ZoneCoach,

The eating within an hour of waking would be a problem for me. I like to do my cardio exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. The exercise suppresses my appetite for a couple of 2 hours. I usually do cardio at 4:30 a.m. for at least 30 mins. I am so HOT from the cardio, that I take time to pack my breakfast and lunch, lay out my work clothes, etc., stalling for about 1/2 an hour before taking a shower (doesn't do much good to shower if I'm still perspiring!). Then I take a shower, put on makeup, style my hair, etc. At 5:50, I wake my 9 year old for school and make his breakfast. We leave for before school daycare about 6:40 and I arrive at work about 7:00. I eat breakfast at my desk then (~7:00 a.m.).

Typical breakfast is either some leftover meat or deli turkey breast lunch meat, and maybe a bit of veggies. I have a snack about 10:00 a.m. (usually broccoli w/dip and about 1 oz. of meat or cheese). Then on Mon., Wed. & Fri. I leave for the gym at 11:30 a.m. to do resistance training (weight machines). I eat lunch about 12:30 when I get back to work (usually a chef salad w/leftover meats or whatever meats and veggies leftover from yesterday's dinner). After lunch, I am usually not hungry until dinner time -- don't usually want a snack. I might have an evening snack, depending on when we have dinner. If we have dinner at 7:00 or later, I am usually falling asleep on the sofa by 8:30 or 9:00, so I don't eat a snack. If we have dinner at 6:00, I might eat an evening snack.

Will this type of schedule work with the Zone? I think I might have a problem if the meal schedule is very inflexible? Also, what about weekends when we have no set schedule? With Atkins, I keep beef jerky and almonds in my purse for snacks when traveling. What types of portable snacks does the Zone recomend?

Thanks for your help.