According to the ZonePerfect website, the ZonePerfect Nutrition Program is a way to gain nutritional balance in the body and lose weight. This program, developed by Barry Sears, is a three-week plan that sets out what and when to eat in order to satisfy your hunger and manage your energy level. This diet advocates consuming 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fat, and 40 percent protein in each meal. The theory behind the diet is that this formula can help prevent an insulin spike in the body, which can lead to the buildup of fat and obesity.
Calories
The first step in this program is to determine the number of calories you need to consume. The ZonePerfect website supplies a chart that outlines your current weight in pounds and the calorie level you require for weight loss. You can follow the meal plans according to your specific calorie needs. The calorie levels associated with each meal plan range from 1,300 to 2,200. An example of a dinner on a 1,300-calorie meal plan is wild rice, asparagus, chicken breast, and skim milk. Portions of food items are greater on higher-calorie meal plans.
Snacks
The ZonePerfect Nutrition Program states that nutritious and balanced snacks are a part of the three-week plan. The website supplies a list of appropriate snacks that are each approximately 100 calories per serving. The website also includes a chart to determine how to substitute snacks for others listed in meal plans. One snack option might be a string cheese stick with oz. of walnuts. Another snack option might be one banana with one ZonePerfect snack bar.
Snack Bars
The ZonePerfect plan promotes the use of its own ZonePerfect bars to consume within a specific meal plan. Different main flavors are the Classic, Dark Chocolate, Frutified and Cookie Dough. Within each of these broad flavors are other flavor options. One bar is 50 g and is approximately 210 calories per serving, with 6 g of fat and 15 g of protein. According to the ZonePerfect website, the snack bars are rich in antioxidants, such as magnesium, vitamin E and selenium. On average, one bar contains 10 percent of the recommended daily intake of magnesium, 90 percent of the recommended intake of vitamin E and 25 percent of the recommended intake of selenium.
Protein
According to the National Institutes of Health, protein is essential in the diet in order to help the body repair cells and build new cells. Protein is essential for growth and development during the life cycle and is all important for muscle gains. The ZonePerfect diet meal plans offer a high amount of protein. According to the ZonePerfect website, the snack bars also offer a satisfying amount of protein to support muscle gains and satiety.
Considerations
According to Changingshape.com, the Zone diet can lead to weight loss. It is also supported because its meal plans include fruits and vegetables. The diet may also be positive since it discourages the intake of junk food that is not healthy for your body. Changingshape.com states that possible disadvantages of the diet are that it may be difficult to follow or too costly because of its dependence on expensive protein products.
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