The Zone Diet, developed by Dr. Barry Sears, says losing weight is a matter of treating the chronic inflammation in your body. By using food as medicine, you can balance your hormones, maintain your ideal body weight and avoid serious health complications such as diabetes. Getting in the Zone requires you to follow a high-protein moderate-carb diet that can help stabilize blood sugar and prevent hypoglycemia.
Sears says that if you're in the Zone, your metabolism is working efficiently, and your body will be able to fight inflammation, the root of many diseases. To enter the Zone, you need to eat a set ratio of protein, fat and carbohydrates -- 30 percent of your calories should come from protein, 30 percent from fat and 40 percent from carbs. According to Sears, ""your diet can be your greatest ally or worst enemy" because of the way your diet affects your hormones.
Carbs and Hypoglycemia
Carbohydrates have the greatest impact on glucose production -- the more carbs you eat, especially simple carbs, the faster your blood sugar rises, and the more insulin your pancreas will release to move glucose into your cells. Unfortunately, your pancreas might release too much insulin, leaving you with too little glucose, or hypoglycemia. Both limiting carbs and choosing the "right" carbs can help prevent hypoglycemia -- and the Zone Diet purports to do both these things.
Carbs in Zone
The Zone eating plan controls both quantity and quality of carb intake. If you are eating good carbs, called "favorable" by Sears, you can eat a larger amount. Most vegetables and fruits, as well as legumes and certain whole grains, are high in fiber and rich in nutrients. The Zone diet does allow for other "unfavorable"" carbs such as fruits very high in sugar, starchy vegetables and some refined grains, but if you choose foods in this category, portion size is limited.
Protein and Fat
The Zone Diet encourages lean protein such as fish or chicken and tries to limit saturated fat. Olive oil, macadamia nuts and avocados are all allowed on the Zone diet. It can be a little calorie-restricted for some -- according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, average caloric intake is about 1,000 calories daily. Although low in calories, the high fat and protein intake will help curb hunger. Because protein and fat slow digestion, as do the high-fiber carbs, you should be able to feel satisfied longer with fewer calories.
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