Hi Zone pals :wink: I wanted to put together an email followup for friends who ask me to tell them about the Zone. This is what I came up with. I would like your opinion/help on the facts --I want to give them the straight scoop. [color=blue:f47b8ff733]September 3, 2004 Here is my summary of the Zone diet: The basic principles of my diet in a nutshell --pun intended: It is called the Zone Diet. It was created by Dr. Barry Sears, a research scientist who specialized in cancer drug delivery biochemistry and using diet to control insulin levels for heart disease patients. It has been mislabeled and misrepresented every time anyone in the popular media has referred to it. It has been incorrectly labeled as a low carb, a high protein, and a starvation diet. It is actually a balanced diet much like humans ate over 10,000 years ago. It is based on three concepts: 1. Human and animal studies for over 50 years have shown that a healthy but moderately calorie restricted diet significantly lengthens life expectancy by retarding the aging process --starting at any age. For instance, if you are 60 and would have lived to 80, you could expect instead to make it to 90, and be in as good of health at 90 as you would have been at 80. I have known about this anti-aging effect for 30 years, but I did not know how to restrict calories without feeling deprived and hungry all the time. With a modern diet, people get hungry real fast after eating all the simple carb foods. I made slow progress on my own getting rid of many junk foods from my diet, but it took finding the Zone diet for it to all make sense --it give me a "recipe" for success. 2. Controlling blood sugar and therefore insulin levels with diet eliminates the causes of half the degenerative diseases associated with modern life. This is accomplished by eating foods that convert slowly to blood sugar to avoid insulin spikes, but eating often enough to keep the blood sugar up and insulin levels constant. This has been slowly recognized by the medical establishment over the last 50 years. Insulin control is essential in controlling fat accumulation in the belly. Fat in this area is metabolically active and promotes low level inflammation which has been associated with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and a host of other age related ills. 3. Controlling AA/EPA ratio of blood lipid levels with diet eliminates the other half of the degenerative diseases associated with modern life. This is accomplished by taking extra pharmaceutical grade EPA/DHA long chain omega 3 fats, and lowering saturated fats and omega 6 fats. This has only recently been recognized by the medical establishment (although Grandma knew it). EPA is a long chain omega 3 fat found in some fish (actually made by algae down the food chain). AA is a fat derived in the body from vegetable and seed oils. The ratio of these two fats critically influences the functioning of the immune system. Without AA, the immune system is unable to mount an effective response to disease causing invaders. Without the dampening effect of EPA, the immune system is prone to chronic low level inflammation associated with Alzheimers, Cancer, Allergies, etc. How did our diets get so out of whack from what our body needs to "live long and prosper"? The problem today is that the modern food industry has provided a huge variety of foods that taste great, but are sugar coated poison for the human body. The most common food choices available are guaranteed to violate all three of the above points. In fact the foods that are good for you have been practically pushed off the grocery shelves to make room for all the rest. The mechanics of the Zone diet are fairly simple: 1. Using some tables, determine the amount of lean protein your muscle mass and exercise levels require each day. 2. Using a 7/9 ratio of Protein/Carb grams, determine the amount of low "Glycemic Index" carbs to eat each day. 3. Using a 7/3 ratio of Protein/Fat grams, determine the amount of fat (mostly mono-saturated) to eat each day. 4. A 7g/9g/3g unit of food is called a Food Block for convenience. I call 7g of non-fat protein a "Protein Brick", 9g of digestible carbs a "Carb Brick", and 3g of fat a "Fat Brick". One Food Block is made from one each of these three "Bricks" 5. Eat 2 snacks and 3 meals a day. Each meal is made up of 3 or 4 Blocks. Each snack is made up of one Block. Eat a snack or meal within an hour of waking. Eat a snack within one hour before going to bed at night. Eat again within 2-3 hours of having a snack, and 4-5 hours of having a meal. 6. Add more mono-saturated fat to maintain your desired body fat % at the ideal healthy level for your sports profession (15% for normal males, 22% for females). A body fat calculator can be found at: http://www.drsears.com/drsearspages...tcalcu.jsp 7. Drink plenty of liquids. Pure water is the best form. 1/2 gallon gallon per day (64oz or 8 cups) is the baseline. 8. Treat your food with the same respect that you would treat a prescription drug given to you to counteract aging and disease. The above is the exact scientific method. There are sloppy, but easy methods also, like: put a piece of lean meat the size and thickness of your palm on one third of a dinner plate, and fill the rest of the plate with low "Glycemic Load" vegetables and fruits, then put a dash of olive oil on it. The one I like is: Using a list of 100 favorable foods, pick a protein from column A, a carb from column B, and a fat from column C (I taped up a page I made up in the kitchen). A food table can be found at: http://www.drsears.com/drsearspages...guide.jsp. Beware: the Protein and Fat Blocks in this table are not the same as my bricks (Protein Blocks assume half your fats are in your lean meat protein --my Bricks assume non-fat protein). I edited this table for my own use to make more sense for my food preferences (non-fat vegetarian protein sources). The results are dramatic: 1. You won't get hungry. In fact if you are hungry by the time you should eat again, you are doing something wrong, or you need to tailor the carb choices to your specific metabolism. Your meals can be devised to be as large or small as you like (in volume), but you will always be giving your body exactly what it needs for health. 2. You will lose excess fat. 3. You will be mentally alert all the time --unless you forget to sleep at night. 4. You will feel healthy and full of energy. 5. You will slow the aging process in your body by about 33% 6. You will remove the cause of many modern illnesses of old age. How does it work? It is based on basic biochemistry explained in Dr. Sears books and on his website www.drsears.com. This guy has done his homework, and it not only makes sense to me, but it works. I have been doing this for over one year now. I can't even imagine eating the old way again. It also helps that Alison is 100% supporting the diet. Alison and I made a bunch of mistakes for the first month trying to re-learn how to prepare food to a new recipe. I also did not realize how deficient I was in EPA. As it turns out, I am in a small class of folks that need a lot of extra EPA to get the AA/EPA ratio into balance. I have to take about 8 times what most people have to take. It would be impossible for me to get enough from eating fish, or even from health food store grade fish oil. However, once I found the right dose, all my allergies virtually vanished. I am one happy camper! I have done lots of research, and I can provide additional references for fish oil, and other information sources if you would like. Dennis [/color:f47b8ff733]

Hi Dennis, It all looks pretty right to me. You may want to alter the Ideal fat % to Omega RX standards, but no big deal White Light [quote:9cc726dfbe="gofish"]Hi Zone pals :wink: I wanted to put together an email followup for friends who ask me to tell them about the Zone. This is what I came up with. I would like your opinion/help on the facts --I want to give them the straight scoop. [color=blue:9cc726dfbe]September 1, 2004 Here is my summary of the Zone diet: The basic principles of my diet in a nutshell --pun intended: It is called the Zone Diet. It was created by Dr. Barry Sears, a research scientist who specialized in cancer drug delivery biochemistry and using diet to control insulin levels for heart disease patients. It has been mislabeled and misrepresented every time anyone in the popular media has referred to it. It has been incorrectly labeled as a low carb, a high protein, and a starvation diet. It is actually a balanced diet much like humans ate over 10,000 years ago. It is based on three concepts: 1. Human and animal studies for over 50 years have shown that a healthy but moderately calorie restricted diet significantly lengthens life expectancy by retarding the aging process --starting at any age. For instance, if you are 60 and would have lived to 80, you could expect instead to make it to 90, and be in as good of health at 90 as you would have been at 80. I have known about this anti-aging effect for 30 years, but I did not know how to restrict calories without feeling deprived and hungry all the time. With a modern diet, people get hungry real fast after eating all the simple carb foods. I made slow progress on my own getting rid of many junk foods from my diet, but it took finding the Zone diet for it to all make sense --it give me a "recipe" for success. 2. Controlling blood sugar and therefore insulin levels with diet eliminates the causes of half the degenerative diseases associated with modern life. This is accomplished by eating foods that convert slowly to blood sugar to avoid insulin spikes, but eating often enough to keep the blood sugar up and insulin levels constant. This has been slowly recognized by the medical establishment over the last 50 years. Insulin control is essential in controlling fat accumulation in the belly. Fat in this area is metabolically active and promotes low level inflammation which has been associated with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and a host of other age related ills. 3. Controlling AA/EPA ratio of blood lipid levels with diet eliminates the other half of the degenerative diseases associated with modern life. This is accomplished by taking extra pharmaceutical grade EPA/DHA long chain omega 3 fats, and lowering saturated fats and omega 6 fats. This has only recently been recognized by the medical establishment (although Grandma knew it). EPA is a long chain omega 3 fat found in some fish (actually made by algae down the food chain). AA is a fat derived in the body from saturated fat and seed oils. The ratio of these two fats critically influences the functioning of the immune system. Without AA, the immune system is unable to mount an effective response to disease causing invaders. Without the dampening effect of EPA, the immune system is prone to chronic low level inflammation associated with Alzheimers, Cancer, Allergies, etc. How did our diets get so out of whack from what our body needs to "live long and prosper"? The problem today is that the modern food industry has provided a huge variety of foods that taste great, but are sugar coated poison for the human body. The most common food choices available are guaranteed to violate all three of the above points. In fact the foods that are good for you have been practically pushed off the grocery shelves to make room for all the rest. The mechanics of the Zone diet are fairly simple: 1. Using some tables, determine the amount of lean protein your muscle mass and exercise levels require each day. 2. Using a 7/9 ratio of Protein/Carb grams, determine the amount of low "Glycemic Index" carbs to eat each day. 3. Using a 7/3 ratio of Protein/Fat grams, determine the amount of fat (mostly mono-saturated) to eat each day. 4. A 7g/9g/3g unit of food I call a brick for convenience. 5. Eat 2 snacks and 3 meals a day. Each meal is made up of 3 or 4 bricks. Each snack is made up of one brick. Eat a snack or meal within an hour of waking. Eat a snack within one hour before going to bed at night. Eat again within 2-3 hours of having a snack, and 4-5 hours of having a meal. 6. Add more mono-saturated fat to maintain your desired body fat % at the ideal healthy level for your sports profession (15% for normal males, 22% for females). A body fat calculator can be found at: http://www.drsears.com/drsearspages...tcalcu.jsp 7. Treat your food with the same respect that you would treat a prescription drug given to you to counteract aging and disease. The above is the exact scientific method. There are sloppy, but easy methods also, like: put a piece of lean meat the size and thickness of your palm on one third of a dinner plate, and fill the rest of the plate with low "Glycemic Load" vegetables and fruits, then put a dash of olive oil on it. The one I like is: Using a list of 100 favorable foods, pick a protein from column A, a carb from column B, and a fat from column C (I taped up a page I made up in the kitchen). A food table can be found at: http://www.drsears.com/drsearspages...guide.jsp. Beware: the blocks are not the same as my bricks (blocks assume half your fats are in your lean meat protein --my bricks assume non-fat protein). I edited this table for my own use to make more sense for my food preferences (non-fat vegetarian protein sources). The results are dramatic: 1. You won't get hungry. In fact if you are hungry by the time you should eat again, you are doing something wrong, or you need to tailor the carb choices to your specific metabolism. Your meals can be devised to be as large or small as you like (in volume), but you will always be giving your body exactly what it needs for health. 2. You will lose excess fat. 3. You will be mentally alert all the time --unless you forget to sleep at night. 4. You will feel healthy and full of energy. 5. You will slow the aging process in your body by about 33% 6. You will remove the cause of many modern illnesses of old age. How does it work? It is based on basic biochemistry explained in Dr. Sears books and on his website www.drsears.com. This guy has done his homework, and it not only makes sense to me, but it works. I have been doing this for over one year now. I can't even imagine eating the old way again. It also helps that Alison is 100% supporting the diet. Alison and I made a bunch of mistakes for the first month trying to re-learn how to prepare food to a new recipe. I also did not realize how deficient I was in EPA. As it turns out, I am in a small class of folks that need a lot of extra EPA to get the AA/EPA ratio into balance. I have to take about 8 times what most people have to take. It would be impossible for me to get enough from eating fish, or even from health food store grade fish oil. However, once I found the right dose, all my allergies virtually vanished. I am one happy camper! I have done lots of research, and I can provide additional references for fish oil, and other information sources if you would like. Dennis [/color:9cc726dfbe][/quote:9cc726dfbe]

[quote:bff4c41f4b="gofish"]Hi Zone pals :wink: I wanted to put together an email followup for friends who ask me to tell them about the Zone. This is what I came up with. I would like your opinion/help on the facts --I want to give them the straight scoop. [color=blue:bff4c41f4b]September 1, 2004 Here is my summary of the Zone diet: The basic principles of my diet in a nutshell --pun intended: It is called the Zone Diet. ..... I have done lots of research, and I can provide additional references for fish oil, and other information sources if you would like. Dennis [/color:bff4c41f4b][/quote:bff4c41f4b] I would add: Drink plenty of water, the requisite 8 8oz galsses of water per day.

[color=darkred:e46ebd041f]Hi, It's commendable of you to try to sum it all up for your friends, but why not simply give them a copy of "A Week in the Zone" ?[/color:e46ebd041f]

[quote:7161f5bec6="Slknorr"][color=darkred:7161f5bec6]Hi, It's commendable of you to try to sum it all up for your friends, but why not simply give them a copy of "A Week in the Zone" ?[/color:7161f5bec6][/quote:7161f5bec6] Sue, I have given away many books. However, some people are put off when I tell them to read a novel when they just want to understand what I am doing in one page. If the one page is understandable and appealing, then they may want to read the book. Otherwise, too many times, the book goes on the tall pile of "excellent life changing books to read when I have a spare minute in my busy life". I know, I was one of them. It was not until I was down with a bad flu bug for a week that I had the luxury time to read about the Zone. It is also important to have a one page accurate summary to refer to and crystalize the concepts for beginners. Try to remember what it was like your first month :? How many times have you had to answer the same questions about the most basic concepts to newbies? It is not because they are stupid. It is because they did not mentally crystalize that one page of key concepts from a book(s) full of information. I read two books and another books worth of text from the websites, and I still had trouble getting it right for the first months.

[quote:e38350700b="White Light"]You may want to alter the Ideal fat % to Omega RX standards, but no big deal[/quote:e38350700b] I'm not sure what you mean. Please elaborate.

[quote:70dedd3bb3="jaydpiii"]I would add: Drink plenty of water, the requisite 8 8oz galsses of water per day.[/quote:70dedd3bb3] Thanks John, I have made the edit to the original post.

[quote:100157d3ca="gofish"] 2. Controlling blood sugar and therefore insulin levels with diet eliminates the causes of half the degenerative diseases associated with modern life. This is accomplished by eating foods that convert slowly to blood sugar to avoid insulin spikes, but eating often enough to keep the blood sugar up and insulin levels constant. This has been slowly recognized by the medical establishment over the last 50 years. Insulin control is essential in controlling fat accumulation in the belly. Fat in this area is metabolically active and promotes low level inflammation which has been associated with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and a host of other age related ills. 3. Controlling AA/EPA ratio of blood lipid levels with diet eliminates the other half of the degenerative diseases associated with modern life. This is accomplished by taking extra pharmaceutical grade EPA/DHA long chain omega 3 fats, and lowering saturated fats and omega 6 fats. This has only recently been recognized by the medical establishment (although Grandma knew it). EPA is a long chain omega 3 fat found in some fish (actually made by algae down the food chain). AA is a fat derived in the body from saturated fat and seed oils. The ratio of these two fats critically influences the functioning of the immune system. Without AA, the immune system is unable to mount an effective response to disease causing invaders. Without the dampening effect of EPA, the immune system is prone to chronic low level inflammation associated with Alzheimers, Cancer, Allergies, etc. [/quote:100157d3ca] I would have reworded 2 & 3 slightly differently, but what you have is accurate. Although AA is not derived from saturated fats. I would say from vegetable oils and seed oils.

[color=darkred:040ae944d8]Hi Dennis,[/color:040ae944d8] [quote:040ae944d8]I have given away many books. However, some people are put off when I tell them to read a novel when they just want to understand what I am doing in one page. If the one page is understandable and appealing, then they may want to read the book. [/quote:040ae944d8] [color=darkred:040ae944d8]Try telling them that the first 31 pages of the small paperback "AWITZ" (BTW, a quick easy read) will give them all the info re: the Zone basics and how to begin. Are you aware of the phamphlet available from Zone Labs which explains the Zone in concise easy terms (look for the evidence based wellness brochure in the "Downloads" section of the Zone Affiliates site)? You might want to hand these out to friends, too.[/color:040ae944d8] [quote:040ae944d8]It is also important to have a one page accurate summary to refer to and crystalize the concepts for beginners[/quote:040ae944d8]. [color=darkred:040ae944d8]My suggestion would be to work on making your summary more concise with less explanation.[/color:040ae944d8] [quote:040ae944d8]Try to remember what it was like your first month :? [/quote:040ae944d8] [color=darkred:040ae944d8]Not quite sure what you're getting at with this statement/qn, but yes I remember very well. Actually I thought it was fairly easy (BTW I began before "AWITZ came out).[/color:040ae944d8] :D

[quote:583106f4a8="Scott"]I would have reworded 2 & 3 slightly differently, but what you have is accurate. Although AA is not derived from saturated fats. I would say from vegetable oils and seed oils.[/quote:583106f4a8] Thanks Scott, I recall that Dr. Sears said that Saturated fat increased AA. Am I remembering that wrong?

Hi Dennis, I think your idea of a 1-page summary is EXCELLENT! Your reasoning is right on the money! I would call 7g/9g/3g a block rather than a brick, becuz it's called a block in the zone books, and might be confusing when someone starts reading the books.

Well, being a math geek, I don't see what all the fuss and confusion is about, but I've had two people recently who are "South Beach-ing it" (both of them were aware I was Zoning and had borrow my AWITZ books last year) who said that the Zone was too hard to understand and so they "couldn't" do it. I think all of these new Zone knockoff diets are using the current research and coming up with gimmicks to try make it easier. People can be a very lazy lot :) Personally I think that knowing the [b:35e5f7dda9]whys [/b:35e5f7dda9]of what I'm eating and the health benefits rather than just the weight loss side-effect make it easier to stick with it but apparently that's not the case with everyone (hence a new diet every week on the shelves!) Robbin

Sue, Thanks for the suggestions. [quote:f6cd61616f="Slknorr"][color=darkred:f6cd61616f]Try telling them that the first 31 pages of the small paperback "AWITZ" (BTW, a quick easy read) will give them all the info re: the Zone basics and how to begin. Are you aware of the phamphlet available from Zone Labs which explains the Zone in concise easy terms (look for the evidence based wellness brochure in the "Downloads" section of the Zone Affiliates site)? You might want to hand these out to friends, too.[/color:f6cd61616f][/quote:f6cd61616f] Yes, I have given away many of these. However, it looks like an advertisement for Zone Labs, and that put some people off. The really want a more personal touch. [quote:f6cd61616f][quote:f6cd61616f]It is also important to have a one page accurate summary to refer to and crystalize the concepts for beginners[/quote:f6cd61616f]. [color=darkred:f6cd61616f]My suggestion would be to work on making your summary more concise with less explanation.[/color:f6cd61616f][/quote:f6cd61616f] People, at the stage this is for, want to know why they should do it, not just how to do it. The how part is just enough to let them know it is simple enough to do and get the concepts anchored for the long haul. [quote:f6cd61616f] [quote:f6cd61616f]Try to remember what it was like your first month :? [/quote:f6cd61616f] [color=darkred:f6cd61616f]Not quite sure what you're getting at with this statement/qn, but yes I remember very well. Actually I thought it was fairly easy (BTW I began before "AWITZ came out).[/color:f6cd61616f][/quote:f6cd61616f] Well that might explain why you don't see the need for this (and possibly why you are so good at helping others get through their problems). It came as a lot of work for me, and took a long while before I got it right. I wish I could have been on line and asked you for help in the beginning (I had a lot of trouble getting registered).

Dennis, I gave out a free cookie last night!! I was talking to my friend and basically gave him your sheet in explanation. I'd given him The Zone book to read but he hadn't gotten to it yet. The idea I used was yours. I read The Zone first and being somewhat geekoid also, I didn't like AWITZ. And I've done my share of 2+3=5. Even got a college to give me a piece of paper that said "been there, done that" from the math and computer science department. So the number parts of it don't faze me either. I agree with Robbin. Knowing the whys make it easier.

[quote:a12c2d0f0d="Fatboyslim"]Dennis, I gave out a free cookie last night!! I was talking to my friend and basically gave him your sheet in explanation. I'd given him The Zone book to read but he hadn't gotten to it yet. The idea I used was yours. [/quote:a12c2d0f0d] Thanks, It is very gratifying to think that I could be of help in a philosophical way. [quote:a12c2d0f0d]I would call 7g/9g/3g a block rather than a brick, becuz it's called a block in the zone books, and might be confusing when someone starts reading the books.[/quote:a12c2d0f0d] I know, I know. I am experimenting with the terminology for a reason (See my other recent posts about fat blocks). The inconsistency of calling 1.5g one fat block everywhere except in the Soy Zone, which calls 3g one fat block (for the purpose of the food block guides) has been confusing to me. I am in complete agreement with the rational behind Dr. Sears making the switch for vegetarian proteins, but one of the first rules of engineering (yes, I am a retired engineer) is that once you call a thing by a name, that name will always be used only for that thing. So calling 1.5g a fat Block in one case and then calling 3g a fat Block under slightly different conditions is not good practice. Likewise, Dr. Sears called 7g of Protein + 1.5g of Fat a Protein Block everywhere but in the Soy Zone. I needed a way of dealing with this inconsistency, so I decided to call the Soy Zone Blocks "Bricks". That way there is no question about which unit standard is being used. If someone is familiar with the Block system, I will not confuse them when I start talking about Fat or Protein Blocks while meaning "Soy Zone book Blocks". If they don't know what "Bricks" are, at least they will know they don't know what I am talking about, instead of thinking they do when they don't. I guess that another approach I could take is to call the 7,9,3g unit a Food Block (that IS consistent) and say that a Block is made up of three Bricks: 7g Protein Brick, 9g Carb Brick, and 3g Fat Brick. Hey, I like that! Thanks for tweaking me on that. I will edit the original post again.

[quote:612d4e5717="Scott"][quote:612d4e5717="gofish"] 2. Controlling blood sugar and therefore insulin levels with diet eliminates the causes of half the degenerative diseases associated with modern life. This is accomplished by eating foods that convert slowly to blood sugar to avoid insulin spikes, but eating often enough to keep the blood sugar up and insulin levels constant. This has been slowly recognized by the medical establishment over the last 50 years. Insulin control is essential in controlling fat accumulation in the belly. Fat in this area is metabolically active and promotes low level inflammation which has been associated with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and a host of other age related ills. 3. Controlling AA/EPA ratio of blood lipid levels with diet eliminates the other half of the degenerative diseases associated with modern life. This is accomplished by taking extra pharmaceutical grade EPA/DHA long chain omega 3 fats, and lowering saturated fats and omega 6 fats. This has only recently been recognized by the medical establishment (although Grandma knew it). EPA is a long chain omega 3 fat found in some fish (actually made by algae down the food chain). AA is a fat derived in the body from saturated fat and seed oils. The ratio of these two fats critically influences the functioning of the immune system. Without AA, the immune system is unable to mount an effective response to disease causing invaders. Without the dampening effect of EPA, the immune system is prone to chronic low level inflammation associated with Alzheimers, Cancer, Allergies, etc. [/quote:612d4e5717] I would have reworded 2 & 3 slightly differently, but what you have is accurate. Although AA is not derived from saturated fats. I would say from vegetable oils and seed oils.[/quote:612d4e5717] Ok, I edited the part about the oils. How would you edit 2&3 to make it more understandable?

I never did use the 1.5g fat block. I figured I was good enuff at elementary arithmetic(I got up to adding 2 digit number!!!) that I'm not gonna mess with that. I didn't need the confusion, nor 5 million explanations when I talked to anyone. A fat block is 3g. If half is in the protein, I have a half block left. Don't need a rocket scientist!

[quote:1abbd44dc4="Fatboyslim"]I never did use the 1.5g fat block. I figured I was good enuff at elementary arithmetic(I got up to adding 2 digit number!!!) that I'm not gonna mess with that. I didn't need the confusion, nor 5 million explanations when I talked to anyone. A fat block is 3g. If half is in the protein, I have a half block left. Don't need a rocket scientist![/quote:1abbd44dc4] Well I'm with you. That is how I finally approached it. However, that is called the gram counting method. The block method mostly has the 1.5g fat block in the books and on this forum. That is why I am pushing this issue. I believe that when approached right, the "Blocky" gram counting method can be almost as easy, but more accurate than the inconsistent block method.

[quote:cb9df42120="gofish"].....but more accurate than the inconsistent block method.[/quote:cb9df42120] [color=darkred:cb9df42120]What's inconsistant about the block method? If you eat fat free protein you're supposed to double the added fat blocks, and if you have a protein that's a little higher in fat (like salmon) you can skip them if you choose. It's basically the same as the gram method as far as the amount of fat eaten. The block method, the one two three method, and the gram method all give good insulin control and put one solidly in the Zone. I don't see the choice between these three methods as being a big issue. They will all produce the same result. [/color:cb9df42120] 8)

[quote:91b331cd5e="Slknorr"][quote:91b331cd5e="gofish"].....but more accurate than the inconsistent block method.[/quote:91b331cd5e] [color=darkred:91b331cd5e]What's inconsistant about the block method? If you eat fat free protein you're supposed to double the added fat blocks, and if you have a protein that's a little higher in fat (like salmon) you can skip them if you choose. It's basically the same as the gram method as far as the amount of fat eaten. The block method, the one two three method, and the gram method all give good insulin control and put one solidly in the Zone. I don't see the choice between these three methods as being a big issue. They will all produce the same result. [/color:91b331cd5e] 8)[/quote:91b331cd5e] I have posted before that the block method (as given in the food block table from this site) is not accurate to the point of causing serious out of Zone eating. This happened to me when I was starting out. Lets take a real example: 4 Block Breakfast: (1) cup of non-fat Cottage Cheese (4) Peaches (mine weigh 200g each today) (12) Pecan Halves (8 blocks fat) Grams in the above: Cottage Cheese =24g P + 16g C (4) 200g Peaches = 72g C (12) Pecans = 12g F Using the 7/9/3g formula we get: 24/7= 3.4 Blocks Protein 88/9= 9.8 Blocks Carbs 12/3= 4 Blocks Fat Needless to say I did not stay in the Zone with the "Block" method. I rest my case. Now lets fix the problem to make it easier on the beginners :)

This is quite a large nut!

[quote:25ab07c821="gofish"] 4 Block Breakfast: (1) cup of non-fat Cottage Cheese... ...Grams in the above: Cottage Cheese =24g P + 16g C... ...Now lets fix the problem to make it easier on the beginners :)[/quote:25ab07c821] [color=darkred:25ab07c821] Your statements are going to give Zone newbies the wrong idea. [b:25ab07c821]There is no problem with the block method.[/b:25ab07c821] [b:25ab07c821]Your problem[/b:25ab07c821] could be easily fixed by purchasing a cottage cheese without all that carb in it. The cottage cheese I buy has about 2 g carb per 7 g protein, very minimal, and using the block method, keeps me, an extremely carb sensitive person who needs less carb to stay zoned, in the Zone very well. [/color:25ab07c821]:D

[quote:1040f35521="Slknorr"][color=darkred:1040f35521] [b:1040f35521]Your problem[/b:1040f35521] could be easily fixed by purchasing a cottage cheese without all that carb in it. The cottage cheese I buy has about 2 g carb per 7 g protein, very minimal, and using the block method, keeps me, an extremely carb sensitive person who needs less carb to stay zoned, in the Zone very well. [/color:1040f35521]:D[/quote:1040f35521] Funny, the block method does not mention that you should read the label on the cottage cheese container and find the lowest carb brand. That sounds more like the gram counting method. But what the heck, I'm going to make my breakfast with your ideal cottage cheese brand AND read the label to get the right amount of protein instead of just using 1 Cup: Protein= 28g Cottage Cheese or 4 Blocks Carbs= 8g Cottage Cheese + 72g (4) Peaches= 80g or 9 Blocks Fats = Same as before 12g Sorry, but I am still way, way out of the Zone. I think I need a few more hints to make this block thing work for me. What now? (I am not trying to be sarcastic, just playing ignorant, because that is the state I was in when I started out) :)

Hi Dennis, [quote:e479df59e1="gofish"][quote:e479df59e1="White Light"]You may want to alter the Ideal fat % to Omega RX standards, but no big deal[/quote:e479df59e1] I'm not sure what you mean. Please elaborate.[/quote:e479df59e1] Theideal male fat % was revised to 12% The ideal Female was revised to 18% to 22% White Light

[quote:6c3971f4af="White Light"] The ideal male fat % was revised to 12% The ideal Female was revised to 18% to 22%[/quote:6c3971f4af] This seems reasonable to me, but When/Where/How was this decided? I just checked the body fat calculator, and it still lists the old values.