Zone Diet

The Zone Diet was developed by Dr. Barry Sears to have a balanced intake of protein, carbohydrate and fat in every meal and snack. The key factor in this diet is the hormonal balance you achieve while eating each skillfully prepared meal. With a food plan comprising an accurate balanced ratio of carbohydrates (40%), fats (30%) and proteins (30%), you actually get to eat foods, which control your body's insulin production. This means that no meal or snack is forbidden in the Zone Diet and yet one can lose weight or fat while Zone dieting by following recipes with a low-carbohydrate diet plan, where proteins do not dominate the carbohydrates. This allows dieters to get more energy from carbohydrates rather from proteins or fats. The Zone Diet insists dieters to keep a close watch on the calorie consumption while eating: a meal not exceeding 500 calories and a snack not exceeding 100 calories is ideal for staying in the Zone.

There are numerous additional benefits associated with the the Zone Diet, such as enhanced health, improved energy, improved mental and emotional clarity. The purpose of the zone diet is to get your body and mind working together at their best. Essentially the zone diet is a metabolic state in which the body works at peak efficiency. Being a high protein, low carbohydrate diet it reduces both hunger and compulsion to eat. Zone recepes are customized to each individual, based on sex, activity level and proportion of body fat. These recepes encourage foods such as fresh vegetables, fruits, leafy green vegetables and nuts, sufficient protein consumption and eight glasses of water everyday. However, both processed foods and meals that contain too much salt are banned in zone diet. Although no foods are forbidden in the Zone, some fruits that are high in sugar like Bananas, Grapes, Raisins etc should be consumed only in limited quantity.

Consumption of too many carbohydrates produces excessive insulin. Insulin is a hormone that tells the body to pile up nutrients. The hyper secretion of insulin prompts the body to convert those carbohydrates into fat. But protein which has the contradictory effect stirs up the hormone glucagon, which tells the body to let go carbohydrates that are stocked up in the liver. When those carbohydrates are freed, the brain tells the body that its energy supplies are fulfilled and you ought to stop eating. Consequently, limiting the type of carbohydrates you eat and balancing them with 3-4 ounces of low-fat protein at every meal will keep insulin and glucagon balanced, controlling the hunger with smaller number of calories. This grdually leads to fat loss and lose weight. This is how the Zone Diet functions. An average dieter may lose approximately 8 to 10 pounds per month by zone dieting.