Books:
Enter the Zone, Mastering the Zone, and The Anti-Aging Zone
Author: Barry
Sears, Ph.D. in Biochemistry
Review
by Mitzi Dulan, RD
Certified Personal Trainer, ACSM
The
Basic
Calories are distributed as 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat, and 30% protein
at every meal and snack. In contrast, most "healthy diets"
recommend calories be distributed as 55-60% carbohydrate, 12-20%
protein and 20-30% fat.
How
A Person Can Lose Weight On This Diet
Calories eaten must be below calories needed to maintain weight (i.e.,
low calorie). This is a low calorie diet. The higher protein level of
the Zone Diet can also provide more satiety with meals and snacks.
High carbohydrate food portions and sweets are restricted, so blood
sugar surges after a high carbohydrate meal or sweet do not occur.
This also helps control appetite.
Meal
Plans
Protein needs are based on your lean muscle mass and physical activity
level. Then you divide your protein into blocks, each block of protein
equals 7 grams of protein. Once you know the required number of
protein blocks you give yourself one carbohydrate and fat block for
each protein block. Each meal has the same number of blocks for
carbohydrate, protein, and fat. For example, lunch may include 3
blocks of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. You must keep this ratio
for all meals and snacks. One block of carbohydrates is equal to 7
grams of carbohydrates while one block of fat is 1-½ grams.
Special Concerns
People who engage in endurance exercise are at risk for poor energy
levels and muscular fatigue due to an inadequate carbohydrate intake.
Alcohol
The Zone recommends that alcohol may be good for you if taken in
moderation (~1 drink per day) preferably red wine.
Claims
To be in the
Zone you need a diet that is exactly 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat, and
30% protein at every meal and snack.
Insulin causes
people to gain weight.
It is easy to
lose weight on the Zone diet with "easy" rules.
A moderately
active, 5-foot, 4-inch woman weighing 125 pounds with 23 percent
body fat should eat just 775 calories per day.
Pros
Promotes eating
fat and protein in the diet.
Addresses the
importance of drinking plenty of water throughout the day.
Recommends
exercise in combination with diet for weight loss.
Recommends
snacking throughout the day.
Promotes
low-fat protein foods.
Cons
Limits many
grains (pastas, cereal, breads, potatoes), fruits (bananas and
orange juice), and vegetables (carrots and sweet potatoes).
Complicated
rules govern the diet. Dieters must calculate protein requirements
based on complex charts and tables. Must also follow the
"macronutrient block method" to determine how many
"blocks" to eat per day and when to eat them.
Strict,
controlled diet which does not work for the fast-paced lifestyles
of today.
Recommends that
for the average person a Zone-favorable diet should contain no
more than 800 to 1,200 calories a day.
Food is treated
like a medical prescription. "You must treat food as if it
were a drug. You must eat food in a controlled fashion in the
proper proportions- as if it were an intravenous drip."
Truth
Excess calories
cause weight gain not specific carbohydrates.
Not one of the
studies that Sears conducted to prove his diet works has been
published.
Diets
recommending less than 800 calories may be dangerous and should be
medically supervised.
Anyone on a
low-calorie diet is likely to lose weight.
