I need help. I am back on the Zone I did it back in the summer and found it was super easy to follow and I quickly lost weight and inches and have kept most of it off. But now I am going back on it and seem to be having trouble with the blocks possibly. Last time I was doing step by step in the book mastering the zone meal plan so that is a 3 block meal with a 1 block snack, so that would of been 11 blocks a day. Well this time I am doing the same way and I am so hungry. So do I up the fat and protein at every meal and snack or only when I feel the hunger is the worst.
I do Crossfit so if you know what that is it can be a vigirous work out to say the least, however I was doing this before I think I have grown in strength wise by doing it. So in saying all of this should I up my blocks to 12 or just up some of the protein and fat at certain times of the day. Otherwise today I have had good mental focus but so hungry I could eat my arm off!!

Hi Kelli

If you are doing Crossfit I would be thinking you need more than 11 blocks a day. Did you put your stats into the Body Fat Calculator (under Tools) on this website? Are you filling up on lots of non-starchy vegetables at meal times? Please post a typical days eating for the experts to see if they can come up with some suggestions.

Well on the site it will not let me get to the Body fat caculator anymore. But for breakfast i will either either 4 egg whites with a 1 oz of canadian bacon I have gluten sensitivity so I opt out for bread and add another carb usually fruit. Or I will eat 8 oz of yogurt with fruit and almonds with 1 oz of canadian bacon or a few slices of bacon. For lunch i am doing salad with chicken and veggies with fruit. But i still have very very bad sweet cravings that I end up giving into. I have given up sodas, I love my water I can drink it nonon stop but I just can't kick my sweet addiction. It is taken over !! UGH

Kelli ... I just checked on Body Fat Caculater and it functioned fine for me. You do have to log-in before accessing the BFC.

Yes I did that and I got it to work. I will measure waist and hips in the am and see what it tells me. I am thinking I should be eating 12 blocks a day. I do really well from breakfast to lunch most days. I usually eat about 7 and I try not to go past 11:30 or I feel it for sure. I seem to be having the worst time after lunch. I ate at noon today and it is almost 3 and I am starting to get a bit hungry, however some of it is stress eating which I wish I could stop, but it has a good hold on me as well.. But I may need to up my afternoon snack. I usually will eat like half a apple or orange and about a oz of turkey or ham and some almonds, however that is not holding me through a crossfit workout. I give out before it is done most days and feel exhausted. But then I am not hungry for supper, mainly to drained from CF to eat. Do you have to count a protein shake after a work out as blocks?? If I drank one after I work out should I still eat another 3 blocks for supper?? I enjoy the snack before bedtime, that one gets me through. Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

I like what Barry Says about this.. Find "YOUR" Zone. Do not be afraid to tweak here and there. If your adding a block or 2 and you feel great that is were your body wants to be. Experiment... If your shoping on the outside aisles at your Market. You are eating pretty clean, which is GREAT !!!!! Maybe try 1 Block snack (7gP, 9gC and 3gF) 30 minutes before and after your CrossFit work-outs.

I would also suggest.. Visit resources page: http://www.drsears.com, go to resources page. On that page find the Eicosanoid status Report and follow guidelines. This will help you find you "Personal Zone". This resource page is very helpful: It has a number of tools and information to help you.

Thought I'd add my $0.02 to this even though it's an older post... I used to CrossFit and Zoned while Crossfitting and my block count was higher. My CrossFit coach recommended some blocks ranges for me and also helped monitor my nutrition and it really helped in performance and results. It's definitely worth tweaking if something's not working because we are each individuals and what works for one may not work for another... Even at different times in our lives. It's back to Zone Day One for me and I'll gladly embrace my blocks and move forward. I have found the challenge I need for me to reduce the screaming pain without pharmaceuticals!

I NEVER ate before a workout before CrossFitting and I tell you, having a small snack before a WOD made a HUGE different not only in my workout, but how I recovered afterwards. I don't recall the exact block counts, but it was higher in protein and fat with a little carb before a WOD and a higher carb with some protein and fat afterwards. Worked well for me at that point in my training.

Thanks.. Very helpful post. Keep us posted.

I second that, what Tech just posted. We should have a "like" button! :)

A good suggestion! LIKE or THUMBS-UP button.

I'll second the "thumbs-up" idea. Lets just not get as crazy as facebook with all of the "like"-ing going on.