Nourishing diet “Zone” – say “No” to hunger and extra pounds!

In our time of predominance of a sedentary lifestyle and the availability of energy-rich foods, we have to fight for our figure. The weapons of such struggle are universal and yet diverse. These are diets, the principle of which is always the same - you can eat some foods and not all others. Among this variety of options, there is one diet that may seem like an exception to the rule. Fans of the diet under the original name “Zone” will not have to starve themselves and eat only vegetarian food. However, this is still a diet for weight loss.

Methods for losing weight and their variety

It is simply impossible to list all the diets here. However, you should focus on options like “Zone”. These include:

• Indian - based on a combination of rice, eggs, fruits, vegetables, dairy products;
• honey - a lot of honey in combination with meat products, fish, cereals, vegetables and fruits;
• Chinese - a combination of lean meat with eggs, vegetables and fruits;
• cucumber - the predominance of cucumbers in the menu in combination with bread, vegetable oil, eggs, and lean meat.

All these options are similar in one thing - they allow the presence of fats of animal and vegetable origin.

Authorized Products

• Fats include olive oil, avocado, nuts and fatty sea fish.
• You can eat lean meat, poultry, egg whites, cottage cheese, and fermented milk drinks.
• Green vegetables and herbs, it is not recommended to eat a lot of legumes, since carbohydrates predominate in them, which violates the correct proportion.

Table of permitted products

Peculiarities

Diet "Zone" - what is it? The technique under such an unusual name was invented by Dr. B. Sears . Initially, this method of losing weight was described in a book with a long title of 20 words. If you shorten it, leaving the essence, you get: “The Zone: the dietary road to permanent weight loss...”. People liked this book, but the diet described in it was shortened and began to be called simply “the zone.” The result is a somewhat ominous and ambiguous name, which fortunately has nothing to do with food in places of detention.

The specificity of the diet lies not only in the special menu. The “Zone” diet is actually aimed at preventing diabetes and improving the condition of an already ill person.

The Sears diet is based on the principle of a balance of “good” and “bad” eicosanoids. These are derivatives of polyunsaturated fatty acids that are formed during the oxidation process. They appear in the body if a person consumes fish oil, vegetable oils and other foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids.

Eicosanoids take part in the growth of muscle tissue, the formation of nerve irritations, the development of immunity, and the elimination of toxins and pathogens. Their presence has a particularly beneficial effect on the condition of the heart, blood vessels and immune system. Some eicosanoids function as hormones.

The division of eicosanoids into “good” and “bad” is associated with their effect on the amount of insulin produced. When its concentration increases, a person is prone to accumulating excess fat.

What can you eat while dieting?

All products are divided into permitted and prohibited. Since this food system involves avoiding sugar and harmful polyunsaturated fats, the list of taboos significantly exceeds the list of permitted foods.

Sugary carbonated drinks, alcohol, caffeine, sweet juices, processed and animal fats, bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, flour products, instant cereals - all this is prohibited, and the consumption of fruits with a high sugar content (bananas, plums, raisins, grapes) is limited.

As for the foods that can be consumed during the diet, these are: red, white, Brussels sprouts, dill, cucumbers, leeks, green and onions, sorrel, asparagus, spinach, bell peppers, arugula, artichokes, parsley and lettuce. , tomatoes, citrus fruits and pomegranates.

Olive oil and fish oil are allowed as fats.

The essence of the diet

For some time, a person should eat in such a way that every day he consumes 30% proteins and fats, and 40% carbohydrates.

Sears's slogan regarding this diet sounds paradoxical - to avoid getting fat, eat more. However, the concept of “more” does not refer to the amount of food eaten at one time, but to the number of meals.

Numerous studies indicate that the person who gets fat is the one who eats a lot of food at one time. The principle of frequent consumption of small amounts of food is accepted by all nutritionists in the world. A similar principle applies to a fractional diet.

Zone Diet Terms

The author gives a description of the diet for weight loss in the book “The Zone”: a dietary road to losing weight,” in which he uses the following terms:

• block – a unit of measurement of food consumed by a person;
• being in the “zone” is a person’s state when three clinical markers correspond to the norm (TG/HDL, A₁C, AA/EPA).

One block of the “zone” diet:

• protein – 7 g;
• fats – 1.5 g;
• carbohydrates – 9 g.

The larger and more athletic a person is, the more blocks they need. For comparison, a short girl needs 10 blocks a day, a tall and athletic girl needs 14, a slender man needs 16 blocks, an athlete needs 25.

Quinoa porridge with fruit

In their activities, nutritionists and fitness trainers use the following concepts:

1. The grassroots zonal diet is a nutritional system for women. Girls who strictly follow it lose weight in their legs and hips , but the upper body does not undergo visible changes.
2. “CrossFit” is a zonal diet focused on building muscle mass and reducing layers of fatty tissue.

BZHU zonal diet – 30:30:40

Skinless poultry fillets, lean meats, fish and seafood, soy products, and egg whites contain protein. Fat suppliers :

• sesame, olive, peanut oil;
• pistachios, walnuts, almonds;
• avocado;
• pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds.

Sources of carbohydrates are cereals: buckwheat, oats, barley, couscous, quinoa.

Menu options

Despite the strictness of the conditions of this “The Zone” diet, different food combinations are allowed. Let's take as a basis one example of a diet according to the Sears diet for 7 days.

Consider the menu for the “Zone” diet for every day:

Day 1

• Breakfast: omelet with cheese and egg whites (4 eggs, 1 tsp cheese shavings), ½ cup raisins, a piece of black bread, tea.
• Lunch: 200 g crab meat with mayonnaise, lemon juice and pita bread.
• Afternoon snack: 0.5 cups of sour cream.
• Dinner: beef cutlet with herbs.
• Before bed: 0.5 cups of berries.

The menu for the “Zone” diet on the second day includes:

• Breakfast: a piece of bacon, 0.5 cups of Hercules flakes soaked in water, almonds (1 tbsp.), mineral water or tea.
• Lunch: boiled poultry fillet (200 g), tomato, greens, piece of cheese, 100 g of nuts, 0.5 apple.
• Afternoon snack: broccoli with olive oil.
• Dinner: baked poultry fillet with lemon, spinach, fresh strawberries (100 g).
• Before bed: peach and cottage cheese.

Day 3

• Breakfast: fruits, raisins, nuts, cottage cheese and tea.
• Lunch repeats the lunch dishes of the first day.
• Afternoon snack: cottage cheese with pineapple slices.
• Dinner: baked fish with fresh vegetables.
• Before bed: a slice of ham, nuts, raisins.

Day 4

• Breakfast: a slice of bacon, ¼ cup of yogurt with berries and ground almonds, tea.
• Lunch: baked poultry fillet (175 g), salad of olives, champignons and celery, flavored with lemon juice and sunflower oil, orange for dessert.
• Afternoon snack: 0.5 apples, a piece of cheese.
• Dinner: a piece of baked pork with fresh vegetables.
• Before bed: a glass of weak red wine and 0.5 cups of sour cream.

Day 5

• Breakfast: 2 slices of croutons, berries (0.5 cups), tea.
• Lunch: boiled poultry fillet (175 g), bread, raisins.
• Afternoon snack: a piece of ham, raisins with grated avocado.
• Dinner: cutlet (beef), boiled broccoli, 0.5 apples.
• Before bed: a piece of ham and some berries.

Day 6

• Breakfast: a piece of ham, a tomato, a piece of watermelon, a glass of tea.
• Lunch: sandwich with poultry fillet and crab meat, 0.5 tangerine.
• Afternoon snack: cottage cheese with pineapple pieces and ground almonds.
• Dinner: boiled poultry fillet (200 g) with boiled vegetables and fresh berries (75 g).
• Before bed: a piece of ham and half a glass of berries.

Day 7

• Breakfast: omelet with cheese (see day one), a piece of black bread, 0.5 grapefruit, a glass of tea.
• Lunch: baked chicken breast (150 g) with prunes and sweet peppers.
• Afternoon snack: boiled chicken egg, 0.5 apples and a quarter cup of almonds.
• Dinner: 200 g of fried salmon.
• Before bed: a piece of boiled chicken fillet.

In the seven-day course described, some products can be replaced with analogues. For example, any use of berries is allowed; you can replace apples with citrus fruits. However, bananas should not be introduced as they contain a lot of starch, which affects the balance. You can change the meat ingredients: chicken breast, lean pork, veal.

To create a monthly menu for the “Zone” diet, simply swap the days of the week and use analogue products to diversify your diet.

Attention! Reviews and results of the “Zone” diet speak for themselves!

General rules

American biochemist Barry Sears believes that a state of hormonal balance can be achieved through diet - thus losing weight and maintaining weight at the achieved level. This is possible only by maintaining an optimal level of insulin , the increase of which he calls the main enemy of the figure, since its function in the body is to convert carbohydrates into fats and store them “in reserve.”
After careful testing, the Zone nutrition program he developed was “launched” into mass use in 1984. Its main principle is a balanced intake of carbohydrates (they should be 40%), fats (30%), and proteins (30%) at each meal. The biochemist calls this amount of necessary nutrients the protein, carbohydrate and fat zones, respectively. It is this ratio that he considers a “favorable zone” for the body. Following the zonal proportion will not cause insulin spikes, and carbohydrates, fats and proteins, without accumulating, will be used by the body for its needs. In this case, the body will use both incoming calories and expend accumulated energy reserves in the form of fat. Oddly enough, insulin production and its level within 4-5 hours after a meal are influenced not only by carbohydrates, but also by proteins.

Thus, the Zone diet provides for a careful preparation of the diet, taking into account the ratio of essential nutrients. Despite the fact that the main culprit for elevated insulin levels is carbohydrates, you don’t need to completely give them up. They should come with every meal, but in limited quantities.

The same applies to fats - the body needs them. Fat does not increase insulin levels and also promotes rapid satiety. It is better if these are monounsaturated fats, which are vital (they are found in fatty fish and nuts). Our body needs it.

A key element of the diet is adequate protein intake. It is possible to correctly calculate its amount only by taking into account height, weight (without fat tissue), volume, and level of physical activity. After this, you need to determine the amount of fats and carbohydrates. If we take average data, it is enough to consume 75 g of protein daily for women and 100 g for men. The diet focuses on protein foods with low fat content.

With all this, it is necessary to monitor caloric intake. For women, the minimum limit is 1100 kcal, and for men 1400 kcal. If you don't consume enough calories, you will feel constant hunger, irritability and decreased performance. This diet is more of a lifestyle that you can stick to constantly. However, you can try eating this system for two weeks and lose weight by 2-3 kg.

Nutrition rules

Five meals a day (3 main and 2 additional meals). You need to eat every 4-5 hours, regardless of the presence of hunger or its absence. Organize breakfast an hour after waking up, lunch at a time convenient for you, dinner 2 hours before bedtime. Arrange small “snacks” at your own discretion and opportunity. Start every meal with protein dishes.

Use a portion measurement system: protein foods should fit in the palm of your hand, and carbohydrate foods (vegetables) should be the size of a fist. There is enough fat if you add nuts to salads, if there is fatty fish in the portion. Or take 1-2 tsp. olive oil for vegetable salad.

Maintain a drinking regime (1.5 liters of liquid). Drinking water 30 minutes before meals can dull your appetite and thus reduce the portion of food you eat.

For the convenience of preparing a diet, the doctor has determined zone blocks for proteins, fats and carbohydrates. One block contains approximately 7 g of protein, 9 g of carbohydrates and 7 g of fat.

One protein block can be represented by:

• 25 g shrimp;
• 25-30 g lean meat;
• 100 g low-fat tofu cheese;
• 50 g low-fat cottage cheese;
• 1 whole egg or 2 whites;
• 30-40 g of fatty fish (salmon, salmon, tuna, trout).

One carbohydrate block (mostly low glycemic index ):

• a glass of steamed or fresh vegetables;
• 2 tomatoes;
• 1 raw carrot;
• 1 peach, lemon or plum;
• half an apple, orange or grapefruit;
• 15 g cereal;
• 0.25 cups mashed potatoes.

One fat zone block:

• 1 tsp oil (olive, peanut);
• 3 olives;
• 1 tbsp. l. low-fat sour cream;
• 1 tbsp. l. avocado pulp;
• nuts (2 cashews, 3 almonds, 6 peanuts).

If you adhere to the diet very strictly, then according to this scheme, for one block of fat you need to take one block of proteins and one carbohydrate block. For a small snack, it is enough to take one block of all products: 50 g of low-fat cottage cheese, three almonds and one peach. Lunch will be more saturated - for example, two blocks of all products: 60 g of boiled meat, 2 cups of steamed vegetables with 1 tsp. olive oil. It will probably be difficult to master three blocks: 100 g of vegetables, 3 tablespoons of butter and 3 cups of vegetables. Dinner may well consist of products taken in 2 blocks of each.

The developer of this nutrition program claims that regular physical activity is of great importance in controlling insulin levels. If going to the gym is difficult, start with regular walking and gradually increase its duration. Then you can add strength training.

Restrictions and contraindications

The “Zone” diet is a complete diet, so there are few contraindications. It is not recommended to resort to such a diet for people who have:

• allergies to essential ingredients;
• underweight and protein starvation;
• diseases of the liver, pancreas and gastrointestinal tract;
• hormonal imbalance.

In the last two cases, people are forced to sit on constant therapeutic diets that do not allow deviations from the rules.

Advantages and disadvantages

A diet for quick weight loss for girls has its positive and negative sides.

Pros:

• the best diet for quick weight loss, which is popular in many countries around the world, as well as among famous stars;
• This is a homemade diet for quick weight loss - 3-6 kg per week;
• strengthens the immune system;
• improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
• tones muscles;
• prevention of vascular diseases;
• no need to strictly count calories;
• you can choose your own diet and create a menu;
• lack of hunger.

Minuses:

• not suitable for everyone;
• it is important to correctly calculate the amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates - otherwise the zone diet will not give the desired result;
• There are no strict calorie calculations, but the daily norm should not be exceeded;
• there are contraindications.

Prohibitions and recommendations

Despite the presence of nutritious and seemingly non-dietary food, the Sears diet does not tolerate deviations from the rules, so the products for the “Zone” diet must be strictly those indicated in the diet. Switching to unacceptable ingredients means changing the balance described above. As a result, instead of losing weight, a person gains even more weight.

You cannot use fat-burning drugs while eating this diet. Any means that stimulate metabolism can greatly affect the result.

Zone diet rules

It is known that many methods of losing weight are based on restrictions on the number of calories consumed. Zonal does not force you to count calories - they should not decrease, but the food should be varied. Each meal should contain a certain amount of protein (both the main meal and the snack). Carbohydrates should be as light as possible, for example, vegetables, beans, fruits. Complex carbohydrates are found in rice, pasta, bread, mangoes, bananas, papaya.

The author of the method says that determining the required amount of each element begins with the protein part, and from there fats and carbohydrates are calculated. The right combination of these ingredients should be present in every meal. To get maximum results, you need to exercise regularly. On average, the total caloric content of the diet is no more than 1700 kcal.

This diet is more of a lifestyle that you can stick to for the rest of your life. But there is also a simple form of it, designed for 13–14 days, with which you can quickly lose 2–3 kg of weight. During this time, you need to eat in a zonal proportion of 40:30:30 with foods such as apples, vegetable salads, baked and boiled meat, low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, raisins, and nuts.

The following rules for zonal nutrition are distinguished:

1. You need to take zone food no later than an hour after waking up.
2. The break between main meals should be 4–6 hours.
3. Allow yourself to have a snack if you feel very hungry.
4. You need to drink at least 8 glasses of clean water per day during the diet.
5. Start each meal with lean protein.
6. The optimal protein intake for a man is 120 g, for a woman – 90 g.
7. The best fats to eat in your diet are unsaturated fats.
8. Drink 250 ml of water with each meal.
9. Go for walks and exercise more often.
10. Limit your consumption of caffeinated drinks.

Effect and results

You should not expect results from this diet the very next day. You will be able to feel the expected result only after completing the entire course. However, the hallmark of the Sears diet is its long-lasting effects.

Attention! Since the balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats affects the biochemical balance, the positive effects last a long time - several years, or even a lifetime.

However, when a person returns to food excesses and a sedentary lifestyle, it will negatively affect the figure and health. After the diet, you still need to eat five times a day. Only the products can now be different.

Benefits of the Zone Diet

The zone diet regimen is useful for both the average person and the professional CrossFit athlete. In addition to feeling great, this provides total control over hormonal changes in the body, which leads to a reduction in the amount of subcutaneous fat and strengthening of the immune system. The main benefits of the diet include:

• moderate reduction in body weight - 500 g per week;
• lost kilograms are not returned;
• the level of mental and physical endurance increases;
• the aging process slows down;
• There is no need to constantly count the calories you consume.

Dish recipes

A diet is not a sentence to monotonous and tasteless food. There are many dietary recipes that can be used daily as desired. All of them consist of healthy products, saturate the body to the fullest, accelerate metabolic processes, and promote weight loss.

Diet omelette

Ingredients:

1. 2 eggs.
2. Greenery.
3. Grated cheese.
4. Milk.
5. Pepper.

Mix two eggs and 50 ml of milk, add finely chopped pepper and mix. The omelette is placed in a heated frying pan, covered with a lid and cooked over low heat. At the end of cooking, sprinkle cheese on top and lay out the prepared breakfast on lettuce leaves. If possible, do not add salt to the dish.

Chicken cutlets

Ingredients:

1. Minced chicken.
2. Tomato paste.
3. Boiled beans.
4. Onion.
5. Greenery.

Minced chicken should be mixed with chopped onion, add a little boiled beans and mix thoroughly. If desired, chopped dill is added to the cutlets. The cutlets need to be baked in the oven or steamed; a frying pan is not used for diet food. The cutlets are served with the addition of sauce, herbs and tomatoes.

Baked chicken fillet

Ingredients:

1. Chicken fillet.
2. Salt.
3. Tomato.
4. Onion.
5. Hard cheese.

You need to beat the chicken fillet a little and add salt. On top of the meat is placed onion cut into rings, a layer of hard cheese and a tomato ring. You can bake in a slow cooker or in the oven.

These basic recipes for the right dishes will help you diversify your diet as much as possible and prove that you can also eat tasty food on a diet. The main thing is to know when to stop and eat at least 5 times a day in small portions. Only in this case will there be a result.

Restrictions

The zone diet includes a specific list of foods that are recommended to be followed. Here is a sample list of products.

• Proteins:
  beef, chicken, turkey, grouper, halibut, lobster, shrimp, egg white.
• Fats:
  almonds, peanuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, olive oil, avocado, tahini, pistachios, sesame oil.
• Carbohydrates:
  asparagus, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, cabbage, lentils, pumpkin, zucchini, apples, berries, grapes, oranges, peaches. Slow-digesting grains such as barley and oatmeal are also acceptable.

Disadvantages of the Zone Diet

Despite all the positive aspects, the zone diet has a number of contraindications. Protein, which predominates in the diet, will have a bad effect on people suffering from constipation and kidney problems - complications may arise. Patients with diabetes mellitus, heart and vascular diseases need to be careful about this diet - before starting a diet, it is better to consult a doctor so that he can monitor all changes occurring in the body. Other disadvantages include:

• Dr. Barry Sears' Zone Diet is not suitable for professional athletes because it is low in carbohydrates;
• Nutritionists do not consider the zonal diet to be balanced, so they advise taking a course of vitamins at the same time.

Side effects

Side effects appear with great intensity only if you do not follow all the rules and nutritional recommendations. But sometimes, even when all the principles and nuances are followed, side effects occur. They are as follows:

• General weakness of the body;
• Apathy towards the movement;
• Dizziness;
• Nausea;
• Periodic pain in the stomach.

All side effects disappear within 1-3 days after the diet, so they do not pose any danger and are considered a common occurrence. But, if you abuse harmful foods and do not follow the diet for 10 days, the side effects may intensify, leading to other serious disruptions in the functioning of the system.

Examples of typical diet blocks

To make it easier to create a menu on your own, nutritionists have developed several typical blocks for a zone diet. Below are several examples of such blocks, namely protein, carbohydrate and fat.

Typical protein blocks

Typical carbohydrate blocks

Carbohydrates in the zone diet are also divided into blocks. If one protein block contains 7 grams of “pure” protein per pound, then for carbohydrates this block is 9 g. The number of protein blocks should exactly match the number of carbohydrate blocks. For example, if the number of protein blocks is 11, there will also be 11 carbohydrate blocks.

But in the case of carbohydrates, be sure to consider the type and quality of carbohydrates. All carbohydrates with a low glycemic index are suitable for the zone diet. Carbohydrates with a high GI provoke the release of insulin into the blood and increase the amount of “bad” eicosanoids, which makes it difficult or almost stops the fat burning process. Moreover, if you consume at least one product from the “forbidden” group, the entire permissible daily allowance for carbohydrates may be exhausted.

Typical fat blocks

Fats in the zone diet, as paradoxical as it may sound, help fight fat deposits. Therefore, their share in the diet should be equal to the number of protein and carbohydrate blocks. At the same time, one block contains approximately 1.5 grams of fat.

The only restriction is that you should not consume animal fats containing arachidonic acid: beef or other red meat, liver. Avoid eating such products completely, as they cause a number of negative hormonal responses in the body.

Otherwise, all fats from white meat (pork, rabbit), poultry or fish are allowed for consumption. Vegetable unsaturated fats are especially effective in triggering a healing hormonal response: olive oil, hemp oil, flaxseed oil, avocados, black olives. These products are absolutely neutral to the release of eicosanoids and do not affect the level of insulin in the blood. At the same time, they promote rapid saturation, slow down the flow of glucose into the blood, have a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, hair and nails, and heal the body from the inside.

In addition, olive, hemp, peanut and flaxseed oils are rich in monounsaturated fats and have an extremely beneficial effect on the human body.

Remember that food is the most powerful medicine for all diseases. The ability to control the hormonal reactions of your body is the key not only to successful weight loss and good health.

Contraindications

Any diet can cause a number of consequences if you do not first familiarize yourself with the presence of contraindications. In order not to provoke the appearance of consequences, you should pay attention to the following contraindications:

• Kidney diseases;
• Disturbances in the functioning of the stomach;
• Chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract;
• Compliance with a therapeutic diet;
• Cholelithiasis;
• Hypertension.

Having such diseases, you need to immediately abandon such a diet and switch to proper nutrition. It consists of eliminating prohibited foods and consuming exclusively healthy ones. For the above diseases, any diet should be prepared only by a doctor, taking into account all the individual characteristics of the person and the course of the disease.