The Zone (book) wtf??
 

I've been reading bits and pieces of this book the last couple weeks. Apart from constantly talking about eiconsoids whatever they are, it is pretty good. Until I get to the part where it actually talks about how MUCH you should be eating.

Using me as an ex.

I'm 185, probably 15%bf so my lbm is about 160. According to the zone, if I am sedentary I only need 80g of protein a day. Ok that is ridiculous, but lets go with how much it recommends for heavy weight training daily or physical exercise twice a day 5 days a week (the highest protein requirement). For that it recommends 160g of protein a day. Putting that into the 40carbs/30pro/30fat nutrient breakdown gives a total caloric intake of 2133 calories. WTF? That is insanely low, and I would definitely waste away on that diet.

FWIW I had a couple handfuls of spinach, about 1.25 cups of cooked brown rice, and 2 chicken breasts (skin on) for dinner today. That is probably almost 1000 calories right there and is on the bigger side of a standard evening meal for me.

Anyone that knows more about this want to weigh in? J. Brown are you still eating zone?

Re: The Zone (book) wtf??
 

there are added calories/grams of fat/carb/protein... so for example a piece of chicken is labeled as protein, so a 4oz breast would be 4 blocks, but you also have some fat in there, because the macronutrient is protein, you ignore the fat. So when looking at it on paper, it looks way low, but its surprisingly accurate...or so i hear... i stopped zoning like 2 weeks in... let me know how you like it.

Re: The Zone (book) wtf??
 

Smiley,

they are sorta into calorie deprivation a bit as a way of longevity (you will starve for a bit and waste a way) so that is the reason things seem so low.

i think it is pretty accurate and when you get down to "too lean" the crossfit people then add like 20 extra fat blocks a day (nuts, nuts and more nuts) and get plenty of calories and energy etc, etc.

it is super tough for the first couple weeks for sure. i am about 80% zoning right now due to holidays, family in town, and i am ok with that for now. going to get back to the weighing and measuring soon and probably going to only eat like 15/16 blocks a day and try to get too lean, lol.

i felt like my crossfit performance and recovery have greatly been helped by the zone and if i give it 3 to 6 months of strict zoning i think i would reach a ton of CF goals but i like to live a semi-fun life too so it is a tough balance.

glassman said at the CF certification that he didn't know of any sub 3 minute fran performers who weren't zone dieters.

very interesting i thought. fire me a pm with any ????'s.

later. J.

p.s. when i "cheat" i do it with more protein usually and still try to stay away from any of the bad carbs.

p.s.s. i am drinking my 2nd beer as i post this. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Re: The Zone (book) wtf??
 

Hm, thanks J and AZK.

I guess you're right about adding the fat blocks. But doesn't that throw the 40/30/30 breakdown way out of whack?..although I guess even nuts have some protein and carbs. It just seemed really bizarre/must be wrong to say *anything more/less than 160grams of protein is super bad*.

16 blocks a day is crazy, thats probably not much more than a big meal for me right now! You definitely have a lot more discipline and willpower. GL with the 3min fran! At the moment I'm not really interested in eating zone, I'd like to eat more vegetables but they are so [censored] expensive here. Maybe next spring I'll try and cut down, but right now I'm shooting for a super strong somewhat soft 200lb (rugby build [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]).

Re: The Zone (book) wtf??
 

40/30/30 isn't really relevent, it is how they designed the meals to be eaten because that is the best way for people to get plenty of food while lowering total calories eaten; eg if you want to lose weight, it is a great idea to fill up on oatmeal and broccoli and chicken breasts because these things are filling but lower in calories than things like peanut butter and olive oil which are dense in calories. Also ensures you get plenty of all the other stuff you need in food while still having fairly low calories (EG u might be able to get your daily serving of antioxidants eating cheeseburgers but it's going to take like a lot of cals).

In the crossfit faq it says something like 'zone until u are at your target body fat % and then zone + fat for maintenence or maintenence+ calories. Or something like that.

I may have something wrong though...

Whatever the case I think its pretty interesting to do for a couple days no matter who you are because it makes you instantly realise how much food you're putting in your body (although i'm pretty afraid of this turning me into a huge life nit). It's pretty nice being able to go to the deli and know exactly how much food to buy though (eg i'll have 2 servings of pork, 3 servings of feta cheese and a serving of turkey breast please...).

Re: The Zone (book) wtf??
 

this will give you a pretty close calculation of you MAINTNANCE calorie intake, for a 25 yr old, 5'10, 185, and very active you calorie intake should be about 2900
carbs-1160 cals(290g) Protein-870 cals(218g) fats-870(97g)
if you wanna gain weight add 500 cals and see what happens. This isnt an exact, but if ur not sure where to start that is a great ,and pretty accurate starting point

Re: The Zone (book) wtf??
 

all those number come from active.com bye the way

Re: The Zone (book) wtf??
 

Right, that's what I'm saying. The numbers are off by a huge amount b/w what the zone recommends you eat, vs. everything else.

Re: The Zone (book) wtf??
 

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Right, that's what I'm saying. The numbers are off by a huge amount b/w what the zone recommends you eat, vs. everything else.

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i am totally picking up what you are laying down brother, but as it was explained to me is that the zone peeps feel that the best way to increase longevity of life is through an extended form of calorie deprivation of sorts. so they think we DON'T need all those cals. tough stuff.

here was my eating today 15 zone blocks, i am too lazy to figure out the cals, but i know it isn't ton. yes i am trying to lean out a bit to like low 160's of solid muscle.

9am--3/4 cup egg beaters, 2 blocks plain oatmeal, 1/2 cup grapes, 9 cashews

12pm--1 lean chicken sausage, 1 large apple, 9 almonds

3pm--1 protein shake, 1 cup blueberries, 1 tsp natural p.butter in shake

6pm--3 oz. flank steak, 4 cups steamed broccoli, 9 cashews

9pm--200 cal. protein bar (high fat/low carb one, tastes great) 100 cal. yogurt.

approx. 3 block meals x 5. a bit hungry, but not too bad.
i can live like this and if it helps me get a sub 3 minute fran time or helps with bw ohs or sub 18 min 5k then i am willing to sacrifice a bit. it does make you feel lean and mean.

hope this example helps. you don't really eat that much in one meal right now do you smiley? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

i was pretty active today too, a big warmup, 2 different wods and a bit of cardio this morning. 8 pack here i come.

cheers. J.

Re: The Zone (book) wtf??
 

gotcha J.

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3 oz. flank steak

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hey cmon thats like 1 big bite!! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I'm amazed you can thrive on such a small amount of food, I definitely buy how effective the diet is - just not something I'm willing/want to do right now.

[ QUOTE ]
you don't really eat that much in one meal right now do you smiley?

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[img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] this is what fitday said I had for dinner today! (2 shake'n'bake chicken breasts, brown rice, sunflower seeds)

Totals 1372cals 56fat 74carb 138protein

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8 pack here i come.

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Haha, mine is fading fast...just did a rough calc using fitday of my cal intake today: 3617 32/35/33 carbs/protein/fat - probably why!