I previously did the Zone 2 years ago, and was very successful with weight loss and maintenance. I really lost too much weight but now I have gained a good portion of it back. I decided to get back in the Zone 3 weeks ago and have been Zoning strict and consistently. But I'm gaining weight.


I weigh everyday because I find that helps to keep me focused on eating right. Yesterday, after being great on the Zone and running 7 miles, I was up 1 pound from the previous day. I'm not a person who fluctuates a lot so it was quite discouraging. From 3 weeks ago when I started the Zone, I'm up 2.5 pounds.


I am frustrated because I eat what I should be eating, time my meals accurately, and take Zone fish oil (4) and SeaHealth, drink lots of water. I'm 5'5' and 130 pounds, I eat 11-12 blocks a day, depending on my workouts, which are often running (about 60 minutes at 8:00 min/mile pace 5-6 days/week), weights 2-3x a week, and other workout classes (4-5 hours).


Sample meal plan:


Breakfast:


1 c. light chocolate soy milk
Protein powder (about 18g/serving)
Cashews
1 c. frozen raspberries


Lunch:


3 oz. grilled chicken breast
1/4 c. old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 c. mixed berries
1 c. strawberries
3 block fat (macadamias/almonds/cashews
1-2 c. steamed broccoli/cauliflower (I feel like I need a little more carb)


Snack:


1/4 c. Zone cereal


Dinner


6 egg whites
3 block cashews (doubled bc of fat free protein source)
1/4 c. old fashioned oatmeal
1 c. raspberries
1/2 c. grapes
1 c. squash/zucchini mix


Evening snack:


1/2 apple
1/4 cottage cheese
1 block nuts
or 1 Zone cookie (love those!)

I have no clue why I am GAINING weight, especially since I work out quite a bit. I know I should incorporate more veggies, but when I lost weight before, I followed this same meal plan and ate the same foods. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Erin

I can see straight away that you would need to cut back on the fruit and have heaps more vegetables. When you did the Zone 2 years ago it may have worked with the fruit but if it isnt working this time then try cutting back and eating more of the non-starchy vegetables might get you started again. Also, the old fashioned oats could be replaced with steel cut oats.

I am the same as you. I weigh myself every day and sometimes before I go to bed! Terrible habit but I like seeing the numbers. I always put on weight the next day after going to the gym. It is probably the fat turning to muscle.

Did you measure yourself at all before you started back on the Zone? That is a good indicator of fat loss. What about your clothes? Are they feeling any looser? Do you have lots more energy?

Erin, your day-to-day fluctuations are normal. But, in 3 weeks, I understand how you feel that you would want to see some kind of downward trend!

Here are my recommendations:
1. Stick to the same number of blocks per day. If you are active enough that you need 12 blocks on active days, then you need 12 blocks on inactive days, too. Your body is still repairing itself even when you are not working out.
2. Make sure you verify the number of blocks via the bodyfat calculator.
3. YES on the veggies! You are eating too much of "moderate density" carbs. Try to limit the fruit to 1-2 blocks per day, and I would aim for at least 1/2 of your blocks coming from veggies, then the rest of your blocks coming from the other moderate density carbs that you mentioned.

Your sample plan may have worked a few years ago, but we change as we grow older, and you may have become a bit more carb sensitive. Just my guess on that, but I know that what worked for me a few years ago does not work now, and so I am constantly changing my food lineup!

Oh, forgot to mention, but Margaret had a good point about measuring. I would recommend measuring weekly with your weight, plug it into the bodyfat calculator to see your breakdown of fat and lean body mass. You could be changing your body composition for the better, which really means more than just plain ol' losses on the scale.

Have you tried to add paleo to your zone diet? Post modified due to forum rules.

You can add Paleo concepts to Zone; but be careful.
If you stick with grass fed beef and butters, according
you are not getting the correct amount of Omega 3:6 ratio.
But, Mark ignores some of the other detriments of sat Fats.
(Though, I myself, do use Coconut Oil, a MC fat.)
He also advocates eggs, and again - preferably from pastured chickens.
He minimizes the AA effects from eggs from pastured chickens.
So, approach his website with firm Zone principles in mind,
and you can blend Zone with his "Primal BluePrint: philosophy.
There is a lot of valuable information and resources available.

(Modified due to Forum Rules)

Hi, I am experiencing the same as Erin is. Two yars ago (39 years old) the Zone worked perfectly. Than I lost the track and now I have been fighting for months. I am not losing weight anymore. Can I ask what "moderate density carbs are" Maybe I am eating the wrong carbs, too. It is very frustrating because I know the benefits of the Zone but my body seems to ignore them...

Best answer to "Moderate Density" catbs is by example.
- Black Beans where 1/4 cup = 1 block is high density.
- Steel cut oats where 2 Tbl (raw) = 1 block is high density.
- Green beans where (fresh) 1 cup = 1 block is low density.
- Lettuce where 10 cups = 1 block is very low density.

Thank you John. As I am at 12 blocks and I weight everything, the amount of carbs is really huge using just moderate density carbs. Sometimes I can't eat all the food. I am also trying to cut the fruit to just two blocks a day, usually for breakfast with eggs' white. I hope I am doing good. Is the quantity of oil fish important at this level, I mean when the loss is hard?

Hi Monia

One suggestion that CC has when people have trouble with the carbs is to drink a cup of milk for one of your blocks. That could be used as a snack as well. What fruits are you eating?

It is funny how people's bodies are so different. There are people on the Zone who say they are always starving and just cant get into the Zone no matter what they try. In Australia it is coming up to Spring. The weather is just glorious. This means that Summer wont be far away. I dont want to spend another Summer overweight. I have knuckled down and eating as best as I can in the Zone. I weighed myself today and the scale hasnt changed (frustrating!). It is disappointing but I know by how I feel that I have lost something. My stomach is way less bloated and my waist has shrunk. I have more energy.

Re the fish oil. It is an important part of the Zone. The oil is a supplement - not a food. Are you eating enough fat as in olive oil, avocado, nuts etc? There is that old saying .... You Have to Eat Fat to Lose Fat ....

Hi Margaret and thanks. I am Italian. We have already had a summer where I was overweight... We are going towards fall.
As for fruits I eat them just for breakfast, but this is somenthng I have started to try a few days ago, so I can't judge if it is working or not. I prefere red fruit that I can't find fresh so I usually purchase frozen. But they are hard to find. Yesteraday I had 200grms pears (two bloks carbs) and today melon, always with egg's white.
I take the normal quantity of fish oil recommanded by Dr.Sears, usually in the morning. And yes. Nuts or olive oil. I am non cheating, trying to have a clean Zone as much as possible. And no grains.
I have cut off on milk months ago.

Try to stick to berries when eating fruit. Melons are not favourable. I used to eat all my carbs as fruit in the morning and used to mix strawberries, grapes and blaueberries sprinkled with almond flakes

Hi Monia

What about apples as well? Maybe cut down to just one fruit a day. I think if you are doing everything right you should be seeing some results like having more energy or clearer thinking. In your other post you said that you cant eat all the food. Are you on 12 blocks because you are doing lots of exercise? Maybe if you are not eating all of your blocks then your body may be thinking that you arent giving it enough fuel and so will start holding on to the fat. Did you want to post an example of a days eating?

Yes, 12 blocks for my work out according to the calculator.

my sample day is like this:

breakfast

eggs' white(2blocks)
fruit (2 blocks)
nuts (2 blocks fat)
fish oil

lunch

fish or meat (4 blocks)

vegetables (usually squash or tomatoes, cauliflower, eggplants...) 4 blocks
When I can't eat the amount of veggies I have a rice cracker for 1 or two blocks and I cut the veggies to 3 or 2 blocks

mid afternoon

turkey or tuna or ham or eggs + apple or rice cracker + nuts or almonds 1block

dinner

fish (4 blocks)

veggies as lunch 4 blocks

before bed

powder proteins + fruit or sometimes, 9 grams fructose + almonds (1 block)

Thank you Margaret and Bozena. I try to eat berries but here in Italy are not so common and I rarely find them frozen. I have been searching in many supermarkets. I remember the beautiful English blackberries...

What about Erin? Did you start to lose weight?

Hi Monia

My husband is Bosnian. We went over there in May/June this year. They have lots of fresh vegetable/fruit stalls and open air markets. Strawberries were everywhere - even on local street corners! I thought Italy would be similar. They also had the best ice cream I have ever tasted but we shouldnt talk about that on this forum! ha ha .... In Australia we have frozen strawberries, blueberries, fruits of the forest plus great farmers markets with organic products so we are very lucky.

I have been reading info about glucose being a better choice than fructose. This info is by an Australian David Gillespie who wrote a book called Sweet Poison - the poison being sugar. He has lost 40 kilos by cutting out as much sugar as he could from his diet. Fructose is the bad sugar. He suggested using glucose powder for cooking.

Hopefully Sue or CC can give you some advice that may help. How much more weight did you want to lose?

Monia,

I would recommend cutting the unfavorables out. The rice crackers may be working against you, and you mentioned melon, which also may be working against you.

You also mentioned having difficulty eating all of those veggies. You could try breaking up your meals to smaller sizes and then just eating more often. That might help, and it might improve insulin levels. Personally, I find it difficult to eat the high volume of veggies, but I do end up feeling hungry quite soon after a meal, and so it sometimes helps to stick to the most favorable foods and then just eat more often. Spreading out the meals may give you better insulin control, and you may be able to get more veggies into your diet.

Thank you to all.
Margaret, I can't use inches and pounds so I will use kilos and centimeters. When I started the Zone, two years ago, I was resigned to stay around 66 kilos. I have always been a sporty type. I work out a lot. I couldn't justify that weight: I never ate (and never eat) junky food, sweets, sugar, cakes and the normal food considered bad for losing weight. Than I read an Italian book about the Zone and I found it so interesting. After that all the books written by Dr. Sears. I decided to give it a go. It worked. Immediatly. After three months I weighted 58/59 kilos. That is the weight I feel confortable in. Than something happened and I lost the track. Now I am finding it harder. In my first Zone I was eating milk, cheese, sometimes even bread, and loads of blocks coming from fruit. Now my Zone is clean, maybe more Paleo, but I am around 64K.
Now I will follow your advice and, again, thanks for replying...