The Zone (book) wtf??

[MagicNinja]

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...).

[Machmood]

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

[Machmood]

all those number come from active.com bye the way

[SmileyEH]

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.

[J.Brown]

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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.

[SmileyEH]

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.

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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!

[AZK]

Also remember that your body is a beautiful machine. As you consume less, your body should become more efficient in extracting what it needs from your sources. That's the main kick behind Intermittent Fasting. If you eat 18 small meals a day, your body likely can't metabolize that much protein/fat/carb in one sitting, hence most of the meals are small, protein shakes label one serving as 20g, the rest you excrete, etc... If you are only eating once a day and consuming 100g of protein in that sitting, a majority of that protein is processed and used, not excreted...

Make some sense?

It all comes down to just continuing your lifting/workout program and noticing if any of your gains suffer... If they do, change something, if they don't, zone might be the right path for you. Ignore how you "feel" for the next few days as there is always an adjustment period when switching routines/diets/lifestyles...