You need at least 3 grams of Fat per 7 grams (block) of Protein.
(At least to start with...)
Dr. Sears defines a block of Fat as 1.5 grams. WHY?
Because almost all low fat Protein has some Fat, and that Fat is counted.
SO, To your Protein block (7 g Protein), add 1 block (1.5 grams) of Fat to get the total 3 grams of Fat needed.
Unless your Protein is Fat-Free or nearly so.
Then add 3 grams of Fat to each Protein block (7 g).

P.S. Edgar - WELCOME!
And feel free to ask away!

Edgar,

John is correct.

If you are breaking things down gram per gram, you need a total of 3 grams of fat per zone block. However it is assumed that there is already 1/2 of that in your protein source, and so the fat block list is in proportions of 1.5 g fat. So, if you are consuming a fat free protein, just double the fat block.

This is something that tends to get a lot of zoners confused, I remember being confused about this early on in my zoning days!

THANK YOU!

Hello Everyone, My name is Gail and I'm a newbie as well. I really like the "at a glance method" I haven't been hungry at all in between meals
in fact I'm having trouble remembering snack time. Steel cut oatmeal has really been a big help,it goes great with the egg white omlette, my
question is that since the majority of my protein is from fish ( I love grilled fish) do i still need the fish oil supplements? so far I've been feeling
better. I'm actually sleeping better,waking up less foggy and that annoying 3:00 blues is gone. My mini stairmaster arrived yesterday and
too my surprise I actually had the energy to get on it. I haven't had energy for a long time until now.

Hi Jeremy, I hope your starting to adjust. I'm new at this as well, I'm noticed that back on the 4/12,you ended up getting hungry before lunch, It might
help to switch out the milk and have the steel cut oatmeal instead or maybe an omelette with cut up mushroom/ tomatoes/spinach and a dash of cheddar cheese for flavor, It really helps, why drink these calories when you can eat them instead?? Your appetite will be kept at bay if you eat instead.

I've been having trouble remembering to eat my snacks I set the alarm on my computer at work for a reminder. another thing that has really helped me is if you can, try to prepare as much of your food in advance as possible. It will be your saving grace

I grill several servings of chicken breast and some of the fish on sunday and salads can be prepared ahead as well in a big container. its stays fresh longer as long as you don't add the dressing until you're ready to eat. also omelettes are great the next day. steel cut oatmeal in the crockpot overnight will rock your world. I'm one of those people who really likes to eat so eating raw vegetables and fruit really helped my pschologically
since theyre so dense and very filling. I luv the rice vinegar with the garlic in itand it mixes well with oil.

It's really nice to come home from work after dealing with the freeway and picking up kids too just have to warm dinner instead of having to making it

Since I've been on this new lifestyle I have more energy than I've had in years. Keep the faith, you're going to start feeling great soon once you adjust. :)

Hi Gail, great advice. Yes on the fish oil question. You'd need to eat several pounds of fish each day (or more, depending on the type of fish) to come close to the 4 capsule avrage dose of Omega Rx.

Hi Sue, thanks for the info. As much as I love fish, several pounds a day is a bit over the top, even for me. I think I'll buy the omega RX instead. :)

Hi Sue, I forgot to ask you one thing, Is it ok to steam vegetables in swanson's chicken broth? I used to always steam brocolli or asparagus,with
the chicken broth with fresh garlic. If so is that a block of fat??

I think it comes in fat free, but I don't know how that will taste, I'm kind of suspicious whenever a label says fat free, that usually means they've sneaked in some kind of sugar. Thanks for your help.

Gail, I wouldn't bother to consider the fat in the broth if its that small an amount. If its more and you're consuming all the liquid you used for steaming the veggies you could consider it. I prefer just to add a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and call it the fat in the meal.

Gail, you are correct... fat free usually means that there is added sugar in some form or another.

Generally you would count the additional fat, as the food is going to absorb some of the fat in the cooking process. Maybe not all of it, but it would be difficult to measure it, so I would favor counting it.

But, considering this specific product, there is not a whole lot of fat in the product, so per serving probably only 1/2-1 gram of fat to count,so in that case I would not worry too much about counting it.

Another tip, to paraphrase Barry Sears, it's better to err on the side of too much fat than too little. Gail, what he means is a little extra dietary fat will give you better insulin control without interfering with the loss of stored body fat. In fact a little extra fat usually enhances the loss of stored fat, but not having quite enough fat can make the difference between being in the Zone or not. Dietary fat eaten with carbohydrates controls the rate of entry of the carbohydrates into the bloodstream. The more fat you eat, (within reason), the slower the entry into the bloodstream and the better the resulting insulin control.

Another tip,
extra fat does contribute to extra calories. While it is not necessarily harmful to have a little added fat, too much fat is too many calories. Even though we don't count calories in the Zone, Barry Sears does state that excessive calories will reduce your fat-loss efforts and will prevent you from staying in the Zone.

It doesn't seem to be a problem with the Swanson chix broth, though, due to the low amount of fat.

Just speaking in general, you probably don't want to go too far over on your fat blocks, or else you risk having excess. So, it is definitely mindful to keep watch on it. Personally, if I am going to go over on fat blocks in a meal, I generally allow for 2-3 extra blocks, which is 3-4.5 additional grams of fat.

Thanks Cranberry and Sue, this is very helpful information. Although I normally throw away the broth when I'm done steaming,I hadn't considered
that the fat could be absorbed into the vegetables.. I suppose I could experiment by adding a little of the olive oil to the water when I'm steaming at least that would be an omega 3 instead of and omega 6. I think I'd better look at some of the zone recipes,although I like raw vegetables I still want
to have some variety. If you have any good vegetables recipes let me know. Thank you two for all your help. :)

Do you like asparagus? This is a good time of year for it.

I adapted this vegetable blend from one of the Zone book recipes (can't remember which one, but I believe it was originally an omelet).

You can use proportions that suits you. I saute asparagus, onion, and mushroom in some olive oil, and I season it with salt, pepper, curry powder, turmeric, and some worcestershire sauce. If I can't find fresh asparagus, or if it is just too expensive, I buy frozen and it works great!

I love asparagus, I'll try this recipe it looks good. Thanks!

Jeremy, how are u doing?? I am back on track only the 3rd day today but I am doing already better... hope you are doing good... ttyl xox