I am asking for help as I am doing something wrong in the zone and would appreciate any assistance you can give. I was on Atkins for 3 years. I am on the Zone now for about aq year. I like it but I am stuck at 210 and cannot budge. Also, I am hungry alkl the time and the book says you will not be if you are following the diet.

Everyday, my breakfast is spinch, about 6 Oz of chicken or tuna, low fat salad dressing, 1/2 cup oat,mal and 1/4 cup berries. I am usually full until lunch and not hungry or disoriented, so I feel this is in the zone.

For lunch, somtimes I have lettuce, 6 oz of chicken or tuna and low fat dressing plus 1 cup low fat yogurt and berries. Or, I might have one sliced of whole wheat bread with bologna and a little ketchup. If I have the sandwhich (which the book allows) I oftenh get very spaced out after lunch. Either way, I am starving by 3PM.

Sometimes at 3PM I have a Zone Perfect bar but it usually sends me into a depression tail spin or makes me very tired.

By dinner, I am sooooo hungry, I blow it. I somtimes have another salad but unuaslly I haqve about 8 oz of beef or 3 chichn thighs and a cup of brussel sprouts and a salad. I get hungry at night though. Sometimes I have another yogurt and fruit.

Everey second night, I have a glass of rede wine as I have read it cuts your risk of heart attack.

That's it. Can anyone advise on how far I am from the zone or why I am stuck where I am in weight.

I appreciate any help given.

Tony

Hey Tony,
Okay, I looked at your profile and it doesn't state that you have read any of the Zone books. That might be something that you would want to look into, or at the very least go to the official zone site and read up on the amount of blocks that you should have for your activity level. For men, you should be having at least 14 to start with, but if you are active it might be more.
Looking at your meals, I am not seeing that they are balanced. If you are having 6oz of protein, then that is approx. 6 blocks of protein. That means that each time you have that much, you need to have 6 blocks of carbohydrates as welll as 6 blocks of fat. And you SHOULD be snacking during that day. That is where the 1 block snacks come in. Instead of having the entire Zone bar have half of it, as that is 1 block. And make sure that you are having a snack that is 1 block again about an hour before you go to bed. You said that you are having a glass of wine every 2 days. That is fine. Do that and add an oz. of low fat cheese and that is a one block snack.
On top of all of this, make sure that you are having at least 8 8 oz. glasses of water a day in addition to whatever else you might be drinking. The more that you can drink, the better.
I hope that some of this helps and if I am incorrect in any of my information, by all means, someone please correct me.
Keep up the good work Tony, and in the end, it will all pay off! I too did the Atkins WOE and I feel much better on the Zone. Have a great day!

I agree with what Blondie said. Also, I think you are getting in a lot of "hidden" sugars. Low-fat dressings usually have lots of sugar in them to make them taste good. Try making your own instead, so you know what's in it. Also, yogurts can have tons of sugar in them too.
Carole

This is an area I can help you with.

That is correct. If you are following the lifestyle correctly, you should not be hungry. Which book have you read? Dr. Sears has 9 published books and has revised and updated (based on scientific research) some of his early writings.

Spinach – basically a freebie
Oatmeal – 1/2C cooked or dry? What type? Quick, slow cook (5-minute) or steel cut? 1/4C of berries – That is half of a carb block or less (depending on the type)
This breakfast is too low on carbs and way too low on fat.
Also, the human body can only handle a relatively small amount of protein at any one time ~ about 35 grams or 5 ounces. So that is too much protein at one sitting.

Again, too much protein at once (yogurt and all dairy is a combination food, so everything is counted – protein, carb and fat)

That is a common reaction to the ZP bars.

This is very understandable, given what you’ve been eating. You’re clearly not getting enough fat (monounsaturated), which among other things, will keep you from getting hungry. You’re also not getting enough carbs and eating too much protein at any one time. Additionally, it is important to spread your meals and snacks out to AT LEAST 5 times a day ~ more often is desirable so you maintain insulin levels (I eat about 7-8 times a day). This includes eating before you go to bed (a 1 balanced block snack)
I don’t know what your block requirement is, but the minimum for a man is 14. Yours is likely higher. Have you calculated what your requirement is?
Check back on some of my earlier posts. I listed some basic “guidelines”. I also posted a sample menu. My block requirement fluctuates between 13 and 15 depending on activity. I don’t recall what menu I posted. Adjust accordingly.
Balance that with 1 ounce of cheese and you have a great B4 bed snack!!!
Take a deep breath, make the suggested adjustments, stick to it for at least a week ~~~ and let us know. I’ll bet the lbs start melting away! You’ll likely hit another plateau down the road, at which time I can assist.
Meanwhile, you’ve been given excellent advice from blondie79 & CarolSP
Please continue to ask questions so we can tweak things and get you into YOUR Zone.

I appreciate the assistance. I will cut out the salad dressings and cut back on protein.

To ansswer a few of the questions asked. I eat 1/2 cup (dry) of slow cooked oats (of course I cook it in water)

I have read a week in the zone. What other books do you recommend? I obviously don't understand the blocks and I have been using the eyeball method and using a carb calculator to try to figure out what I am doing. If I am way offf, I must be doing it wrong.

Is there anywhere on line that explains the blocks and gives a sample diet? Is there a service that will ok a menu that I might like to follow?

Thanks again and any help would be appreciated.

Tony,
As far as the salad dressings go, why don't you get one with more fat in it? ZoneCoach said you are too low on fat, and usually salad dressings with more fat have less sugar. But, of course, read the labels.
The other option is to make your own low-fat dressing, and have some nuts instead. Walnuts are a great choice, as they have Omega-3s (just like salmon and flax do).
Carole

A site that I found to be a great deal of help to me was www.zoneperfect.com On this site they give you a weeks worth of meals as well as snack options. They also tell you some foods that count for 1 block of carb, fat and protein so that you can make up your own snacks should you not like any of their ideas.
You also looked unsure as to how many blocks you were having per day, (or how many you should have for your activity level) and there is a quick quiz on there that will estimate how many you should have.

As far as books go, I LOVE the Zone Food Blocks book. This book breaks down just about any food that you could imagine into one block servings. It makes it incredibly easy to judge your intake of fat, protein and carbs. It also will tell you what the %'s are in pre-made meals as well as eating out meals.

I agree with CaroleSP on the salad dressing issue. Making your own is VERY easy and it tastes great. Personally, I like a 1 part olive oil 2 parts vinegar combination.

Hope some of this helps! Just keep on trying and it will click!

TonyD,

I'm reading the book "The Top 100 Zone Foods" by Barry Sears, and I highly recommend it. It gives the basics of the zone diet, a day in the zone and great recipes.

I'm thinking about switching from atkins to the zone.

You may not have to cut back on protein. Just don't have more than 5 ounces per serving...

That would equate to approx. 3 carb blocks, but would have to know the carb and fiber count from the label to be sure.

Excellent. That is a great book to begin with.

You're right. That book does not explain the block method and does suggest using the eyeball method. I would suggest using a kitchen scale and other measuring tools until you're fully familiar with serving sizes..

Try going back to the book and start with the menus beginning on p. 69. Choose breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks you can do for a week or two. You don't have to do "Day 1", Day 2, etc. Just find the meals you can do. Substitue from the back of the book if you need to .
Doing this for a week or two will clear your mind. You'll find you have more energy and clearer mental focus. It will be much easier then to take on learning more.
The block method can be confusing if you're not accustomed to reading food labels and measuring things.
One block is comprised of: 7g of protein, 9g of carb & 3g of fat.
For example (approx): 2 egg whites = 7g of protein, 1/3C of cooked oatmeal = 9g carb & 2/3t = 3g fat. Multiply all those items by 4, and you have a 4 block breakfast (alittle boring, but you get the idea)
Now, the sample menus (for men) in the book total 14 blocks. You are likely to need more. You need to know YOUR block requirement. It is determined by your LBM and activity level ~ NOT your weight. We "feed" lean muscle ~ NOT fat. The easiest way to determine your block requirement is to go to: http://www.zoneperfect.com/site/content/calculator.asp
or if you know your LBM, let me know and I'll figure it out for you.

Thank you all for helping a total stranger. I went to a few sites yesterday. From all I have read, it appears I was eating too much meat and too little vegetables. I am very encoraged by your help.

I also realize how often I have had a meal that was completely off the diet. I was on Atkins for 3 years and never had even 1 mmeal off the diet but I am a lot looser with the zone.

I have to say that I felt a lot better yesterday and was not hungry after adjusting my meals for blocks. Basically, I was having 6 or 8 oz of meat and a salad as a meal. I am swithching to 4 oz of meat, a salad and a big serving of steamed evegetables with a little olive oil.

Coach: I did go to the zone to calculate the blocks I need. It said I have 21% body fat and should be 15%. It said I need 14 blocks per day.

Thank you all for you help. Any additional insights will be greatly appreciated. I am working on this until I have lost another 25 pounds and am alert all day long.

Excellent. That means you are finding your Zone.

That means you have 166lbs of LBM ~ Lean body mass ~ which is what you need to feed. I am surprised it came up with 14, as I would have said 16-17 assuming your activity level was higher. Are you sure you're estimating your activity level correctly? 14 blocks comes in at barely above a couch potato. What is your weekly activity schedule? If you are indeed at 14 blocks, then you can follow the menu guide in AWitZ.

Remember: Drink about 100 ounces of water per day. Eat at least one block upon waking and one block before going to bed. Spread your eating throughout the day. 5Xs is only the minimum amount of times you should eat.


You can expect 1.5 lbs per week ~ realistically
KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS!

Thanks for staying in touch. I am not a couch potato. I usually walk about 30 minutes per day but I haven't lately due to extreme cold. My wife and I square dance every week (doesn't sound like much but a coupke hiours of that and you know it). I am pretty active during the day but don't do any other official exercise.

Thnaks for the help.

zone coach _ Your body has really inspired me. Whilst I am in pretty good shape , Im still not the CALVIN kLEIN UNDERPANTS model look yet.
This is really facinating stuff and I am going to investigate my own situation....What site ought I start with to get a general overview and get started zoning. My exercise routine programme is alot like yours from what i have seen

I appreciate the feedback on the xenadrine etc

Adding some sort of strength and resistance exercise 3X/week would dramatically enhance your efforts.
You're welcome.

They always seem a bit thin IMO

This is what worked for me: First I bought the book "A Week in the Zone" ~ read it cover to cover one night and began following the menus right away. At first, it seemed like such an enormous amount of food that I thought I had to be doing something wrong. I've found the zoneperfect site to be extremely helpful. I would suggest going out the the FAQ section(s) first and also the Body Fat Calculator. It will tell you how many blocks you need. That should be enough to get you on your way. If you can't find the book, don't worry. The FAQ section has more than enough information; it will just be a little more cumbersome piecing it all together. Don't feel the need to learn it all at once. It takes time and patience with yourself and your body's reaction to food. The weight loss will come.