HI

I'm a newby, and have only just got to grips with Zone recommended eating (ie finally eliminated the unfavourable carbs)The diet was recommended to me about 2.5 years ago, and I found it confusing to begin with, but got the message to eat more fruit and veg and treat starch with caution. I've got better over time, and am happy to report that to date I've lost over 70 pounds (I have about 15 to go) Along with doing Crossfit with my boyfriend, I can safely say my life and body has been transformed!

Here's my question. My current block recommendation is 11, which I work out to be about 1200 calories. My boyfriend, the lean, superfit Crossfit trainer, is 20, about 2000 calories.

The government recommended calorie intake for women is 2000 cals, men 2500. Below this the tendency is to lose weight. That's ok for me as I am still on my weightloss journey, but for my boyfriend who is 11% body fat, surely there is little left he could/should lose. One day (hopefully) I will also be at the stage where further weightloss wouldn't be a good idea. But if we both eat so little, won't we get thinner and thinner, burning muscle as well as fat?

Sorry if this seems like I should have read more, but I'm hoping someone can explain clearly to me what the long term effect may be.

thanks so much

Kate

Hi Kate, conrgats on your success! Reading you post brought back memories of when I lost my 100 pounds. :-)


First, the calorie recommendations you refer to are most likely based on burning carbohydrate to produce ATP (the body's energy). In the Zone you burn fat to produce ATP. One calorie of fat produces more ATP than one calorie of carbohydrate, so in the Zone you are producing more ATP from fewer calories.

Second, you won't burn muscle on the Zone diet because your protein requirement and block requirement is based on the amount of protein you need to support your LBM at your current exercise activity level (your food intake isn’t based on your total weight).

Third, once you reach your ideal body fat percent, on the Zone diet you are supposed to add slightly more monounsaturated fat to your meals to prevent losing more stored fat.

The long term effects of the Zone diet for me have been keeping the weight I lost off and staying lean, strong and healthy. In fact, over my years in the, I’ve gained muscle (I have always exercised). It’s fantastic!

Good luck!

Dear Sue

Thank you so much for your reply - i'ts clearer for me now. It's also obvious I need to study the science more - back to the book for me! My boyfriend and I have decided to bite the bullet and do the zone strictly for a couple of weeks, and observe the effects.

And if I may share a moment of joy with you: yesterday I went into Gap to try on some trousers. I came out with a pair that are a size smaller than I expected! Size 8 (I think that's a US 6) which means since I began the Zone, I've shrunk by 6 dress sizes!

Thanks for your help

Kate

Very good Kate! Congrats! I'm gald I could help. :-) Isn't it amazing how your clothing size changes so much? The smaller sizes were like a foreing language to me at first. I went from a size 22 to a size 6.