Hi, I started the zone a month or so ago, it started well but now when I eat I get hungry straight way, with mad hunger pains. I'm 19% body fat, pretty active doing crossfit 6 days per week, have calculated I should have 11 block days. I do stick to favourable carbs. I'm feeling a bit more tired but it's the hunger pains straight after eating that's killing me. Please help????

Hi Karen - the same thing happened to me about a month in. I'm fine now, a month later, thanks to help from Sue and Cranberrycat. I'm sure they'll respond with some ideas.

I started the diet a little underweight. My body fat % is 14% and I run 3 miles a day and do weights 3 times a week. First I was advised to add another block, then to add additional good fat. I miscalculated how to do the extra fat and was eating 5 times the normal fat on the diet. Over the last month I've been able to gradually lower the fat to where I'm now not adding any additional at all and not getting hungry. We're not sure if this was a factor but I also started taking Betaine HCL (stomach acid pill) and it may have improved my digestion to enable me to reduce the fat.

You don't want to be hungry on this diet so for a while you'll want to eat more, too, while you wait for your body to adjust to it.

For lots more detail on what I was told to do to remedy the hunger situation see my threads -

http://www.zonediet.com/forums/aft/61818 and http://www.zonediet.com/forums/aft/61826

I'm sure Sue and Cranberrycat and John and TechSupport will work with you to get it resolved.

Hi Karen,

Could you keep a food journal for a few days and then post it here? That might help us figure this out. How do you feel 3-4 hours after your meals?

Karen, an additional thought, if you're not doing so already, calculate your protein requirement using the "Very Active" level in the calculator.

Karen, I am concerned that you might not be eating enough, due to your stated activity level doing crossfit 6 days per week and the fact that you are only eating 11 blocks per day.

Please check the bodyfat calculator, because I believe you need more blocks per day than 11. Also, you are at a decent bodyfat% already, and so you may also need to add some additional fat to your meals. But, if I were you, I would start by verifying your protein requirement.

Thanks so much for the quick reply. Looks like I've been eating closer to 12 blocks. I checked the body fat calculator at Very Active & its says 11 blocks.
I'm only 5'1 tall weighing 107lb so only a small girl, but I'd say I have a fair bit of muscle.

I'm so out of whack now sticking to the zone is a bit too hard, so here's a sample of what I was eating over the last week.

5:30am Pre-Workout snack 1 block - 1 hard boiled egg (1P), 1/2 apple (1C), 3 almonds (1F)
7:30am Breakfast 3 blocks - 1 cup of raw green beans (1C), 1 apple (2C), 3 hard boiled eggs (3P), 9 almonds (3F)
11:30am Lunch 3 blocks - Chicken 85g (3P), 1 1/4 broccoli (1C), 1 1/4 cup of cauliflower (1C), 1 kiwi fruit (1C), 3tbs of avocado (3F)
3:00pm Snack 2 blocks - 1 cup of soy milk (1C&P) protein powder (1P), cup of mixed berries (1C), LSA (2F)
OR 56g ham (2P), 2 cups of strawberries (2C), 6 almonds (2F)
7:00pm Dinner 3 blocks - meat 85g (3P), veggies - broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin (3C), 3 tbs avocado (3F)

When I first started I was feeling great, & was impressed how long I could go without getting hungry 4 hours, I use to be hungry every couple of hours.
The last 2 weeks I started to feel a bit tired, and then the last week started to get hunger pains right after eating and couldn't make it til 3-4 hours before eating again.

I'm pretty happy with my current body fat, I'm really after muscle growth & improved performance at Crossfit, I take it pretty serious.

oh & thanks Larry I'll check out that thread

I was also thinking, how much does hydration play a part of the zone? With the colder days these days I don't think I've been drinking nearly enough water.

Karen, hydration does play a role and can make one think of hunger when really thirsty. Good thought, might be good to up the fluid intake and see if that helps.

At your current weight and bodyfat%, I am guessing you have about 85-90# of LBM, but since your goal is to increase this, and you are definitely doing activity to do that, I would definitely consider increasing your blocks. It would be good to stick with 12 blocks and perhaps consider increasing it to 13 blocks.

First see if the additional water helps, but my guess is that you just need more to eat.