the zone in my opinion is very well balanced… i prefer Body for Life (http://www.bodyforlife.com) but it is very similar
the easiest thing to think about the zone is the take a plate cut it in half in your mind – fill one full half with veggies, then cut the other half into quarters and one is for protein/meat and one is for carbs…
Body for life is similiar where you eat protein (size of your fist) and carbs (also fist size) and make sure you have veggies at 3 of your 5 meals…
I think both are just normal eating styles that are safe for all ages… working out is important too but if you can only watch diet right now that is ok too – any change is better than none!!!
My Thoughts
My biggest memory of following the Zone Diet was how hard it was. It took a lot of work to get the ratios at each meal right. This was especially true when eating out, which I did daily in the cafeteria during the school day. In my opinion, a diet that is too complicated for a nutrition professional to want to follow is probably too complicated for most other people.
Lets’ face it, most people find calorie counting to be too tedious to do on a daily basis, this is why the Weight Watcher’s point system is so popular. For the most part, people don’t’ want to deal with lots of numbers. The Zone Diet is calorie counting to the extreme. Not only do you have to count the calories you are eating but then you have to determine what percentage of your calories is coming from carbs, protein and fat.
Any weight loss on the Zone Diet is due to the decrease in calories, not to the ratio of carbohydrates to protein and fat in each meal and snack. The sample menus included in the book total about 1200 to 1300 calories, which would provide weight loss for most individuals. However, that calorie level is far too low for most people to be able adhere to over the long-term. And I find it unlikely that people would be able to follow the Zone Diet as a lifestyle.
Further, I have concerns about the ratios. The diet limits carbohydrates to 40 percent of your total calories, which is lower than standard recommendations. The general consensus among health professionals is that carbohydrates should actually make up 50 to 60 percent of your total calories. There have been several problems with mid age women using this diet because the carbohydrates are very important in the bowel movements.
I am fifty and I have done Atkins for 5 years. I am sure that you will be fine on the Zone. Read the book and see if it is something that works with your health and lifestyle.
Don’t know. What is the Zone Diet?
the zone in my opinion is very well balanced… i prefer Body for Life (http://www.bodyforlife.com) but it is very similar
the easiest thing to think about the zone is the take a plate cut it in half in your mind – fill one full half with veggies, then cut the other half into quarters and one is for protein/meat and one is for carbs…
Body for life is similiar where you eat protein (size of your fist) and carbs (also fist size) and make sure you have veggies at 3 of your 5 meals…
I think both are just normal eating styles that are safe for all ages… working out is important too but if you can only watch diet right now that is ok too – any change is better than none!!!
good luck!!!!
My Thoughts
My biggest memory of following the Zone Diet was how hard it was. It took a lot of work to get the ratios at each meal right. This was especially true when eating out, which I did daily in the cafeteria during the school day. In my opinion, a diet that is too complicated for a nutrition professional to want to follow is probably too complicated for most other people.
Lets’ face it, most people find calorie counting to be too tedious to do on a daily basis, this is why the Weight Watcher’s point system is so popular. For the most part, people don’t’ want to deal with lots of numbers. The Zone Diet is calorie counting to the extreme. Not only do you have to count the calories you are eating but then you have to determine what percentage of your calories is coming from carbs, protein and fat.
Any weight loss on the Zone Diet is due to the decrease in calories, not to the ratio of carbohydrates to protein and fat in each meal and snack. The sample menus included in the book total about 1200 to 1300 calories, which would provide weight loss for most individuals. However, that calorie level is far too low for most people to be able adhere to over the long-term. And I find it unlikely that people would be able to follow the Zone Diet as a lifestyle.
Further, I have concerns about the ratios. The diet limits carbohydrates to 40 percent of your total calories, which is lower than standard recommendations. The general consensus among health professionals is that carbohydrates should actually make up 50 to 60 percent of your total calories. There have been several problems with mid age women using this diet because the carbohydrates are very important in the bowel movements.
I am fifty and I have done Atkins for 5 years. I am sure that you will be fine on the Zone. Read the book and see if it is something that works with your health and lifestyle.
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/zonediet/Zone_Diet.htm
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com