I've been on the zone diet and have lost 75 lbs. I eat mostly low or nonfat items. I have had to modify the diet to include some breads but work really hard to eat fruit and veggies 2 times a day. My question is mostly whether 16 grams of fat a day is to little? If not is there such a thing as too low fat? Will eating the high starchy carbs hurt me in the long run? If my fats too low for the day do I eat another meal to increase. I'm only 7 lbs away from my ideal weight bty.

The concept is to have your body burn Fat for fuel instead of Carbohydrates.
So, your food intake should be balanced per each meal/snack.
If a meal is 3 blocks Protein (7 grams x 3 = 21 g protein),
then you should be having about 9 grams of Fat with that same meal (3 grams fat x 3 = 9 grams fat).
Adjusted for your needs, etc.
Some folks double the Fat once they get to maintenance mode, i.e.; reach their goal weight.
So, you are probably too low in healthy fat.

Congrats on your excellent progress, Sabrina!

If you arrived at that 16 gram fat amount by multiplying 11 blocks times 1.5 grams fat, then you have neglected to also include the fat in your protein foods. There's another approximate 1.5 gram (this isn't too low for the average woman requiring 11 blocks). And, don
t forget the amount of fat in your fish oil dose. Also, if you have excess stored body fat, and follow the Zone diet, your body will tap into that stored fat for the rest of the fat it needs. This is the means by which you've been losing weight with the Zone diet. When you reach your ideal weight, add a few more monounsaturated fat blocks to every meal to prevent the further loss of stored body fat.

If you require extra fat, simply add it to your existing meals (no need to consume an entire extra meal of P, C, and F just to eat more fat).

Eating more unfavorable carbohydrate than the Zone guidelines recommend will not allow you to maintain insulin levels as low as if you'd been eating favorable vegetables vegetables and fruits. Lower insulin levels translate to lower inflammation levels. The Zone guideline is not to eat more than 25% of all C in the meal from unfavorable.

Sabrina,
Congrats on your progress!!

I would agree with the others, sounds like you are not getting enough fat. If you balance each meal with protein/carb/fat, you should have no problem getting the adequate fat. And, if you are eating lowfat or nonfat products, then just add small amounts of monounsaturated fat to each meal to get some good healthy fat sources.

Theoretically, eating too little fat will not get you in the Zone, so even if you have lost all of that weight, it was likely due to calorie restriction but not necessarily being in the Zone while losing it. So, if you are looking for the benefits of being in the Zone to go along with your weight loss, then tweaking the fat will help you to get there.

As for eating the starchy carbs, a little bit is probably not going to hurt much, but the more you eat, the more difficult it is going to be to get into and stay in the Zone. The starchy carbs will basically raise your insulin levels, which you might not notice right away any problems, but puts you at risk for insulinemia, metabolic syndrome, and all of this is the precurser for diabetes and many chronic cardiovascular conditions.

I usually stay within the p and c limits. I just worry that when I start to add more fat that I'll start gaining weight again. I plan to add 1-2 g of fat a week once I hit my ideal weight, I just don't want to be eatting too little. I take a krill oil that doesn't have f so there's nothing to include there

Sabrina, once you reach your ideal weight you'll probably find you need to add more than 1or 2 grams of fat a week to prevent further loss of stored body fat. It will be more like a few grams of fat added to each meal. Don't be afraid to add more dietary monounsaturated fat as needed. If you begin to gain stored body fat, simply cut back to your original amounts but not lower than Zone recommendations

I tried for a few days to add healthy fat and when I went above 20g/day I gained weight. I don't need to lose anymore but I certainly don't want to gain any back either. I'm so confused. Is it just my body or am I doing something wrong.

The average woman would eat more than 20g fat daily with the Zone diet, and that's before adding any extra. If you'd like to post your meals for a day, we would be able to give you a better idea of what to try.