Hi all!
I started with the Anti-inflammation zone diet for a combination of health and weight related reasons.

I haven't quite got through the litterature yet, but I was keen to start and I think I got the general idea...
Here is what I have been eating for the last few days - am I in the zone?

Breakfast shake made of: Rice Milk/oatmeal milk, oatbran, flaxseed, cocoapowder, stevia and phyllium

Lunch: Brown rice, lettuce, aioli & avocado mix, cucumber and spinach

Dinner: Microwaved sweet potato, aioli & avocado mix, lettuce, spinach and cucumber

Watermelon slices

Rasberry smoothie made from rasberries, soy youghurt and ricemilk.

I've also been taking four quite large Omega 3 capsules a day, along with Evening primrose oil, some anti-inflammatory herbs and vitamins.

What do you think, am I generally on the right track or does anything seem wrong?

All the best from Stockholm, Sweden

Hannah

Hi Hannah,

That's not really very close to the Zone. The easiest way to start eating the Zone diet right now is to make your next meal as follows. Put lean protein about the size and thickness of the palm of your hand on a plate and consider it 1/3 of the plate. Chicke breast, eggwhites and and fish are very good choices. Fill the other 2/3 of the plate to overflowing with vegetables and fruits (berries are the best fruits for the Zone), and then add a dash of monounsaturated fat (olive oil, avocado, almonds). Eat three of these meals a day and two snacks. Snacks should be made the same way but contain 1/3 the amounts of food as you meal.

Also, eliminate the evening primrose oil because it will work against lowering your inflammation. For more information about this read the sections of your Zone book that discuss GLA and the spillover effect.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice Sue! Seems I've got a bit more reading up to do. :-)
I must have mixed up some of the Zone concepts with the "GI diet" books, which I read at around the same time.

It sounds like the big difference is that I wasn't taking protein, and I might have overdone it with the avocado sauce.

I very rarely want/feel like protein, at least in the form of chicken.
Fish is ok, but it will be a big change to eat it every day!
So if I am going to eat it every day, I will have to force myself...
I'd say I am quite close to a vegetarian although I am not consistent about it.

Do I ruin the effect if I have some slow carbohydrates rather than fish or chicken?
Like wild rice (black) or sweetpotato? Or perhaps I can substitute the protein for a boiled egg?

Hannah, At the moment you're eating a diet very high in carbohydrate and is very low in protein. This is causing your body to pump out inflammation. It's not necessary to eat animal protein to be in the Zone, but you will need to add protein to every meal and snack. I've been eating a mostly vegetarian Zone diet for years. Most of the protein in my diet comes from egg white, reduced fat yogurt, soy, Zone Protein Powder and similar vegetarian sources. For more info about eating a vegetarian Zone diet read "The Soy Zone" by Barry Sears".

Hannah, I addition to the info in my last post, it will also be necessary to eliminate most of the grain and grain based products and sweet potato from your diet in order to stay in the Zone. Replace them with a variety of colorfyl vegetables, things like tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, eggplant, celery, cucumbers, peppers, etc.

Great, thanks for the feedback - will do!
I've got "The Soy Zone" and will read it as soon as I can.
Thanks for the inspiration, it's nice to hear that you aren't eating much animal protein either.

Oh, one more comment on this --- plenty of vegetables and lean protein... that sounds awfully like the Atkins diet!

Of course, I realise that there is more to the Zone like that, but I had not realised that "good" carbohydrates like red rice and sweet potato were a problem!
I would have thought that "slow" carbohydrates (low on the GI index), in moderation was a Good thing !?

No more than 25% of "starchy" carbs (and other unfavorable carbs) allowed to help you stay in the hormonal "Zone".

Hannah, my suggestion, read a Zone book all the way through. Toxic Fat and "The Anti-Inflammation Zone are the two most recent books and they will give you the entire picture. The Zone is not a high protein diet and it is not even close to the Atkins diet. You eat just enough protein to maintain your current muscle mass at your current level of activity, not more, not less. Rice, sweet potatoes, all grains, root vegetables and any carbohydrates with higher glycemic loads are to be eaten in very small quantities on the Zone diet, if you choose to eat them at all.

Red rice and sweet potatoes are likely better choices than other carbs, but their glycemic load is still a bit high for the Zone.

Hi Hannah, I was just reading this thread again and I wanted to mention that red rice and sweet potatoes do not have low GIs in terms of what is considered low for the Zone. In fact both of those foods have GI's higher than those of many breads and pastas.

Actually I was talking about glycemic load, while sue only mentioned glycemic index. Just an added thought, a food should not be judged by GL alone. Sweet potatoes also have good nutritional value and can be a valuable addition in moderate amounts.

Yes, cranberry is correct, I mentioned only the GI. I specifically spoke about GI because I realized I had not fully addressed Hannah's GI question wih my previous reply.

GLycemic Index (GI) is the rate at which the carbohydrate enters the bloodstream. Glycemic Load (GL), considers both the rate entry of the carbohydrate into the blood stream and the amount of carohydrate being eaten. Basically the higher the GI of a food, the smaller the amount of that food one will be able to eat and still stay in the Zone. The higher GI and GL carbohyrdates are referred to as unfavorable carbohydrates in Zone terms and should not make up more than 25% of all the carbohydrate in a meal. The favorable carbohydrates are non starchy vegetables and fruits, and the unfavorable carbohydrates are grains, starches, fruit juices, bread, cereals, pasta and processed junk foods. A Zone balanced meal that includes unfavorable carbohydrate food would look someting like this: 6 oz of salmon, 2 medium tomatoes sliced and drizzled with olive oil, 2 cups zucchini, 1/5 cup of rice and 1/2 cup blueberries for dessert. Some people can stay in the Zone with this meal, but others cannot because of the small amount of unfavorable carbohydrate (the rice). It all depends on one's individual amount of sensitivity to carbohydrate. I happen to be very sensitive to carbohydrate and would need to eliminate the rice from this meal or I'd most likely experience unfocused hunger couple hours after the meal.

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Thanks for the update Sue!
I'll be reading up properly on the Zone during the weekend - hopefully it will all become clear. If not, I'll ask here.
Right now, all I know is what's on the abriged "Anti inflammation Zone" audio book which I listened to on my iPod. It doesn't go into that level of detail
.
I have some questions/concerns about the amount If protein that is needed as part of th but e Zone, but I'll start a separate thread about that.