Hey guys. I have just started doing Crossfit and i'm interested in adding lean mass while on the Zone diet. I have searched and read a few threads but still have a few questions. Here are my stats:

154lbs
13% bodyfat
135lbs of lbm
Daily protein requirement: 135g
Blocks of protein, carbs, fat: 19

So, with the above in mind what is the best way to achieve the blocks I need? Should I simply select from the food lists and adjust the portions to suit? Can I eat 6 times per day so I don't have to eat huge meals 3 times per day?

I have had great success doing a bodybuilding type diet in the past but it wasn't particularly healthy. I gained 25lbs in 10 weeks eating 4000 calories per day but my bodyfat went up 3% as well. Now I just want to eat well, gain some lbm, lose some fat and just feel good. I have a very fast metabolism and tend to get hungry an hour after I eat. Hopefully the Zone can help me in this area.

Thoughts?

Hi Niall
Welcome to the Zone
Regarding meals, if you have 4 blocks for breakfast, lunch and dinner you got 12 blocks right there, so you're missing 7. 2 blocks mid morning, 2-3 for tea, and 2 before bed. That makes 6-7. What time do you work out? You might want to have the 3 blocks right after the gym to replenish yourself. Juggle the blocks around but you will be looking to be having a bite to eat approximately every 3 hours. A recommendation I always make is to increase your block number 1 or 2 blocks, to account for building muscle and enough calories to cover your calorific requirements. The Zone is a muscle maintenance diet and therefore allows for little to no muscle increase. Keep calculating your block number every week or so to check your progress and see if you are still inside your same block number.
Regarding feeling hungry about an hour after eating, this could be because of excess protein. There are three ways of knowing if you are eating balance or not. If you are hungry shortly after eating you had too much protein, if you are sleepy too many carbs, and if neither of these two you were spot on. Give the Zone a week or two before making any tweaks, we are all different and the same amounts or times don't apply universally. Don't forget to increase your fat intake 2X or 3X for fast energy. Again, you won't see the benefits of this until you are well inside the zone, and the body takes between a week or two for this to happen.
As you might be aware the best CrossFitters tend to be Zoners or Paleo eaters, so you made the right decision.

Good luck and let us know how you get along!

Diego

Thanks Diego.

I train at different times everyday because i'm a personal trainer and I usually just take a break between clients to eat and train. A couple of guys at my gym are crossfitters, one is on paleo and one is on zone. Both swear by their diets. I have only ever followed bodybuilding type diets but I am very interested in nutrition and have read tons on metabolic typing, keto, paleo and now zone. Do you feel that the lack of complex carb sources on this diet is a bad thing? It seems a lot like a keto diet in the sense that you are turning your body into a fat burning machine and relying on fat as your main energy source.

Thanks for the info, I will have a play with it and see how I go.

The Zone is most about health than about bulking up. You will see if you turn to CF full time how, if you are pretty big, you won't bulk up as much as gain strength and endurance. Complex carbs are not healthy. This has something to do with "Silent Inflammation", and might be worth looking up. Paleo is a good diet also, Dr. Sears himself said it, as long as you follow it using the Zone's block balance way of measuring your food. I would just advise following one for a certain amount of time so you can see its benefits or drawbacks, and if you're not happy try the other. Like fitness programs if you jump from one to another too soon you won't gain any benefits.

Diego