Wed. 2.10.10


Got my new windshield today, and we’re supposed to be having a snowstorm.


I liked yesterday’s lemon hummus sandwich so made another one for lunch today, with a different twist, fresh herbs. I added a generous amount of marjoram and thyme leaves. Oh wow, it was sooooo good! I make the lemon hummus by adding a few squeezes of a lemon to “Joseph’s Original Hommus Tahini”. You can find this hummus at Stop &Shop in the North East.

B: Zone peanut butter granola mixed with ¼ cup plain yogurt

Vestibular PT exercises.1

S: 2 slices toasted Zone cinnamon swirl loaf, with a tiny sliver of butter on one, and 1 teaspoon of almond butter on the other

Lunch: Sandwich: 2 slices toasted Zone multigrain bread, 1+ tbsp lemon hummus, large slices of organic tomato, fresh marjoram and thyme, and some avocado slices. I had a handful of blackberries for dessert.

S: Zone peanut butter chip cookie

Vestibular PT exercises

Dinner: Zone multigrain bagel, toasted and thinly spread with a little light cream cheese, and a small bowl of stuffed cabbage stew minus the orzo, and a few blackberries ( a nice comfort food kind of meal)

Yoga

S: Zone brownie slightly warmed in the microwave, my new favorite way to eat them. :-)

Sue, when we are adding veggies and fruits to our superzone foods, how many blocks can we add or what is recommended?

How long after you eat a superzone meal are you eating snacks?

Kimberly, hopefully Sue has an answer for you on that. I was never really able to get a straight answer, myself.

The literature with each shipment states taht you should add 8 servings of veggies, no more than 2 servings of fruit, and no more than 3 of the "condiments", and add one dairy. But, since the sample meal planner does not even follow these recommendations, I am not sure why the recommendations are written that way.

Sue, I noticed that most of your meals are now vegetarian. Can a block of protein be added to say, a bagel for breakfast. I do like my turkey bacon, or intead of bacon, a cup of 2% milk for the extra fat? Also, say, if I were to have only one cookie for a snack, can a string cheese be added? Just curious. Couldn't find anything about this in the literature included.

Hi kimberly,



"Sue, when we are adding veggies and fruits to our superzone foods, how many blocks can we add or what is recommended?

I haven't closely compared the ZoneFast veggie and fruit examples to the block method because they're two different things. The volumes of ZoneFast servings are shown on the Grocery Additions page in the Weight Loss tab here, and also appear in the "Zone Living Easy as 1-2-3" instructions that are packed in with each Zone bakery order. You can add up to 8 servings of veggies daily, 1 serving of legumes daily and 1 or 2 servings of fruit daily. Which ones and how much of each a person chooses to add is up to them. I happen to be sensitive to the carbohydrate I eat. I keep this in mind, as well as my known responses to certain veggies and fruits, when I make my choices. If you look at my meals in this journal, you'll notice that my veggie and fruit choices add very little glycemic load to my meals. I choose my additions carefully, keeping my glucose sensitivity foremost in my mind. Since the Zone bakery foods are each balanced without additions, you're not absolutely required to add things to them, but eating some veggies and fruit will add more polyphenols to your diet than the polyphenol supplements alone, and will also keep your meals fun and more appealing.





"How long after you eat a superzone meal are you eating snacks?"

I eat snacks anywhere from 1 to about or 4 or 5 hours after my ZoneFast meals, depending on various factors. I don't time them.


I'll be happy to try to help if you have more questions. :-)

So, is that a "suggestion" or a "recommendation", to eat 8 servings of veggies along with zonefast meals?

The literature leads one to believe that it is a recommendation to eat the additional veggies.

Also, Kimberly, if you don't eat additional veggies, you may find that you don't have enough fiber in your day. Just something to think about.

I was wondering the same thing. I read that we can add a block of protein and I sometimes do. I was thinking that by adding a block of protein and or a block of fat, the superfoods might keep me fuller longer.

The reason I was hoping for an answer to my question regarding protein is because this a.m. I had a zone bagel with some homemade guacamole left over from last night spread on it, and a cup of 2% milk and it has definitely held me for at least 4 hours. Was wondering if it was the additional fat, and if I went over what I should have, since it apparently worked very well for me.

I would await what Sue thinks on that, but I bet it was the additional fat that worked it out so well.

Hi Mari,




"Sue, I noticed that most of your meals are now vegetarian."

Good observation. Yes they are. I don't add much protein to my ZoneFast meals because with added protein comes unnecessary calories, AA, and omega 6. Limiting these will enable me to further lower inflammation. Inflammation lowering is of great importance to me because I am a cancer survivor and I also have a strong family history of Alzheimer's Disease (my dad, his mom, and all of his siblings). Cancer and Alzheimer's are both inflammatory conditions. The best way to prevent Alzheimer's is caloric restriction. That's the goal of using these Zone foods.




"Can a block of protein be added to say, a bagel for breakfast."

Up to 1 oz of lean meat or 2 egg whites (no yolks) can be added to a ZoneFast meal (refer to the protein section of the "Zone Living Easy as 1-2-3" pamphlet and the Grocery Additions page of this site).




"I do like my turkey bacon, or intead of bacon, a cup of 2% milk for the extra fat?"

I would consider bacon to be the meat added to a meal, and milk to be the one optional dairy serving for the day, if you keep the milk to about 6 oz. as the example shows.




"Also, say, if I were to have only one cookie for a snack, can a string cheese be added? Just curious. Couldn't find anything about this in the literature included."


String cheese would be the one optional dairy serving for the day, if you keep it no more than 1 oz. (refer to the Dairy section of the literature and website page I mentioned).

SUE...GLAD YOU GOT THE NEW WINDSHIELD BEFORE THAT STORM DUMPED A FOOT OF SNOW ON YOUR DASHBOARD....BUT I AM EVEN HAPPIER NOTHING HAPPENED TO YOU....I'VE BEEN SO BUSY BROWSING THE RECIPES ETC AND GETTING READY FOR SOPME SERIOUS PLANNING THAT I MISSED THAT FLYING BRICK....AND TO THINK I ONLY THOUGHT DUTCHMEN FLEW!! LOL

Thanks Mel. They installed it during the storm (with the car in my garage). :-) Though it snowed almost all day, we didn't get that much up here, only about 3 inches at my house (I live a little bit east of Hartford).

Keep browsing those recipes. I've used the ZoneFast recipes on this site as a starting point for ideas on lots of delicious meals. Oh, and try the one for orzo with squash, just as it is. Real comfort food, and it's absolutely delicious! Hmm...I think I'll make it for dinner tonight! Thanks for giving me the idea!

Thanks for referencing the Grocery Additions Tab. That helped make things clearer.

For the foods you add, it gives you a daily amount. Do you need to worry about what you are adding to each meal and how that affects the block ratio.

Also, up until now I have been eating regular food on a block schedule as B:3 L:3, S:1: D3, S:1.

It seems like the meal plan they lay out with the pack of food, is B:2, L:2, S:2, D:5. Is this about right? I am just trying to make it balance if I mix this with regular food. Is there a downside or benefit to eating a dinner that seems so much bigger.

You're welcome Debi. :-)


" Do you need to worry about what you are adding to each meal and how that affects the block ratio."

I wouldn't try to think in blocks with the ZoneFast plan.




"It seems like the meal plan they lay out with the pack of food, is B:2, L:2, S:2, D:5. Is this about right?"

It would depend on how much additional protein and carbohydrate you eat with each meal. The dinner selections (pastas and pizza crusts) contain more like 4 blocks than 5.



"I am just trying to make it balance if I mix this with regular food. Is there a downside or benefit to eating a dinner that seems so much bigger."

I don't have any experience with combining both plans or with eating a full package of the pastas or pizza crusts at one meal. I've been doing the ZoneFast plan exclusively, except when I eat out. Also I eat closer to the men's plan than the women's because I have a higher daily protein requirement than the average women (I have a higher than average LBM). My answer to your question would be my best guess (I'd say that it's ok to eat the ZoneFast dinner as instructed for the plan). You could always give them a call at the phone number above, and ask to speak to someone who could help you.

Have fun trying the new foods!

Debi, I was advised, due to my intolerances of the food products, that if I wanted to continue eating the foods, that I would incorporate one item into a meal, and work up to 2 items for 2 meals, but to eat the balance of my meals as traditional zone meals. In order to get my protein requirements, just adjust the meals to the appropriate number of blocks, treating the zone food as a 2 block meal.

This came from Dave Shreck, who received this information via Barry Sears.

In the Grocery Additions under Dairy it lists 2% milk. Is there a reason you can't use skim milk.

"In the Grocery Additions under Dairy it lists 2% milk. Is there a reason you can't use skim milk."

Yes, if you choose skim milk, you won't have enough fat for Zone balance. Same goes for 1% milk; it doesn't contain quite enough fat. You can use skim, but you'll need to add fat to make up for the missing fat. Easiest is to use 2%.

Fat in milk is not the best type of fat.
So She can use skim or 1% and add good fat, like some almonds.
Surprised at you answer for this?

"Surprised at you answer for this? "

I'm just full of surprises! :-)

Milk is limited to 1 6 oz serving a day for this plan (and it's optional). It's not a biggie for those who choose to drink 6 oz. of 2% milk a day.

Hey Everyone! Happy Friday to you! It's a beautiful day here in CT, a little chilly, in the low 20's now, but nice and sunny! I had one of my favorite meals for dinner last night, the ZoneFast recipe for "Orzo with squash". I'm eating the leftover portion for a snack this morning.

Here's my journal entry from yesterday.


B: Zone multigrain bagel, toasted with a little light cream cheese and some smoked wild salmon

Vestibular PT exercises

Shoveled snow

Yoga Class (very good class today, practiced more advanced moves)

S: ½ package of Zone peanut butter granola

Lunch: Sandwich: 2 slices of toasted Zone multigrain, bread TJ’s Rosemary Ham, thick slices of organic tomato, lettuce and Dijon Spread(spread recipe is in my ZoneFast recipe thread) ; small handful of blackberries for dessert.

S: Zone pretzel warmed in the microwave with Dijon Spread for dipping

Strength training

Vestibular PT exercises

Dinner: ½ recipe of Orzo with squash (a ZoneFast recipe)

S: 2 Zone Health Bar Toffee Cookies

I AM GOING TO DO THE WARMING UP THE BROWNIE TRICK AS YOU SUGGESTED. I NUKED THE CINNAMON BUN. WOW...CAN IT REALLY BE THIS SIMPLE? LOL I HAVEN'T TOLD MY FRIENDS YET WHAT I AM DOING. HOPING TO SURPRISE THEM WHEN THE WINTER CLOTHES COME OFF!!!!

TAKING NOTES OF YOUR MENU....LOVED THE DINNER LAST NIGHT. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND SUZIE Q.

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Sue K on 02/12/2010 9:25 AM

"Surprised at you answer for this? "

I'm just full of surprises! :-)

Milk is limited to 1 6 oz serving a day for this plan (and it's optional). It's not a biggie for those who choose to drink 6 oz. of 2% milk a day.</div>

I guess I am surprised at your answer, too! For someone whose interest is eliminating as much of the bad fat as possible, I would also agree with John that the optimal way would be to drink skim milk and add a better fat, like almonds.

But, I am also wondering why it would even make a difference, if we should not be concerned with balance while following the ZoneFast plan? Isn't that what you have said before? Now, in the world of Zone blocks and balancing, YES it makes a difference (just saying that for anyone who thinks I have lost my head on this). But, in the ZoneFast plan, no one should have to worry about blocking and balancing, right? So why be concerned over a small amount of fat that is missing from the skim milk? And, if it is important enough to be replaced, isn't it important enough to be replaced with a better fat?

Hi Zoners!

For the sake of clarification...

"I guess I am surprised at your answer, too! For someone whose interest is eliminating as much of the bad fat as possible, I would also agree with John that the optimal way would be to drink skim milk and add a better fat, like almonds."



The person asked abouth the 2% milk example in the plan, not about what I eat.

As I've posted here many times before, I don't even drink milk. That has not changed (you can refer to my ZoneFast journaling here to see what I eat).



"But, I am also wondering why it would even make a difference, if we should not be concerned with balance while following the ZoneFast plan? Isn't that what you have said before? Now, in the world of Zone blocks and balancing, YES it makes a difference (just saying that for anyone who thinks I have lost my head on this). But, in the ZoneFast plan, no one should have to worry about blocking and balancing, right? So why be concerned over a small amount of fat that is missing from the skim milk? And, if it is important enough to be replaced, isn't it important enough to be replaced with a better fat?"


The ZoneFast plan and the Zone Food Blocks method are two different ways of eating the Zone Diet, which both accomplish the same goals, except people will be even more successful with caloric restriction and inflammation lowering when using the ZoneFast plan. The balance is all done for you by the ZoneFast plan. The balance is still important, but there's no need to think about it as long as you follow the plan. If you make changes to the plan, you're no longer following it as it was designed and you will need to pay attention to maintaining the appropriate Zone balance.

For some one who might not understand the new ZoneFast plan, and to me - this just does not make sense, it does not sound logical, and it does not seem to follow! Not trying to stir up the pot, I just do NOT see how the two are unrelated and yet both follow Zone way of living. It just does not add up for me!
.
"The balance is all done for you by the ZoneFast plan. The balance is still important, but there's; no need to think about it as long as you follow the plan. If you make changes to the plan, you're no longer following it as it was designed and you will need to pay attention to maintaining the appropriate Zone balance."
.
So please explain how adding 6 oz of 2% milk is NOT making changes and how adding 6 oz of no-fat or 1% milk and almonds IS making changes to the ZoneFast plan?
.
It does not compute for me. Am I being dense? The only one who does NOT see how these statements are confusing?
.
AND if adding 6 oz of 2% milk in Zone fast is not consequential, which I can see and agree to; but what I can NOT see is why 6 oz of no-fat or 1% and equivalent amount of almonds - why that IS consequential, and considered making changes to Zone Fast plan; while adding same amount with 2% is NOT making changes.
.
What I can NOT also understand is WHY 1% or no-Fat milk and equivalent good fat like almonds is NOT better in any way than 2% milk! Maybe only slightly better - if it is accepted that 6oz of 2% milk is inconsequential in ZoneFast plan, but still better, none-the-less?
.
YET, if I understand you correctly, than you are saying in ZoneFast plan that 1% or no-fat is no better than 2% milk at all...
???
p.s.> Honestly, if I could afford the ZF plan, I myself would probably just go with the 2% (nearly raw, organic) milk I am drinking now . . .

"I just do NOT see how the two are unrelated and yet both follow Zone way of living."


I'm not aware anyone said they are unrelated.

Simply stated the 1-2-3 balance needed to stay in the Zone is inherent in the design of the ZoneFast Plan when followed as directed. If you do not follow it as directed you will need to pay attention to balance.