Hi All

I know this is written by an American Doctor, but some of these meal plans are hard to follow. its all in Ozs and hate to tell you this but rest of the world has been using the Metric system you guys are about the only ones who still using an outdated measuring system.

Also half the foods we don't have and we certainly don't eat things like Tortillas for breakfast yuck, isnt there a more simplified way to convert your existing foods for this diet ?

for example a normal days meals for me on current diet would be

Breakfast

1. bowel of Wheat bix ( which is a cereal made of wheat) about 4 bricks with skim milk.

2. 1 slice of toast

3. 1 skim coffee.



Morning Tea

1. Banana

1. Whey Protein shake




Lunch

1 Salad with tomatoes, cucumber lettuce and oinion

2. small tin of Sardines




Afternoon Snack

1. Apple

2. 1 Whey Protein Shake




Dinner


1. medium plate of Rice tofu and green Vegtables

1. Cup of Tea


during the day i consume about 2-3 litres of water,




This zone stuff looks a bit to confusing even though I am trying the meals today but you need to make it more generic for other countries to follow.


Matt

Hi Matt

This is Margaret from Australia. I used to get confused but sit here with a calculator to do conversions when I am asking questions about lbs and ozs! Or Google "metric conversion". It is sort of second nature now. I must laugh as there have been times when I have read posts and for the life of me cant work out what the thing is that is being discussed!

I agree with you. Recipe books usually have grams and ounces.

I love Weetbix. You would need to add whey powder to it or have some protein with it for a Zone breakfast. You would need to loose the toast. Plus add some fats like nuts.

Margaret

Hi Margaret

Yes google becomes your friend but its just that some of the stuff you see on the meal plans isn't things we eat out here at all like Tortillas yuck.

and Whet Bix is great but how many do you have ? thats what you need to know if you look at other diets like say weight watches its all points based so you know how much each is worth and what you can have total per day.


This is NOT clear in this respect and it needs to be so I can substitute things out so if I want to have wheat Bix I can and as you say have a protein shake with it.


This needs to be clear.



Matt

Hi Matt

Just look on the side of the pack - see what the carbs say - take off the fibre grams and then you would divide the figure by 9. Example - carbs 45 grams - minus 18 grams fibre = 27 grams. Then divide by 9 (this is the calculation for carbs - protein divide by 7, fat divide by 3). The total carbs for this example is 3 - this means there are 3 blocks of carbs in the Wheatbix. To make a completely balanced Zone meal you would have to add 3 blocks of protein (eg protein powder) and 3 blocks of fats. The milk that you have with the Wheatbix would be equal to 1 protein and 1 carb block and possibly 1 fat (1 cup of milk). So you would have to factor that in as well.

Sorry if this sounds complicated. Its not when you get the hang of it. Hopefully Sue or one of the other ladies can help with other information.

Margaret

Ditch the Bix! LOL!

Those wheat bix sound a lot like our shredded wheat biscuits. A very unfavorable carb. One of the zone guidelines is to have no more than 25% of the total carb from your meal coming from unfavorable carb. So, for a 4 block meal, you would only use the equivalent of 9 grams of carb from the wheat bix, and then find some more favorable carbs to go with it. You could top it with a block's worth of blueberries, and a block's worth of milk. I don't know what is a common breakfast meat, but you could have some of that with your meal, too. And, don't forget to add the fat.

BTW, I don't know what is in your whey protein shake, but you will just want to make sure you are not overdoing the carbs. It is likely that you are.

They WHEY protein doesn't have CARBS its a professional body building shake costs about $120 per 2kg.

Its the brand made my Optimum nutrition.

Yes but what is confusing with this it as i SAID it doesn't explain the quantities of things to have where is this information ?

As Margaret said, if the food is listed on the food list, you would have to use a conversion calculator. If you are reading a food label, then you look at the nutrition label.

For each zone block, there are:
9g Carb
7g Protein
3g Fat

If you want a 3 block meal, then multiply these numbers by 3.
If you want a 4 block meal, then multiply these numbers by 4. If you are dealing with an item high in fiber, subtract the fiber grams from the total carb, and that is your net carb.

Thanks for the info on the whey protein shake.

Do you know what your block requirement is? If not, then start by entering your stats on the bodyfat calculator, and then you will know how many blocks you get for the day.

Then, we can deal with how many blocks you have to work with for meals and snacks. Most snacks are 1-2 block sizes, depending in each individual.

One banana is 3 blocks of carb. If you need a good nutrition daatabase, use www.nutritiondata.com. You can find foods in sizes per gram or per the "old fashioned" way. On this website, it lists a medium banana (118g) as having 27 g of carb. 27 grams of carb is equal to 3 blocks of carb. Bananas are not a favorable carb in the Zone, the GL is too high. So, it is best to use smaller portions of it.

I hope that this gives you a good start.

Hi Cranberry Cat

My Trainer has me on 33131 so basically 3 blocks. I am finding it just not that practical of a nutrition plan as to me I certainly think there is not enough fruit and Vegetables and it doesn't appear balanced.


I am pretty much hungry all the time and when your training at the gym you need to ensure your body has sufficient fuel in order to build muscle and this to me just doesn't appear to be enough food.


I think the reason he has me on this is to drop body fat percentage and also loose another 4 kg. but in the past 6 months I have lost 13kg already with out any special diet except cutting out all junk food and Alcohol and eating small meals all during the day.


I suppose I feel its difficult to follow this and there is way easier diet plans on the market say like weight watches where you have say xx amount of points per day and you look up the book what each one is worth and write it down much more simple and seems to be a better balance of food.


Matt

I think something just doesn't add up right for you.

Did your trainer advise you on # blocks, or did you use the bodyfat calculator to figure it out? As a male, it is more likely that you would require somewhere around 14 blocks, maybe more or less depending on your activity level. I would advise that you check out your protein requirement by plugging in some stats into the bodyfat calculator. You won't lose body fat by eating less than what your body requires. You WILL risk losing lean body mass if you don't give yourself enough protein.

Not sure what kind of meal plan you are following, but if you eat the right number of blocks, you SHOULD be getting tons of veggies and fruits. Veggies are the cornerstone of carbs in the Zone. And, each meal/snack is balanced with an appropriate amount of protein, carb and fat.

If you don't want to follow the meal plan or food list, you can use the plate method with foods that you are familiar with. No measuring, just choose a protein the size/thickness of the palm of your hand, and then surround it with 2/3 plateful of veggies and fruit, add a dash of fat. That is all there is to it! No measuring, no worrying about converting from American measure to grams.

What do you think?

Hmmm it sounds ok but this whole diet seems far to time consuming if you ask me with to much to work out. Most dietiitions will recomend 5 serves of vegies 3 serves of fruit per day and balance that with Fish and Meat and Chicken and thats really all you need to do.

I lost 13KG so far on my own nutirtion and this seems like a step in the wrong direction that I am taking now how can having a table spoon of penut butter be good for you which is mentioned on some of these meal plans ?

I also have crohns diesese so this is so far away from what my body needs its not funny I need my wheetbix and brans and fibres and my breads as I already don't get the same nutrition and average person does and this diet does not include enough of these items one slice of bread per meal isnt enough.

so I am ditching it.

Matt, Good luck to you! Your needs for grain based carbs may indicate a different eating style...I don't know, but wish you well!

Matthew,

If you need more fiber, don't fool yourself into thinking that you are not getting it from fruits and veggies. There is plenty of fiber in the zone diet.

But, I think your mind is made up, and I think you can make your own decision based on what has been posted and what your own inclinations are.

good luck!

This diet does not have enough in the quantity while Nuts might be good you need to eat three pieces of fruit a day and I need to be eating things like Bananas which there is bugger all of in this diet.

When I was diagnosed with Crohns I went to a dietitian who told me what I should be eating and what I shouldn't.

In not rubbishing Dr Sears to much but his work is unfounded in terms of sporting performance in Articles I have read from the Australian Institute Sport which coach all our professional athletes and they have wrriten an article that says that this is nothign solid that this will improve over all preformance on the field and that his means of testing his athletes was inconclusive as they couldn't prove the athletes improved as a result of the diet.


http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutri..._zone_diet



The best way to loose weight which I have already lost 13 kg is not play loads of sports and east things from ALL food groups and ditch anyway take away and reduce or stop your alcohol consumption.


So before you all praise this diet to much you should be reading the cons also.



Matt

Matthew,

Most of us are here because we believe in the principles of the Zone and what it can do for us, or we are here to learn more about it.

I have firsthand proof that the Zone works for me. Nothing else does. I feel at my best, at the top of my game, when I am in the Zone.

No one says you should go against your doctor's advice. I respect that. No one is telling you what to eat and what not to eat here. But, IMO, the Zone is classified as an "anti-inflammation" diet. I was just listening to a Crohn's specialist speak the other day, and he highly recommends an "anti-inflammation diet", obviously modified for the special needs of a patient with Crohn's Disease. While you may not be able to eat all of the foods that are recommended, you could still follow it choosing foods that work better for you.

Yes but my crohns is already under control with exercise and loosing the weight and the medication keeps it at Bay.

I was put onto this diet not from my doctor but my trainer to try and get about another 4kg off my weight to get me down to my goal.

My health has already improved as I said from exercising a lot and cutting out junk food.


The biggest issue with this is its far too time consuming with meal preparation and its a bit to complex.

it needs to be simplified or people just wont do it I found it to much work and an unusual Mix of food groups not conducive to someone with my condition.


This is far to regimented with little room to enjoy yourself and is not a good realistic life style diet.

Same thing can be done with say a weight watches diet with counting points and portion control which is much easier.


Matt

Glad you have things under control. I was thinking, though, that the Zone--as an anti-inflammation diet--actually has the potential to reduce the need for those medications that you are on. Everyone can benefit from less medication, right?

But, seeing as you seem to think you have everything under control, then I wish you well!