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What You Must Know Before You Try Zone Diet!

The Zone Diet was invented by Dr. Barry Sears. He created the diet to help people lose weight and avoid disease. The diet follows a specific plan: the 40/30/30 strategy. This means that adherents of the diet are required to consume 40% carbs, 30% fats, and 30% protein.

The Zone Diet lasers in on insulin production as the major precursor and cause of weight gain. Eating foods that cause a spike in insulin production cause weight gain. This happens because highly sugary foods spike insulin production. Insulin attacks the sugars and loads it into your cells storing it fat. These spikes in insulin production are negatively correlated with diabetes and heart disease. That is, they cause diabetes and heart disease.

As we discussed some foods cause a spike in insulin. Which foods you ask? Well white flour and processed foods contain empty calories (simple carbohydrates) that cause insulin to flood the blood streams. Avoid these foods and white flour like the plague. Instead eat fruits and vegetables because the sugars (carbohydrates) in these foods are generally more complex and don’t cause the unhealthy insulin spike!

On the Zone Diet you’ll eat 3 daily meals and two snacks. Your snacks, of course, will prevent hunger between meals and prevent you from overeating during meals. Choose carefully though and avoid empty calories that will spike insulin production. Your meals will adhere to the 40/30/30 rule. Meaning 40% will come from vegies like corn, cauliflower, beans, squash, peppers and the like. 30% of your calories will come from protein. A good portion measuring device is to eat a piece of protein (chicken, steak, fish etc.) that is about the same size as your palm. And any excess fat should be removed before eating.

Fats are included in the meal to slow the digestion and provide steady energy. Slower digestion means that dieters won’t feel hungry right away. The Zone diet recommends fats that are good for you like nuts and oils like canola and olive.

Foods that spike insulin must be avoided at all costs. Candy, cakes, pies, and other snacks clearly cause insulin spikes and must be avoided. However, other foods can be just as bad. For example breads, pasta noodles, and heavy starches can have the same effect as candy and cake. So try not to eat too much of these foods either especially because these foods are so addictive.

The Zone diet plan offers no special pre-packaged foods to buy so the plan is cost effective. The weekly grocery list is fine with a few simple changes to reflect healthier choices. The foods are ones that children are used to eating so there is no problem fixing Zone approved meals for everyone in the house. They may not even notice the changes in many cases.