Zone diet - rules, products and sample menu

The Barry Sears Zone Diet is one of the most preferred food types in CrossFit.

Brief background. In 1996, the book "Enter the Health Zone" was published by the authoritative nutritionist and Dr. Barry Sears. The publication caused a flurry of rave reviews. Sears's book is not only complete recommendations for nutrition, but also new principles of a correct and healthy lifestyle. Readers are encouraged to reconsider their views on food consumption and switch to the zone diet.

What is its practical meaning and how to correctly follow it, you will learn from our article.

Barry Sears believes that the global problem of excess weight in mankind appeared along with the food surplus (that is, excess). People eat too many carbohydrates, do not eat up protein, and are extremely wary of fats.

Almost all traditional diets are based on strict restriction of calorie intake by cutting fat, and nutritionists often underestimate the role of carbohydrates in the deposition of extra pounds.

The essence of the zone diet

The essence of the zone diet is to completely change the approach to nutrition and redefine the role of all nutrients from the standpoint of benefit or harm to the body.

Zone diet of Dr. Barry Sears is aimed not only at effective fat burning and cleansing the body, but also at comfortable well-being. Adhering to such a diet, a person does not feel hunger even with the minimum calorie intake of the daily diet.

The main principle of the zonal diet is the construction of a person's daily diet according to the scheme for separating proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the ratio: 30/30/40, respectively.

According to the principle of the zonal diet, all products are divided, based on their energy value, into protein, fat and carbohydrate blocks. The average daily diet does not exceed 1500-1700 calories, which on average leads to the loss of 500-600 grams of excess fat per week.

CrossFitters often prefer this type of diet. Athletes believe that the correct ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the zone diet increases the efficiency of training and maintains the body in good shape.

It is difficult to disagree with this opinion, since in comparison with another diet popular among CrossFitters - the paleo diet, where the use of carbohydrates is practically excluded, the zonal diet allows you to use healthy carbohydrates in the optimal amount for the body, but not exceeding 40% of the daily diet.

Considering that CrossFit training is extremely energy-consuming, and the human body draws energy and strength from carbohydrate sources, the advantages of the zone diet are obvious.

Diet mechanism of action

Barry Sears's concept allows one to evaluate food products not only in terms of their division into proteins, fats and carbohydrates, but also in terms of the occurrence of the body's hormonal response to the use of a particular product.

It is the launch of a chain of hormonal reactions after a meal that ultimately determines how much fat is stored in the body. If we are talking about fat burning, then controlling hormonal reactions is the true way to success in losing weight.

Chain of hormonal reactions

The purpose of the Zone Diet is to improve overall health through controlled hormonal responses to food eaten.

The mechanism of action of the zone diet is as follows: each nutrient, entering the human body, causes a chain of hormonal reactions with the release of hormones and superhormones (eicosanoids), which differently affect not only the processes of fat burning, but also on human health in general.

Balancing body reactions

There are two groups of eicosanoids. They are conventionally subdivided into “bad” and “good”. The characterization is, of course, relative and is only needed to explain the concept.

For example, it is the “bad” eicosanoids that provoke the platelet clotting reaction, and the “good” ones prevent it. But if a person cuts a finger, it is the "bad" eicosanoids that cause a reaction of rapid blood coagulation, otherwise the victim will simply bleed out.

On the other hand, a blood clot resulting from an excess of "bad" eicosanoids can provoke a heart attack.

Conclusion: only the right balance of all hormonal reactions and substances in the body ensures good health and good immunity. It is the balancing act through the management of hormonal responses in the body that Dr.

Nutrition rules in the zone diet

Basic food rules according to Barry Sears:

1. Determine the exact protein requirement of your body and never violate this indicator. Don't overeat or reduce protein.
2. Be sure to observe the ratio of protein to carbohydrate blocks: 1: 1.
3. Do not allow breaks between meals for more than 4-5 hours.
4. Break your daily nutrient requirements into 5 meals: 3 main meals and 2 snacks.
5. The best fats are unsaturated fats.
6. Do not exceed the calorie content of your main meal and snack. (500 and 100 calories, respectively).
7. If you are actively involved in CrossFit and your protein requirements are increasing, then it is better to increase the number of meals, rather than serving size.
8. Protein is preferably obtained from low fat foods.
9. Carbohydrates should have a low glycemic index.
10. Drink at least 250 ml of water with each meal.
11. Do not drink coffee or caffeinated drinks.
12. If you break one of the above rules, try to keep your next meal as close as possible to the standard of the zone diet.

Featured Products

The use of foods from the “wanted” list is encouraged.

These include:

• protein products of both animal and vegetable origin;
• complex carbohydrates, mainly from vegetables and fruits;
• unsaturated fats of vegetable origin.

Prohibited products

Prohibited foods include:

• protein foods of animal origin with an extremely high content of saturated fat;
• simple carbohydrates: all sugar and all sweets, white bread, pasta and dough products;
• saturated fat of predominantly animal origin.

How to calculate the amount of protein?

The most important point in determining the correct daily diet is to determine the need for a particular person for protein, since the amount of protein required for effective fat burning is strictly individual.

First, calculate your percentage of body fat to total body weight. Usually for such calculations, special online calculators are used, programmed according to the entered parameters to calculate the percentage of fat in the human body.

Next, we determine the level of physical activity in relation to the need for protein. To do this, use the following table.

The ratio of physical activity to protein requirements

When making calculations according to the table above, consider a number of features:

• Not in all cases the weight of a particular person should be taken for calculations. It is the weight of a person without fat that is an indicator taken into account when calculating the need for protein.
• The level of physical activity of a person who is overweight will always be higher than the level of physical activity of a person of normal weight with the same lifestyle, since carrying excess weight in itself is equivalent to light physical activity 24 hours a day. Therefore, if a person leads a sedentary lifestyle and has an excessive percentage of body fat (30% for men and 40% for women), then his protein requirement will be 0.6 grams per pound of "net" mass.

Formula for calculating individual protein requirements

Weight without fat ("net" weight) x Equivalent physical activity = daily protein requirement

For example, if you take a woman with a weight of 75 kilograms (165 lbs) and a percentage of fat mass of 30%, while at the same time with a moderate level of physical activity, then the determination of the daily protein requirement will proceed as follows:

1. 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds, so 75 kg = 165 pounds. Since 165 pounds is not a "net" weight, we need to determine the weight of "net" muscle mass.
2. 165 lbs x 0.3 (30% body fat) = 49.5 pounds (excess body fat).
3. 165 pounds - 49.5 pounds = 115.5 pounds (net muscle weight).
4. To determine the daily protein requirement, it remains to multiply the "net" weight by the indicator of physical activity: 115.5 x 0.7 = 80.85 grams (daily protein requirement for a woman weighing 75 kilograms, 30% fat mass, and having moderate physical activity).

It turns out that 81 grams of protein is the optimal daily requirement for the woman in this example. But consuming this amount of protein should be evenly distributed throughout the day. Dr. Barry Sears suggests dividing your daily protein requirement into separate blocks, each equal to 7 grams of protein per pound.

Thus, with a daily requirement of 81 grams of protein, 11 (round up) protein blocks per day are obtained. These blocks, in turn, were divided into main meals and snacks. Breakfast, lunch and dinner - 3 blocks each, afternoon snack and a snack before bed - 1 block each.

The menu for the daily ration is selected using tables with approximate blocks of the zone diet, given below.

Examples of typical diet blocks

To make it easier to compose the menu yourself, nutritionists have developed several typical blocks for the zone diet. Below are a few examples of such blocks, namely protein, carbohydrate and fat.

Typical protein blocks

Typical carbohydrate blocks

Carbohydrates in the Zone Diet are also subdivided 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 be exactly the same as the number of carbohydrate blocks. For example, if the number of protein blocks is 11, the carbohydrates will also be 11.

But in the case of carbohydrates, be sure to consider the type and quality of carbohydrates. All low glycemic carbohydrates are suitable for the Zone Diet. Carbohydrates with a high GI provoke the release of insulin into the blood and increase the number of "bad" eicosanoids, which makes it difficult or almost stops the process of fat burning. Moreover, if you consume at least one product from the "prohibited" group, the entire permissible daily intake of carbohydrates can be exhausted.

Typical Fat Blocks

Fats in the Zone Diet, paradoxically as it may sound, help fight body fat. Therefore, their proportion in the diet should be equal to the number of protein and carbohydrate blocks. Moreover, one block contains approximately 1.5 grams of fat.

The only restriction is that you cannot eat animal fats containing arachidonic acid: beef or other red meat, liver. Refrain from consuming such foods 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 healthy hormonal response: olive oil, hemp oil, flaxseed oil, avocados, olives, olives. It is these products that are absolutely neutral to the release of eicosanoids and do not affect the level of insulin in the blood. Along with this, they contribute to 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 are extremely beneficial to 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 to not only successful weight loss and good health.

Meal plan

Now that you know what the Zone Diet is and what foods are allowed, it's time to learn how to plan your meals. It is necessary to think over a long-term menu so that at the right time all the necessary products are in your refrigerator.

Below is a sample daily plan for a sedentary woman (11 blocks) with time and number of blocks:

If you don't wake up so early or can't force yourself to eat at 6 a.m., change your schedule by shifting breakfast to 9 a.m. and adding an extra snack after dinner, shortly before bed.

The benefits and harms of the zone diet

The benefits of the Zone Diet for the average person or CrossFit athlete are clear. Full control over hormonal reactions in the body leads not only to a persistent decrease in extra pounds due to a decrease in subcutaneous fat, but also strengthens health and immunity.

However, with all the benefits of the zonal diet, there are contraindications. Due to the high protein content in the diet, the diet is not suitable for people suffering from kidney failure or other problems with the kidneys and excretory system.

Zone nutrition is not recommended for diabetics, people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, heart and blood vessels.

Diet menu for the week

This menu is approximate and approximate: vary the meals according to individual physique and level of physical activity.

We recommend that you consult your doctor or dietitian before making any dietary changes. After switching to a diet, it will not be superfluous to undergo a medical examination with monitoring of all changes in the body.

Watch the video: Zone Diet Simplified (January 2025).