is no joke or exaggeration. Have you noticed all the constant ads for diabetic supplies and special diabetic treatment centers on TV lately ?

They weren’t there 5 years ago. The Diabetes Epidemic is only one example of the result of eating a daily diet that is normally completely unbalanced and loaded with “processed carbohydrates”. If you think – as the ads are deliberately designed to give you the impression – that diabetes is a disease you can just “get on with your life” by regularly ordering your diabetes supplies – and have little or nothing to be concerned with you are “whistling past the graveyard” whether you know it or not.

Diabetes causes an array of health problems for the person afflicted. A diabetic’s chances of developing HEART DISEASE ALONE - IS INCREASED BY 400% !



E.Wally

ewally@verizon.net

E. Wally,

I just happened to come across your post; missed it before. Anyway, again, I am really impressed on your take here!

CranberryCat,

Thank you - I do try and sometimes it "all comes out" better than others.

It's nice to know from feedback that it sounds all "well and good" to others.

e.Wally

ewally@verizon.net