DozenDiets.com

 Starting the Zone tomorrow! (click the book for an amazon link)

July was supposed to be Nutrisystem, but I don’t want to lay out the $355.00 for one month of food right now so we will go with The Zone instead.

So far I have read the book and enjoyed it. If the book is to be believed then during my month on The Zone I should

1. Lose weight
2. increase my athletic performance (very interested in seeing if this is true)
3. increase my mental acuity (no one will probably notice this. Let’s be honest, I am probably about as acute as I can hope for at this stage in my life)

The diet, in general, prescribes a specific ratio of protein to carbs to fats. It is all based off of your daily required levels of protein which is, in turn, based on your weight, body fat percentage and level of activity. For me, for example, my body fat percentage right now is 18% and my weight is 190 and I am reasonably active so my protein level, daily, comes out to 107 grams according to The Zone. The book then tells me what ratio of fat and carbs to eat to get “In the Zone” where I will reap the benefits listed above.

One thing to note is that the carbs on this plan are divided into “good carbs” and “bad carbs” based on Glycemic Index, which is basically just a term that means how easily your body converts the carbohydrate to energy and thus spikes insulin and thus causes you to store fat. The book goes into GREAT detail on all of this so I won’t even try to regurgitate it here. Basically you want the right GLycemic Index from your carbs so most of the carbs will be fruits (certain fruits like Apples) and Veggies and only a few breads and when you do it bread it should be high fiber (whole grain).

So, I will be eating this ratio of protein to fat to carbs to achieve my 107 grams of protein daily. That, along with my exercise regimen, which seems to meet The Zone recommendations, should get me into The Zone. I did a little preliminary work and just put together a sample diet for a day on The Zone Diet and I was relieved to see it hits right at 1975 calories. Now I know that will fluctuate some based on what foods I choose, but after my success on The Mediterranean diet and focusing on 1900 calories, I am relieved to see the Zone is close in calorie numbers. The food choices are also somewhat similar to The Mediterranean Diet and The Abs Diet though what The Zone really reminds me of is The South Beach Diet Phase 2. On The South Beach Diet, Phase 1 is very low carb and I have often wondered if that was not to get the dieter to see the rapid weight loss associated with Low Carb dieting (which I believe is usually water weight). South Beach Phase 2 is more balanced and designed for long-term, 1-2 pound per week weight loss and it reminds me a lot of The Zone.

We’ll see how it goes. Today I am basically off dieting and getting ready for tomorrow. Drop by and read about Day 1 “In The Zone”.