Recently I've started doing a daily workout...It's pretty intense, and I intend to make this type of workout a standard for myself.

I realized that I may not be getting enough blocks compared to my previous level of activity, so I did the block calculator and it says I should be getting 14 blocks per day...I'm currently at 11 blocks.

Is there a good way to transition to the increased blocks? I thought about instead of eating 1 block snacks I would try having 2 block snacks?

I guess I'm just curious if anyone has advice on how to do this if they've done it before, or anything.

Thanks In Advance!

You can split it up however you want. If you wanted to do seven 2-block meals throughout the day, that would work, too. Depends on you and your routine. However, a female should not get more than 4 blocks at any one meal. (Max 5 blocks for a male.)

Congratulations on committing to an exercise routine. It's an often-overlooked third of the Zone triangle (as detailed in 'Mastering the Zone' - meditation and, of course, diet, being the other two.)

I'll throw my two cents in, since you asked.

Make sure your first meal has 3-4 blocks. Don't make the first meal of the day a snack. I base this on Dr. Sears's Level 3:Gold rule #3, "Always have a Zone breakfast within one hour of rising."

By the way, the other Gold rules would fit nicely here, also.

Rule #4, "Always have a small Zone snack before you go to bed."

Rule #5, "Always have a small Zone snack thirty minutes before you exercise."

Should those snacks be one or two points? Let hunger be your guide.

Ivan,

Thanks for the Rules - I actually do not have the Mastering the Zone book.

I do really well with having a small snack before bedtime, however, I'm a little perplexed on how to work my schedule exactly.

I work 2nd Shift which forces me to workout in the mornings before I leave for work - I'm curious how I should schedule my meals.

I'm worried if I eat a full 3-4 block meal before working out that I'll be too full? I wonder if I ate immediately upon waking, and then waited an hour if that would be enough.

Typically I eat my breakfast within the first hour of waking, but usually not immediately. Lately with my workouts, I've been waiting to eat until afterwards, but that puts me outside of the hour :-/

QUOTE: I'm worried if I eat a full 3-4 block meal before working out that I'll be too full? I wonder if I ate immediately upon waking, and then waited an hour if that would be enough.
.
Typically I eat my breakfast within the first hour of waking, but usually not immediately. Lately with my workouts, I've been waiting to eat until afterwards, but that puts me outside of the hour :-/ END Quote
.
Yes, that would work. Dr. Sears also advocates eating your breakfast within an hour of getting up.

Jennifer,

Barry Sears has explained breakfast doesn't have to be within the hour after waking, and how that was meant to prevent people from forgetting to eat breakfast. Also, when you exercise shortly after waking up, you should eat at least a 1 block before exercise to prevent going out of the Zone.

Jennifer, not sure you are still following this thread, but I wanted to add that the "eat within an hour of waking" is a guideline. Doesn't mean that you are "late" if you go over by a few minutes; this will vary from one to another. A friend of mine had posted this a few years ago, she had gotten this clarified because she would awaken at a certain time, but she would not actually "get up" until an hour had passed. In addition, she had specific medications that she had to take on an empty stomach, an hour before eating. Since her activity level was nil for that first hour, Sears had told her that this was fine, she didn't have to eat "within" the hour.

For you, because you are working out within that hour, my impression is that you would probably need to eat SOMETHING within the first hour of waking--but it doesn't have to be an entire meal. A snack will do just fine, and it could be as simple as an 8oz glass of milk, or some other small snack that doesn't take a lot of volume. But, because of your workout, I think it would be important to eat something within an hour of waking (and don't worry if you go over that and you eat 5 min late, that isn't the point).

After your WO, it would be good to get the rest of your breakfast in!

Hope that helps!

Thanks for all of the tips everyone - Great information!

I have been trying to get in a one block snack, and then basically eating the rest of my breakfast shortly after my workout...So far I'm feeling fantastic!

Excellent Jennifer. Keep up the good work!