Hi there, I've seen several other similar posts on this forum but they don't quite answer my burning question around the Zone meal blocks, in particular the fat blocks. My girlfriend and I are currently on a version of the Paleo diet and have been considering the Zone diet for some time. Having read the book and performed the calculations, it appears that despite having only a little excess fat, my 5'4" 9 stone 10lb girlfriend's zone meal plan includes fat blocks that add up to only 13grms of fat per day! This isn't enough to live heathily - that much is clear. We thought about the additional "hidden" fat present in the protein blocks (we get our protein mainly from fish, chicken and beef) but that then raised the question "what about the 40-30-30 ratio?" Having this additional fat hidden in the protein blocks means almost doubling the amount of calories taken on through fat, which seems to completely knock the 40-30-30 ratio out of the window. Are we missing something here? We can't understand where we're going wrong with our interpretation and calculations. Another similar question crossed my mind with things like avocado as a fat block - avocado is also rich in carbohydrates, so does that break the ratio? Broccoli as a carbohydrate block - but broccoli has a surprisingly high protein content etc. Any way I look at it the equation doesn't seem to balance. Anyhow - my main question remains the fat block issue. Please can somebody give a little clarity on this? Cheers, Stefan

There are a lot of useful tools on this site under the tools tab at the top of the page. Click on tools, then calculators(male & female) that will help you determine your daily block amount.

THE FAT RULE: There are 3g of fat to a block, we figure the majority of Protein sources to have 1.5g "hidden", so we use 1.5g per Fat block (except egg whites and whey PP, they have no fat so you would figure 3gF). We only count the blocks of Protein from the Protein sources of the meal, (except soy)otherwise the diet would be overwelming.

Say your girlfriend is 11 blocks that means a daily total of 11F/11P/11C, to figure her day she can split the blocks any way that works for her just maintain the count of 3gF/7gP/9gC per block. If her protein source is anything except (egg whites and whey PP)she must utilize 1.5gF/7gP/9gC.

FAQ: "Why don't I count all the protein, carbohydrate, and fat in everything I eat?
You would need a mini-computer to make all the calculations. This is why we devised the Zone 1-2-3 Method™ that takes into account fat content, protein digestibility in low- fat protein, and the insulin-sensitive carbohydrate content of carbohydrates. This makes Zone meal preparation exceptionally simple."

I hope that helps.