The Zone Diet is a weight loss program created by Dr. Barry Sears. The diet advocates following a calorie ratio of 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat. This is a ratio which must be adhered to on every meal.
The official site offers many recipes to help you make sure that you’re following the diet correctly and there are also meal delivery options for busy people.
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Dr. Sears claims that this ratio is in fact the natural ratio which our forefathers used to it and that we must get back to this ratio in order make sure we lose weight, lower risk of disease, and remain as healthy as possible.
The claim is that this ratio is the best to keep the correct insulin level in the blood. Too much Insulin can lead to higher fat storage and weight gain.
The Zone Diet has been used successfully by many people, including several prominent celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sandra Bullock, Rene Zellwegger, Charlie Sheen, Ben Stiller, and others. It is one of the most popular diets today and enjoys a huge following around the world.
What You Eat on the Zone Diet
As previously stated, the golden calorie ratio of the Zone Diet is 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein. However, the sources of these nutrients are also important.
Carbs – It is highly recommended to get most of your carbs from fruits (excluding bananas and raisins) and vegetables (excluding corn). It is advised to avoid starchy carbs such as bread, pasta, cereals and potatos.
Protein – Protein should be gotten from lean sources such as turkey, skinless chicken, fish, tofu, soy, lean cuts of meat, egg whites, and low fat dairy. You should try to avoid red meat as much as possible.
Fat – Your fat sources should include olive oil, avocado, almonds, fish oil. You should avoid egg yolks, fatty red meat, processed food, trans-fat rich foods, and so on.
In addition, Caffeinated beverages aren’t recommended on this diet as they can increase Insulin levels in the blood.
As you can see, there are some food restrictions but overall, the Zone Diet isn’t too restrictive when it comes to the type of food you can eat.
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Pros and Cons of the Zone Diet
The Zone Diet has been the subject of heated debate for some time now. Some experts love it and some hate it. Needless to say, it has both pros and cons.
Pros:
- Encourages eating high fibre foods, lean meat, and avoiding trans-fat foods, and low value carbs.
- The official website offers a great deal of support
- Offers meal replacement services.
- Has a lot of positive testimonials
- Encourages regular exercise
- Can contribute to a healthy and continuous weight loss
- Has a lot of followers and additional websites which help make the diet less complicated. One of the most prominent ones is this: Formula Zone
Cons:
- Requires planning and dedication to keep the 40/30/30 calorie ratio
- Although used by athletes, the Zone Diet may be too low on calories for active people
- May be expensive to follow, especially if you use meal delivery services
- May cause some shortage of certain minerals which are found in certain foods the diet doesn’t advocate (these can of course be supplemented)
In Conclusion
The Zone Diet requires you to put in some time and effort into making sure that you keep the correct calorie ratio. However, there are many recipes on the official site which make it easy for you to create many tasty, healthy, and diet compatible meals.
This is a diet which is lower in carbs than what we’re mostly used to eating so it will take some time getting used to. However, it is also a diet which has helped many people to lose weight and to keep it off.
The Zone Diet calorie ratio may not be something you stick to for a lifetime but only to shed off a few pounds with. It is worth trying out and offers many tools to help you succeed.
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