The Zone Diet is based upon the teachings of Barry Sears, PhD a former researcher in bio technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as espoused in his mega-selling diet book “Enter The Zone”. According to the author, The Zone is a place where we will find ourselves “feeling alert, refreshed, and full of energy”.

Like many other popular diet books available, Enter The Zone offers more benefits than just weight loss. By recalibrating our metabolism with a diet of 30% protein, 30% fat and 40% carbohydrate, The Zone Diet suggests that you can expect to turn back the encroaching heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

The Zone Diet also claims that much of the current thinking about good nutrition is “dead wrong”, and has in fact contributed to our risk of contracting serious, even life-threatening ailments such as heart disease, diabetes, and possibly cancer. In his new book, The Anti-Inflammation Zone, he takes a closer look at diseases and how The Zone Diet combats the underlying inflammation that he says is an factor in the development of serious illness as well as weight gain.

Diet Features

What You Can Eat on The Zone Diet
The Zone diet’s eating plan is a combination of a small amount of low-fat protein at every meal, fats, and carbohydrates in the form of fiber-rich vegetables and fruits. The plan establishes a ratio for which Sears contends the body is genetically programmed (that 40-30-30 figure)

• A small amount of protein at every meal (approximately the size of your palm or one small chicken breast) and at every snack (one in the late afternoon, one in the late evening)
• “Favorable” carbohydrates twice the size of the protein portion – these include most vegetables and lentils, beans, whole grains, and most fruits
• A smaller amount of carbohydrates if you have chosen “unfavorable” ones — these include brown rice, pasta, papaya, mango, banana, dry breakfast cereal, bread, bagel, tortilla, carrots, and all fruit juices.

Dairy products are not forbidden, but The Zone Diet spends very little time to them, except to explain how quickly they release glucose into the bloodstream. Sears prefers egg whites and egg substitutes to whole eggs, and low-fat or no-fat cheeses and milk.

The 40-30-30 ratio of The Zone diet applies to all meals and snacks all the time, and a broad range of foods are allowed, so there are no confusing schedules or conditions that need to be memorized.

It is still a little cumbersome to ensure that all meals adhere to the 40:30:30 ratios – so I recommend purchasing some of the diet 40/30/30 recipe books that have sprung up and or consider downloading the ZoneRunner Recipe Designer software, which I have personally used.

With some recipe books in hand and the ZoneRunner software I found the Zone Diet to be very good, dropping 6kg (13 lbs) over a 12 week period.

Online Costs

Free to Join.

Fitness Features

Online Bodyfat calculators for both maqle and female, but no specific exercise plans or programs are provided.

Online Support

The Zone Diet has an active Zone Community Forum with the following topic areas:

• Weight Loss
• Cooking Tips
• Health
• Vegetarians
• Athletic Performance
• Anti-Aging
• Kids
• Zone Philosophy
• Zone Pals
• Pets
• Suggestions and Comments

Expert Advice:

• Dr. Sears has created a line of specialized supplements to help you achieve your goals and optimize the benefits of OmegaRx and eating In the Zone.
• Quick, easy access to articles from Zone Living’s Newsletters and selected third-party providers, and the ability to search their archives provide you with valuable information for living in the Zone.

Extras:

Zone Products are available on-line, including:

• Foods: specially formulated with a precise balance of fat, protein, carbohydrate and miconutrients to keep your insulin levels within the Zone and keep hunger away for up to 4 hours. Select from great-tasting Bars, Shakes,Cereal, even olive oil.
• Omega-3 concentrates: enriched with EPA and DHA are engineered to enhance the benefits of the Zone Diet by helping normalize inflammation within your body.
• Specialized Supplements: designed to help support heart and bone health, manage cholesterol levels and more.
• Books: to date more than 5 million hardcover copies of Dr Sears’ Zone books have been sold in the U.S.A.
  • “The Zone” (1995)
  • “Mastering the Zone” (1997)
  • “Zone Perfect Meals in Minutes” (1997)
  • “The Anti-Aging Zone” (1999)
  • “Omega Rx Zone” (2002)
  • “The Anti-Inflammation Zone” (2004)