The Zone Diet was developed by Dr. Barry Sears, a biochemist, with the belief that weight loss is maximized when calories are consumed in a ratio of 40 percent fat, 30 percent carbohydrates and 30 percent protein. This weight loss diet is intended to result in a gradual weight reduction of 1 lb. to 2 lbs. per week. Dieters are allotted a number of Zone Blocks based upon their activity level, height and weight. Zone Blocks are counted by dieters in lieu of other nutritional data, such as calories or carbohydrates, as a means to ensuring caloric intake is low enough to result in weight loss. Knowing how to calculate how many Zone Blocks is in a meal is the first step to take in the Zone Diet.
Step 1
Look up the number of grams of fat, carbohydrates and protein in the components of your meal. This information can be found on the nutrition label, in a nutrition information book, or in an online nutrition database.
Step 2
Develop your meal to have a ratio of carbohydrate grams, protein grams and fat grams of 9:7:7. For example, your meal may contain 27g of carbohydrates, 21g of protein and 21g of fat.
Step 3
Divide the number of grams of carbohydrates, protein and fat by the 9:7:7 ratio to determine how many Zone Blocks the meal contains. For example, a meal containing one Zone Block would contain 9g of carbohydrates, 7g of protein and 7g of fat. A meal containing five Zone Blocks would contain 45g of carbohydrates, 35g of protein and 35g of fat.
References
- "Zone Food Blocks: The Quick and Easy, Mix-and-Match Counter for Staying in the Zone"; Barry Sears Ph.D.; 1998
- "The Zone Diet"; Barry Sears Ph.D.; 1999
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