Hello all,

Hoping to clarify the amount of fat in a "typical" Zone meal. Say you have a 4 block meal, So you will have 28 grams protein.
Keeping with the 30% pro and 30% fat and also keeping in mind fat has twice as many calories It seems like I can have 14 g of fat in a meal However the meal recomendations call for 1 tsp thats teaspoon of almonds as one fat block. Now seriously how many almonds can you fit in a tspn ? When I look at the nutritional information of organic almonds it shows a 28g serving has 14 grams of fat which is 1/4 cup or 24 almonds. Lets be conservative and cut the amount in half and say 12 almonds. Is it OK to have 24 almonds in a meal or is 12 a better number ?

Also the same question applies to salad dressing. In a two tablespoon serving I get 9 g of fat less than the ideal 14 g amount yet all of the zone books reccomend 1/3 tspn as one block of fat making a four fat block only 1-1/3 tspn. serving. That would only add up to 7 g of fat or less ?

Anyone else find this confusing ?

This was also posted in another Thread.
Answered, there.

Total 3 grams fat per protein block.
Most protein has some fat.
If so, add 1.5 grams Fat.
If, fat-Free Protein, add 3 grams Fat.

For some more insight here’s Dr. Sears explanation of fat blocks (taken from MASTERING THE ZONE, page 292 and 293).

“Why is a fat block only 1.5 grams?
Every block of low-fat protein contains approximately 1.5 grams of “hidden fat”. Therefore, by adding one extra fat block (which is defined as 1.5 grams of fat) for each block of low-fat protein, you are actually consuming 3 grams of fat or two blocks (one internal in the protein and one external) for each protein block. If you are using fat-free protein sources, such as isolated protein powders, then you should be adding two blocks of fat to achieve the same ratio. Obviously, if you are eating higher fat protein choices, you would not be adding any extra fat blocks to your meal. Remember that every time you add additional fat blocks to a meal, they should be composed primarily of monounsaturated fat.”
Common fat free proteins eaten on the Zone diet are egg whites, protein powder, fat free dairy products, some deli-style meats, and some soy products.