On Wed, 29 Mar 2000, Ken Stuart wrote:

> First, I don't see any reason to lose LBM on the Zone.   The protein
> calculations are identical to those in Protein Power, and they are designed to
> be adjusted for the amount of activity.

This is what Sears says, but its rubbish.  When calories are
sufficiently restricted, there's no amount of protein that will
prevent LBM loss.  *That's* the difference between the Zone and
Protein Power.  Burning of stored body fat is a rate-limited
process, as even Sears admits.  1000 cal/day is about the upper
limit of that process.  If the caloric deficit is more than that,
as it was on my Zone prescription, then there is no alternative
to burning muscle.  Note that at 255 (my weight when I started
the Zone) and a maintenance intake of about 14 cal./lb., or 3570
cal/day, my 18-block program involved a deficit of more than
1,700 cal./day.  When I consulted with the online "tech support"
team, they suggested I increase my program to 19 blocks, but no
more than that.  This guaranteed that I would lose plenty of
muscle.

> Second, your diet above looks to me to actually be less calories than one would
> eat on the Zone!

No.  If you add up the calories involved, I'm getting about 700
calories per meal, which is more than any Zone meal.  A higher
percentage of them come from fats.  A quarter cup of almonds, for
example, is about 200 calories; the Landjaeger is 260; the eggs
and strawberries come to about 180.  That's 680 for breakfast.

As well as I can track it, my current intake is about 2,400
cal/day.  My maintenance intake is about 3,300 cal/day.  I am
losing weight.

Todd Moody
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