Hello everyone,

I'm from London and have been into the Zone diet for about ten years (I'm 31). However, I have been quite casual with my measuring, always using the eye ball method, and keeping those undesirable carbs to a minimum. It's worked great and I've never been overweight. But just recently, (last 8 months) I have changed my gym routine to incorporate a lot more weight lifting and am trying to build a fair bit of muscle tone. I'm not body-building, but I am striving for some decent tones. I am wondering if I am eating enough protein and was hoping some of you could help me figure it out?

I don't eat meat, only fish. I therefore mainly follow the Soy Zone plan. I'm 5'2" and weigh 121lbs. I drink between 2-3 litres of water a day.

I currently aim to eat around 21 grams of protein at each meal, and 7 grams in each snack.

Typical breakfast (one of the following):

1) Soya Yogurt (200 grams = 8 grams protein), with a handful of Soya Nuts, Soya Isolate Protein Powder equaling about 10 grams protein, a handful of blueberries, couple of dried apricots, and about four almonds.

2) Oatmeal (containing 6 grams protein, 30 grams Carbs) 200ml Soya Milk (2 grams protein) and fortified with Soya Isolate Protein Powder equally about 12 grams protein. Four almonds, few soya nuts, and a few blueberries.

3) Two Soy Sausages (15.6 grams protein), two poached eggs, around five cherry tomatoes and four mushrooms, all fried in a little olive oil.

Typical lunch:

1) Some lettuce leaves, about four inches of a cucumber, four cherry tomatoes, quarter of a red bell pepper, handful of grapes, and then enough of the following to make up around 21 grams of protein: Soya meat replacement product, low fat cheese, hard boiled eggs, or tuna fish.

Mid-afternoon Snack:

This is post work-out. I have a Soya Isolate Protein Powder shake made with water and a splash of milk. Three almonds. A small satsuma. I mix the shake to equal around 12 grams of protein instead of 7 grams because I have just weight trained.

Typical dinner:

Soya meat replacement product (equaling about 21 grams protein, low carb), OR oily fish of some kind, Salmon etc, I usually go for a piece about the size and thickness of my hand. The rest of plate is piled with steamed veg (usually broccoli, soya beans, garden peas) or salad and drizzled with olive oil and a tiny bit of grated cheese.

Late evening snack:
Glass of semi-skimmed milk with three almonds or a macadamia nut. If using Soya milk I add a couple of dried apricots because Soya milk is so low in carbs.

How do you people think this measures up? Am I calculating things well enough or have I made some fundamental errors that are pushing me out of the Zone? Do I need to add more protein in order to gain some extra muscle mass or will this eating plan suffice?

I appreciate it's a long post, so a big thank-you to anyone who can be bothered to reply!

Hi Jade,

Reducing the amount of omega 6 and increasing the amount of low density vegetables you eat are two very basic changes you can make that will greatly improve you experience.

My suggestions:

1. Consume more monounsaturated fat in place of the omega 6 fats you're currently eating. This can be easily achieved by switching out a number of those soy protein products for egg white, which will reduce your omega 6 intake greatly. Do not consume egg yolk. It is rich in AA Eating it is basically putting spoonfuls of inflammation directly into your body. Also, in place of the of the soy nuts you've been adding for fat, eat macadamia nuts, avocado or almonds.

2. Eliminate the dried fruit, satsuma, garden peas and oatmeal and replace them with copious amount of low density, Zone- favorable vegetables.

3. Don't include too many soybeans in your steamed veggies with dinner. When cooking veggies, lightly steamed low density veggies will be better overall, for example, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, yellow squash, fennel, zucchini, celery, spinach, kale, green beans, etc.

4. Eliminate the grated cheese. Every little bit of it you eat is adding more omega 6 to your diet.

5. Switch the soy protein isolate to Zone Protein powder, or a whey protein powder, to eliminate overconsumption of isoflavones.

6. Choose wild caught fish over farmed. Farmed fish is high in omega 6 compared to its wild caught counterpart.


The amount of protein you require is directly related to your amount of lean muscle mass and your current type and amount of activity (actual exercise activity). Use the Body Fat Calculator in the Tools tab (above) to find your daily protein recommendation. The protein requirement and daily block recommendation in your calculator result should provide all the protein required for your current needs. Excess protein consumed will end up becoming stored body fat.

Jade,

P.S. I wrote to eliminate grated cheese; I meant to eliminate all the cheese you've been eating. Also note that the whites of 2 eggs yields the amount of protein in 1 whole egg. Because egg white is fat free, you would add an extra block of monounsaturated fat to your meal for every block of fat free egg white you eat (or any fat free protein for that matter) to provide the fat which would naturally occur in the low fat Zone protein choice. The goal is to eat at least the minimum 3 grams fat for every 7 gram of protein eaten.

One of the most important parts of the Zone; Is that we listen to our bodies.. Sounds like you have maintianed a good awareness of the foods you are consuming for some time and you aim to stay in the Zone, I would guess the your body has that proper levels and stores to cover you during your work-outs and after.

In saying that... It is important that we are all aware that we are not all the same; happily we are all different.

So you can go ahead and tweak your blocks slightly... I find when I am playing soccer a few days a week along with being in the gym 4-5 days that I require more protein.. That is me.. I add a block or two and I am good.... You are eyballing (like me) try slight adjustments.. Listen to your body.. It truly is the most important thing I have learned in talking with Dr. Sears...

I utilizes these two tools often

http://www.drsears.com/portals/6/Do...lchart.pdf

http://www.drsears.com/portals/6/Do...Report.doc


Hope this is helpful... There are a number of very bright and knowledable individuals on these forums.. they are a good resource for you

Finally... Check out this micro-site we have for Athletes... It is very educationial and performance driven: http://thepowerofz2.com/#!/

Thank you to both of you who replied. You've definitely given me some great tips and things to think about. I think I need to go and take another look at my Soy Zone book and see if I can refine my meals in a way that fits into my lifestyle but also incorporates the points made above. It's getting a little confusing, because my Soy Zone book had a lot of recipes using meat replacements, and tofu cheeses, and Soya Isolate powder, as long as they had decent protein contents in relation to carbs? Seeing as I don't eat meat, I think I'd struggle to just eat egg whites and fish And I imagine vegan cheeses made from soya bean are out too?

Thanks again for your advice. I will be back with more annoying questions very shortly, I imagine!

Hi Jade,

To help alleviate the confusion, replacing so of the soy with egg white is simply one way you could reduce omega 6 (Dr Sears is a big fan of egg whites). Choosing fat free soy "meats" would also be a way to reduce omega 6. Vegan cheeses are made with various bases, some not containing soy at all. But again, there's a fair amount of omega 6 fat in most vegan cheeses so read your labels carefully. :)

Tech is right about listening. Keep experimenting and you'll know when you have a good combination because your energy levels will be unbelievable.