The zone diet is a method of losing weight based on the concepts of “balance” and “moderation” of food. The zone diet is a method for weight loss developed overseas by the American biochemist Barry Sears, president of the Inflammation Research Foundation and researcher at the Boston University School of Medicine and MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. How does the Zone Diet work?Let’s start with the name of the famous food program, immediately sweeping away a false myth: the term “zone” could mistakenly suggest that the diet developed by the nutritionist aims at losing fat mass and remodeling only a specific part of the body. It is not so.
“Zone” is a word used in pharmaceuticals to indicate the amount of a drug required to be effective. If it is true that ” we are what we eat “, according to Sears, the most important drug for our body is food, which we must use as a medicine by dosing types, quantities and times of “administration” to obtain the best state of health and well-being for the organism. Therefore, the zone is the optimal condition we can obtain for our body, working on four pillars, of which nutrition is the first fundamental step: food, exercise, stress management, and Omega 3 supplementation.
Zone Diet For Weight Loss: How Does It Work?
The Zone Diet focuses not strictly on calories but on protein levels to maintain muscle mass. This amount of protein is individual: once the total daily protein requirement has been calculated, it is divided into more or less equal parts to be distributed throughout the day.
At each meal, this quantity of protein must be balanced with several carbohydrates higher than a third, adding a source of monounsaturated fats (such as extra virgin olive oil). The composition of the meal must comply with the scheme of 40-30-30. The calories, that is, will be taken in according to this rigid proportion: 40% deriving from carbohydrates, 30% from proteins and 30% from fats. The ratio optimally stabilizes blood sugar levels ( glycaemia ).
Zone Diet, What You Eat
The American scholar inventor of the zone diet divides foods into favorable, unfavorable, or limited, precisely based on their glycemic index. Ok then to lean protein sources such as white meats and fish, ok also to low glycemic index carbohydrates, that is non-starchy vegetables (all except potatoes, pumpkin, cooked carrot, beetroot) and fruit(except bananas, mango, papaya, watermelon, persimmon), olive oil and dried fruit in the shell but also grapes, dates and figs. So-called beneficial carbohydrates are also considered hulled oats and red wine (to be taken in moderation).
Among the carbohydrates to be limited, we find cereals, derivatives (bread and pasta), and fruit juices. On the other hand, sweets, alcoholic and sugary drinks should be avoided. The diet should be divided into five meals: three primary and two snacks. Therefore, the US scheme of the zone diet follows that of the Mediterranean diet, which, according to some, would constitute a sort of evolution. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A typical breakfast might include Greek yogurt with added almonds.
For lunch, an appetizer of grilled vegetables, grilled fish and fruit. For dinner, grilled chicken with grilled or baked vegetables and fruit. For snacks, you can eat a piece of fruit and a bit of cheese or a glass of red wine with a piece of cheese. The menu must change every day but always follow the pattern of the balanced relationship between its components. Make way for the imagination of the recipes so as not to risk getting bored and repetitive.
