Hi Sue,

well, there is no problem to add the wrist/waist. Wrist 7.62, waist39.9 inch. For sure, I`ll post the progress of my experiment.

I`ve just finished The Antiinflamation and I`ve ordered from Amazon the last of Dr. Sears` books The Toxic fat. Are there any new discoveries?

Sue,

First I want to apologize. I was watching hockey when replying last night and I didn't do a very good job.

My LBM is 102 currently. The calculator tells me I need 92 grms protein for the very active status or 13 blocks. When I eat 15 blocks that would give me 105 gms or just slightly over 1g/pd. Now considering I use egg whites a lot 2 egg whites=6gms of protein not exactly the 7 they recommend per block and I'll use 4-6 when making an omelet depending on if I add another protein source or not, I'm now down 2-3 grms of protein. Then if I use a string cheese or cottage cheese, again it works out to 1 grm less of protein per block. So as you can see, by the end of my day, my protein level is not over. If I lose 2 grms per meal and 1 gram per snack, that alone has me at 8 less or 97 grms. Now I'm only over by 5 gms, but it is possible for me to be down 3 grms at 2 of the meals so I would only be over by 3. I use a nutrition sottware to log my meals and it is a rare day that I hit 100 gms of protein.

Rejec,

You can see that Sue and I are discussing the fact that I may be eating too many blocks, where I feel you are eating too little. I was not having success when I first entered all of my info, partly I believe because I under estimated my activity level. I tried to go back and check your activitly level that you chose in the calculator, but I missed it. I put in the info I could remember and yes, 18 is the minimum I believe you should have. You see I needed to raise my level of blocks from 11 to 13-15, with 15 working the best for me. At 11 I probably could have dropped pounds, but I was not in the zone, not feeling well and very tired. When I upped my blocks I did much better. The weight loss is slower, but I'm gaining LBM which is more important to me.

Hi sue,

What it still boils down to is that you're eating too much. The reason the calculator focuses on physical exercise and strength training activities rather than every day life activities is that every day live activity will not significantly increase your protien needs except in extreme cases (say you worked on a loading dock for 5 hours a day). If you notice, taking a walk daily (no comparison to you intended) only gives a person the Light activity level. From the info you've given, I don't see that it supports the Very Active level for you. Your level would be Active at best. Over estimating activity level is a common occurrance among Zoners.

Sue - you suggest that my activity should be active at best. Ok, here is a run down of what my week looks like:

3 days a week i hit the gym. I lift for 1 hour and I do cardio for 45-60 min, I stretch for 15 min at the end of each of these workout

3 days a week opposite the above - I do cardio for 45-60 min and follow with a stretch.

2 days a week I also do yoga for 60 min. It is a rather intense class so I am sweating.

7 days a week I take my German Shepherd for a walk (we do not stop and sniff, this is a power walk) for 30-45 min.

Therefore, on most days I am working out 2 or 3 times. one day it is just 1x with the dog as it is a rest day.

On top of that, I work and I do all the household chores. I mentioned that my husband has ALS, that means I do all the snow shoveling, I do all the lawn mowing and yard work. I wash the cars. I also have to help him get around. Many times that includes lifting him. He is 6'2, 150lbs and towers over me. Lifting him is not particularly easy.

As I posted yesterday, i ran, walked and yoga so I'm not quite sure why you are saying I'm active at best.

sue (little sue):

It seems quite clear to me that you are quite active and most certainly need additional fuel. Quite frankly, even if the "chart" said your activity level was lower, the mere fact that you experimented and found out that you were doing better with more blocks should really be the end of the discussion. Charts in the Zone or elsewhere should be seen as a guideline, not a hard and fast rule that can never be violated. Some people want to believe that exercise and nutrition is as simple as typing in data into a calculator that spits out an answer. It isn't. You have wisely realized that and adjusted according to YOUR needs.

hi sue i am new to this zone i am a long time atkins fan but i feel like i am not losing on this diet, i do a total of 11 blocks, i work bad hours 1:30 am until 10 am i work out 1-2 5 days a week i feel like i am gaining i try to use the book for my meals except dinner i dont have time to make a complex meal. how long did it take you to start to notice. do you have any ideas about quick and i do mean quick dinners

Matt - thank you for your support, you are right - guidelines.

Vonda - I don't know your stats, so I can't comment on the number of blocks you should be eating. I upped mine because I was very tired and all the other suggestions didn't work to change that. It sounds to me like you would fit into the Active catagory at least. What do you do when you work out, weights? cardio? a mix? Since you work the night shift, what do you do?

As for quick dinner meals, what you need as you have figured out is a protein, carb and fat. A chicken breast at the size you need for your blocks is quick, you can micro in less than 5 min, or use a George forman also about 5 min, or Saute in a tsp of olive oil, about 10 min. Add to that a salad (if you make up a big bowl early in the week and don't dress it, it will last a couple of days in the fridge) Brocolli steams quick or nukes nicely, add some fresh fruit and there you go, dinner in 10 min.

There are some recipes here on the site, but I haven't used them. Also if you can get your hands on a copy of a a week in the zone there are good recipes there too.

Hi sue,

The Active level would be appropriate for you. If caring for your husband significantly increases it, then 13 may be appropriate, but not more protien than that. I'm not informed as to the difficulty you have had when you eat less than 15 blocks daily (or 14, as you mentioned that you skip somewhat on P sometimes), but most likely it can be resolved in more Zone friendly ways than eating numerous blocks beyond your actual need. There are various ways to address satiety. Energy need beyond that provided by you appropriate protein requirement is easily met by adding more monounsaturated fat to your diet.

Incidentally, my activity is similar to yours, except a bit more (I posted it here just the other day in reply to a question about it), and I eat 13 blocks daily (Active level). Some additional info about me, the Zone calculator gives me around 114 LBM, increased from the 104-105 I used to have; my height is 5'7.5", and I'm about the same age as you if I remember correctly (unless that was a different sue!). Dr. Sears has confirmed that my block amount is appropriate for me. He's been helping me out with my Zone diet and fish oil supplementation from 2001 to now.

Good luck to you!

Sue - Would you please give me an example of an very active day if what you say I do is just Active?

I don't skip protein, I'm just pointing out that according to the Zone guidelines, 2 egg whites equal 1 protein block, but if you read the egg carton and various nutrition calculators, you end up with 6 gms of protein for those 2 egg whites, but The Zone books specifically say that 1 block of protein is equal to 7 gram. I follow the block guide in the book or here on the site and if you actually add up the true amount of protein grams the two do not equal.

As to the difficulties I had eating less than 15 blocks, that was the subject of a large part of a thread here. I posted about being overly tired. I was told it was from the initial release, I was concerned about the fish oil. Does any of that ring a bell. I was told I had too many dense carbs. I changed that. that just made me hungrier. I tried dropping a carb and adding additional fat. I tried adding a carb. I'd feel a bit better but not like I should. I quit posting for a while because I was getting no where with the advise here. It was then I decided to up my blocks. I did it little by little, 1 block at a time. Each block seemed like I was making progress. When I hit 15 I knew it was right. I started seeing changes in my LBM, I felt great, I was sleeping better, I had more energy everything was falling in place. That's when I knew I had hit my magic number.

As for me, I'm 47 and I had a complete hyster Nov of 07, so i'm post menopausal. My dear husband is 46, he'll be 47 in Oct, Lord willing. I'm not quite sure you understand the work I have cut out for me with his disease. If not, I suggest you google ALS. Maybe it will help you understand when I say my day is not ordinary. My day starts at 5:15 and doesn't usually end until 11PM. I know that is not enough sleep, but unless someone can add hours to my day, that won't change anytime soon. I don't stop moving, except for the occasional computer break. In fact it's nearly 9 and I'm doing laundry. I continue my WO's because that is my stress relief and I have to keep up my muscle strength. I cannot afford to be tired or weak.

For all of those following this thread and discussion, this all started because I was trying to show Rejec that sometimes the answer is you need more blocks, not less. How much more is up for debate, but I would add a block before I would drop 8.

Matt, I couldn't agree more. Lets keep this all in perspective. The protein prescription is just numbers that are supposed to predict the protein needs of an individual. NUMBERS! Come on! I don't really see the need to be so rigid about this. What happened to using the Zone as just that--a ZONE?

sue, I think that if you feel you are functioning at your best with the number of blocks you are eating, then I see no need to change it. I recall the struggles that you went through (although I am glad you reminded us, because sometimes it is hard to remember).

Hi sue,

It was a typo, I meant skimp with an "m" (you'd posted some of your P blocks are not quite full blocks).

I repeat, my posts in this thread about you block amounts are meant to demonstrate Zone principles to other readers in a similar situation. I think that has now been accomplished.

Oh, forgot to mention, I know we have talked about this via email, but I just wanted to say on this forum that my heart and my prayers go out to you for what you are going through. It is a difficult disease to deal with, and you AND your husband are fighting it courageously. I really admire the fact that even at this stage, he is still working! He is lucky to have someone like you by his side.

sue, I double ditto what CC just said. You know you and your DH and children are always in my prayers. I also say kudos for sticking with the Zone and making it work for you. I remember when you first started and all the trouble you were having. Personally, after you made so many adjustments and you were still having so many problems, I would have said this is not working ... I need to find something else. Yet, YOU perservered and discovered what you needed, and now you feel better than ever! At the time, I did not realize your DH had ALS. Enough said ... that takes exercise to another level. My dad had had a major stroke ... I remember how difficult it was and how much energy it took from lifting him and tending to all his needs. Hang in there, sue!

Hi all,

I think, now I discovered, why I couldn`t lose weight! As recommended in the Zone books, I drank a lot. Since I have luck of getting fresh whey from an eco farmer, I drink normally more than 1l daily. I like very much it`s taste. Because of The Zone diet, I wanted to know the macro nutrients content of it. I got the analysis of it and it has on average 0.75% of fat, 1.34% of protein and 5.1% of lactosis. I said OK,it is a little to much of CH but 5g I can offset with a table spoon of cottage cheese. And so I was drinking a lot of whey instead of water. Only this morning, I started thinking... wait, it isn`t 5g CH! 1l contains 1000 and not 100g!!!! So, I`m taking every day additionally at least 50g of CH, 13g of protein and 7.5 g of fat!!! All together 365 kcal!!! And especially when it`s warm and when I exercise, I drink even more!!!

So, I was consuming at least 3 blocks more and even stimulating my pancreas to release more insulin with all the consequences. Now, I`m going to incorporate the whey into my regular meals, regulating it with added protein and mono unsaturated fat.

What should I say: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

Glad you got that figured out!
Actually, sounds pretty logical that this could have definitely contributed to your lack of weight loss. Not only extra calories, but just the mere fact that it could have been pushing up your insulin levels.

Its a learning proces Rejec! Yeah, those extra unbalanced carbs will get ya! Keep us updated!

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>[strong]Posted By Margaret on 04/11/2009 9:02 AM

{snip}

Also regarding the exercise. One hour daily is great but anything over that is just wasted. Loosing weight is 90% what you eat and the rest is exercise.[/strong]</div>

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I'm curious as to why *any exercise over an hour is wasted*?

I live 40 miles from a gym and spend 1 hr on the floor and 1 hr in swimming pool 3x weekly. There's no way that I can just spend an hour a day at the gym unless I eliminate some of my exercising.