When I engaged The Zone two years ago, I never actually absorbed all that Dr.Sears had to say in his books (I only have so much free time as a Journalism major).I simply went off of the basic fundamentals (F/P/C ratio, what's favorable and what isn't, and so on and so forth)that I had learned as a young teenager when my parents took a stab (unsuccessfully, I might add, lol) at the zone. I dropped 70 pounds in just under a year, haven't had so much as a cold since I started, and my chronic allergies have completely disappeared.

I've enjoyed everything The Zone has to offer so much, in fact, that I decided to double major in Nutrition as well. So, during one of my health classes this past week, we calculated our BF, LBM, etc, and i discovered (and this is rather embarrassing lol) that I've been eating 5 less blocks (perhaps even more once I get back into sports training) per day than I should be! I double-checked with the Zone calculator, just to be sure.

I remembered reading something along the lines of 11 blocks for women and 14 for men, not realizing that this was merely the minimum and not set in stone.

So, that leads me to my question- What is the best way to go about implementing those extra 5 blocks into my daily routine? My typical meal routine is as follows:

Breakfast- 8:00 : 4 blocks
Lunch - 12:30 or 1:00 : 4 blocks
Snack- 4:00 or 4:30 : 1 block
Dinner- 7:00 or 7:300 : 4 blocks
Snack- 10:30 or 11:00 : 1 block

I currently have Entering the Zone, Mastering the Zone, Omega RX Zone, Anti-Aging Zone, and Top 100 Zone Foods at my disposal, with Toxic Fat, Anti-Inflammation, and Soy Zone on the way. I'm sure Dr.Sears addresses my inquiries in one, if not several books.

It goes without saying that I'll be devouring all that these books have to say (schedule permitting), but in the mean time, any suggestions? I'm not sure whether to simply add 1 block to each of the five eating times, or whether to add an extra 4 block meal, consequently altering my entire routine.

I'm really excited to see what new heights I'll climb to after eating the correct amount of food =)

Thanks in advance for your insight and advice!

Woah, good thing you did the calculations for that class! You can add them anywhere, but don't eat more than 5 or 6 block meals. If was in your shoes, I'd add a couple more 2 block snacks and a glass of milk at one meal (or go up on one of the meals by a block). You can do it the way you suggested, too. You could even eat 2 block snack meals 9 or 10 times a day. Most important is to eat you full block requirement daily and to spread it throughout the entire day, so just get creative, experiment a bit if you like, and see what works best for you.

You're doing great! Good job Ryan!