Hi everyone, I am new to "The Zone Diet", I am really excited about this and am doing this to get healthy AND to lose around 40 pounds of per lard :) I have been reading and reading and finally yesterday was my first day of my new way of life. Immediatley I ran into problems... For lunch I carefully prepared a broiled salmon piece and cooked in just the right amount of Olive and Oil with my spices, then I had to choose 3 servings of carbs. It was here that I got REAL confused. How on earth can anyone eat 4 cups of lettuce, 3 and 1/2 cups of cooked Spinach, and 2 whole cups of chopped celery. I added all these to my plate (by piling) next to my little piece of fish and 6 olives and thought: oh good lord! Well needless to say I whopped down the protein and fat, then made it through 1/4 of the carbs, before my stomach got a "food baby" look.
Please advice badly needed......
Questions: Isnt it suppose to be 1 palm size protein, and 2 fist size carbs and 1 thumb size fat?
Are the measurements for the carbs (vegs in paticular) accurate?
When first starting on the zone and needing to lose weight, what is best "simplest", meals and snacks, (I am in Nursing School and no extra time for fancy cooking)?

Thank you all in advance for any advice, I am very encouraged and excited about this since reading through all of your success stories. I want this to work so badly, please help?::cry:

You chose all very non-dense foods for your meal. You could, instead, use more dense foods in place of some of the Lettuce, Celery, and Spinach.
.
1 cup green beans. 1/4 cup black beans, 1/2 an apple, 3/4 cup berries, 2 tomatoes, 1/2 an orange, 1 clementine orange -> all = 1 Carb block, for example.

John,
Thank you very much, Ive read alot of your post this moring and like them very much. You seem to know a lot about the zone diet/lifestyle so I really appreciate your advice. I have another question, can you please suggest an "easy" but filling breakfast ideas for me, I need to make sure I get 3 blocks each in am, cause Im so hungry and eat again until later. Im also VERY nauseated in the Am. So prior to yesterday (starting diet) I would eat a bagel and this was great! This am., I tried plain nonfat yogurt and almost threw up, then I tried tuna and celery cant get that down either.
Les

There are a lot of suggestions, but they are sprinkled through out the forums.
But, quickly, and off the top of my head ...
1.) Egg Whites? for Protein. 2 Egg Whites = 1 block (8 grams) protein.
So 5 egg whites = 20 g Protein. Or a mixture of Eg Whites and cheese
Or a mixture of Egg Whites and Protein powder. Or a mixture of all three.
Someone posted an egg white pancake recipe, lately. I think it is in Classic Zone Recipes.
2.) Protein powder in a (Breakfast Smoothie) with Berries for Carbohydrate - lots of recipes posted, look at Sue's.
3.) Berries on the side with the egg whites (Blue, Black, Ras, & Straw -berries) for Carbohydrates.
Except for strawberries, about 3/4 cup berries = 1 Block (9 grams) carbs.
4.) For fat, I am guessing no problem? 1 almond (raw, unsalted) = 1.5 grams fat.
Breakfast does not have to be traditional breakfast fare.
Anything goes, really.

No/Lo Fat Greek Yogurt for Protein - but you didn't like yogurt.
LoFat Cottage cheese?
Some of the healthy Turkey bacon?
These are protein idea's.
.
An egg omelet with lots of veggies, and some fruit on the side.
(Is egg omelet a double? Does omelet imply eggs, so egg qualifier not needed?
Sorry, digressed into my SAT prep instruction mode...)

Since you asked, if you'd written egg white (eggwhite is also an acceptable spelling) omelet you would probably not have wondered. And, as we all know the yolks should be avoided due to the AA they contain, making egg white the more appropriate Zone choice. (BTW, my take on it would be egg, not eggs). :)

Hope you have time got outside today to enjoy this rare warm day.

Well, John, just don't ask my husband that question! When we were first dating, we went out for breakfast, and he ordered an omelet--without the egg! LOL

I don't think he realized what an omelet really was. That's ok. He ended up with me and learned about omelets, and now he is a master at preparing omelets!

Leslie,

If you are more of a cereal-type person, you could try steel cut oats. If I am in a hurry, I mix in some chocolate protein powder and peanut butter, to balance it out.

Another thought is to try the Zone cereal. It is all-inclusive, so just pour it out of the box and add milk, and you are done.