Topic: Zone Diet questions

[7th__Samurai]

So I started the zone diet recently but I ran into a couple problems and I have some questions.

1. First is how would one decide how many blocks they need, I went off of the medium male requirements from the article below but to me it felt like it was a lot of food. Is there a more accurate way to calculate what my block requirements are?
http://frontrangecrossfit.typepad.com/nutrition/files/the_zone_diet_for_crossfit.pdf

2. My goal is to lose weight for the moment and I would have to operate at a calorie deficit, after I’ve established my block requirements how would I go about doing that? Just shave a couple blocks off?

3. Now, the day I started I woke up and had breakfast, it felt like too much food and through a good portion of practice I felt odd with so much in my stomach. It said I needed 5 blocks at every meal and 1 for snacks, my question is would I be able to reduce the number of blocks in the morning and shift them to later meals for example three at breakfast and 6 for lunch and dinner or would it interfere with the diets goals?

4. “Eat your vegetables” oddly I never heard that phrase at my dinner table. I just didn’t eat them, this lead to some trouble while trying to get carbs from healthy veggies and fruits instead of grain, which fruits and vegetables are recommend for the diet?

5.Last but not least, why fish oil?
I understand its effects and benefits and I’ve been taking it on and off for a while now, and I started seriously again not too long ago, my dad asked me why I was taking it and when I explained to him he said “why not just take an omega three supplement”? And well, I didn’t know.
So why fish oil instead, is it better or cheaper or is it really the same thing.

[whiteninja]

1. It really is alot of food! You'd be amazed at how calorie-dense the things most people eat are.  When you eat right, there's alot of chewing involved!  Don't worry though, you'll adjust to it soon enough.

2.  Your block requirement is your calorie deficit diet. 17 blocks a day is only about 1500 calories, as counted by The Zone.  There are additional calories from things like the carbohydrates and protein in nuts, when they are counted as solely fat, but that is negligible.  After you loose weight, you *usually* increase your fat intake from 2-5x in order to get the calories you need.  Note that on that PDF, each protein block has 1/2 block of fat included in it, and the list of fat blocks is actually a list of 1/2 blocks.  (eg. 3 almonds is only a half block of fat, but this is matched by a block of protein; for additional 2-5x fat, there is no protein block to give the other 1/2 fat block, so 6 almonds would be a full block)

3.  You probably don't want more than 5 at any one time, because that's just alot to chew.  You can split it up anyway you want though, anywhere from 5-7+ meals.  Just be sure to eat it.

4. Pretty much any fruit/veggie is better than grains, oats, starches, or sugar.  Even a banana, which has a high glycemic index, has a low enough glycemic load (use Wikipedia) that it's acceptable.  I eat far more fruit than veggies though, because the sheer volume of veggies you need to eat is outrageous. Then again, so are the RDA nutritional values it gives.  A good diet will give 200%+ in most, if not all, nutrients, whereas the Standard American Diet (SAD), will average 25-75%.

5. Fish oil is an Omega-3 supplement.  One tablespoon is about 2.4g of EPA+DHA.  It also has the added benefits of Vitamins A & D, and it's cheaper than taking 8+ fish oil capsules a day.

[Muse_of_Fire]

1. WN covered this one.

2. WN covered this one too.

3. WN covered this one, but I would also like to add: you may want to eat a bit earlier to give your body a chance to digest some of the food before practice so you don't feel so uncomfortable while working out. That way you don't have to keep track of how you're "shifting" your blocks around.

4. The link you're using should have a table in it, on one of the pages, that lists specific fruits/veggies (and also proteins and carbs) in their block quantities. Like WN said, pretty much any fruit/veggie goes. It seems like a lot, but your body will thank you and in a few days you will feel great on this diet.

5. I know nothing about fish oil/Omega-3's besides what I've read on here, so I can't tell you anything on this one.

[7th__Samurai]

Wow, thanks a lot, very helpful.

The only problem with eating earlier before practice is that I have to be at practice by 7:50 and getting up really early to eat just sucks. I’ve been getting up at 6:00 and by the time I cook and eat everything its like 7:00 (those veggies take a while to eat, there’s just so much), I’m going to try the block shifting but if it doesn’t work I’ll just have to wake up earlier then.

[Muse_of_Fire]

Eggs are great for breakfast, but I agree sometimes they can be time-consuming compared to other choices. An alternative that might work for you, that is quick, is to mix plain yogurt and whey protein powder in whatever block quantities are appropriate for you. I usually eat that, along with a spoonful of cashew butter for my fat blocks, on busy mornings. Might save you some time. I believe yogurt counts as both a carb and a protein; double-check the chart to be sure.

Another suggestion: make little "crustless mini-quiches" in advance. On the weekends or some time when you have extra time, beat a bunch of eggs (a dozen or two), cook up some chopped ham or bacon, and thaw and drain a 10-oz package of frozen chopped spinach (be sure to really squeeze the water out; I roll mine in paper towel and press the water out). You may also want to saute some mushrooms and finely chop them if you like mushrooms, or chop up some bell peppers; basically any vegetables you like. Mix your beaten eggs and your meat and veggies, fold in some shredded cheese if you like, and then ladle the mixture into a muffin pan or two (depending on how many eggs you used). Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

These can be frozen and reheated in the microwave, so you can keep a good "stash" on hand for quick mornings.

You will have to do some calculations to make sure you're getting your correct number of blocks in, but this is relatively easy. Just take your total ingredient quantities and divide by the number of muffin cups in your pan (usually 12) to get the number of blocks per "crustless mini-quiche." Then you know how many you need to eat in a morning.

Hope this helps!

[whiteninja]

Muse, your posts make my mouth water.

[gearsighted]

You can also make some awesome paleo crust with almond meal. The tip is thanks Scotty Hagnas from Crossfit Portland just put out a new cookbook, check it out:

Cooking For Health and Performance
As for some of the other zone questions: I have always had a hard time following the size chart recommendations. I would say go the drsears.com and sign up on the site so you can use the bodyfat calc. and activity level tool to figure out your bf% and total required blocks. It gives you some good baseline numbers to work with rather than the somewhat arbitrary "medium athletic female" tag

What's great about dialing it in with that sort of precision in the beginning is that you gain a pretty profound understanding and awareness of exactly what you need to eat, when, and how much you have eaten or not eaten in the past. From that point it's easy to tweak one way or the other without much worry about portions because it becomes automatic.

[Travis Hoover]

Instead of eating your actual breakfast before working out, just have a snack when you wake up.  Then, no more than two hours after working out, eat your full breakfast.  Dr. Sears says it on his website, you can probably find the link in the wikipedia Zone article.  I just bought "A Week in the Zone" and plan to try it, but I'm starting a new job next week and I'm not sure I should try to diet, start a 7 - 330 job, and work a 3.5 hour job after that each day all in one week.  Not to mention I won't have enough money to buy all of that crap, and my food prep skills are nonexistent.

It seems like the guy is a little over-eccentric about his fancy diet.  It was my understanding that soy wasn't the best food for men...something about it having a negative effect on testosterone.  I find it ironic that there is so much emphasis placed on getting just the right balance of fat, protein, and carbohydrates when he idolizes pre-agricultural man for their lack of grain and starches.  How in the world would they be able to measure the perfect balance of those foods?  It seems like there should be an easier way to eat the right foods, but I'll give it a shot...