45 Sugestions to Help you get Started On the Zone Diet, Compiled From the
Zone List for the Year 1997:
A. Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 From: [log in to unmask] (Mary Sahs)
1. to make my own personalized block lists that only
included what I like and what is easily available. I posted that on my
fridge, then when it was time to eat I just picked one from each column
(sometimew 2 from carbs) to make up the required blocks. I didn't even
think about composing recipes at this point.
2. Try to use a wide variety of foods. After a couple of weeks of this,
then you can start experimenting with putting food together more formally.
By then you should feel pretty good
about it all.
B. Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 From: [log in to unmask] (J D Weaver)
3. I strongly agree with Mary Sahs. Please do not make this so hard to do.
We keep a copy of the food block equivalents list in the kitchen.
4. We only read labels if the food is not on the list. As Mary suggested,
you could make a much simpler list by eliminating those foods you don't
like or don't have.
5. I'm sure that those who like to count every gram, for ersonal
reasons,do very well. But if you are dazed by all the omplexity and find
you need a computer just to eat lunch, I really urge you to just do it
thesimple way using the lists, a measuring cup, and a small kitchen scale.
Soon, you will be able to judge just by looking. A little protein, some
nice fruit and vegetables from the carbo side, and a few nuts, olives, or
avocados for your fat.
6. When Jan makes up recipes, she does it in enormous batches. On cooking
day, a lot of measuring and figuring does go on. At the end of the day, she
has divided the recipe up into portions and put them in the freezer in
ziplock freezer bags.
7. Some things, like small salads, have so few calories that they can be
used as freebies. A little lettuce with green peppers and onions is a great
place to "hide" your fat in the form of nuts, olives, avocados, or olive
oil. I like to use wine vinegar for a dressing - it doesn't have to be
counted either.
8. A big salad can be figured from the food block lists. Put a big
assortment of vegetables together and put some tuna, salmon, mackerel,
chicken breast, or whatever on it, plus your choice of fat blocks. You'll
probably have room to add a small piece of bread or a few crackers and a
nice fruit for dessert.
9. Keep an assortment of easy-to-grab things on hand to add to your meals.
i.e. slivered almonds, sliced almonds, whole almonds, cashews, filberts,
pistachios, peanuts,
macadamias, and pecans. We also have four or five jars of olives - stuffed
with garlic, onion, jalapenos, and in regular brine or spicy. Healthy
Choice non-fat cheese sticks are individually wrapped and are a perfect
1-block protein choice.
10. Keep a drawer full of apples, pears, oranges, etc.,
according to the season. One cheese stick, half an apple, and 5 almonds
makes a great 1-block snack. Non-fat yogurt and cottage cheese are also
easy to work with. Just add nuts to the yogurt or fruit & nuts to the
cottage cheese.
C. Date: Tue, 28 Jan 97 From: [log in to unmask] (Angel )
11. go to an office supply store and get some large (5-by-8) index cards
and a plastic index card file box to store them in. This stuff is VERY
inexpensive!
12. look at the zone lists, recipes that you may have that are zone
friendly, ect. Write one recipe that or meal that you think will taste
good and print it on the front of the card (you can also make a copy, then
cut and stick the recipe w/ a glue stick).
13. on the back of the card, ask yourself 3 questions---1st, Does it taste
good (maybe a substition needed here?), 2nd, Reaction 4-6 hrs later; good
bad? 3rd, Hungry? With or w/out mental clarity?
14. When it's time to make your shopping list, refer to index cards to
make sure you have what you need.
15. Start by trying at least a few new meals a week, take it easy on
yourself. The ones that work, use over and over again!
16. Don't neglect writing down 5-10 little zone snacks or quick meals for
those times when excuses come banging on your door!
D. Date: Mon, 17 Feb 1997 From: [log in to unmask] (J D Weaver)
17. quit watching the scale!
18. be sure you are eating foods that are relatively high in fiber
19. be sure you are not going over 4-5 hours between
meals and snacks and that you have your bedtime snack,
20. cut back on any caffeine drinks you may still be using, if you can.
21. Not being hungry for 4 hours is a very important indicator that your
meals are working for you. If you do get hungry, eat a Zone snack right
away. Keep experimenting until you find the right combination for you so
you get that 4-hour period without hunger.
E. Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997From: [log in to unmask] (Steve Barton)
23. hang in there. most everybody who's tried this has gotten some good
results, tho some folks have to tweak with the diet sometimes.
24. don't sweat it. no nutritional measurements are as exact as you might
think. (that's why it's a "zone", not a "single point of perfection" ;)
25. if you have to make a mistake on your protein, better to get too much
than too little.
26. if you have to make a mistake on your carbos, better to get too little
than too much.
27. never let yourself get hungry. it's too easy to start bingeing if you
do. always eat your meals/snacks before you start starving, and if you
have to snarf an extra block as an unscheduled snack, well, there's worse
things in life!
28. the best form of exercise is one that you like to do, then the one you
can do.
29 . don't worry too much about how it works. nearly everybody who has
tried or read about the zone has a different opinion about it. there's a
lot of skepticism on this list towards how the diet is explained to work,
but we're pretty much *all* agreed that *something* in it, or diets like
it, works. (if you want to be a volunteer lab-rat,though, it's a good idea
to examine some of the various theories).
30 . free advice is usually worth at least as much as you paid for it.
31. unusual folks require unusual adapations of the diet.
F. Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 From: [log in to unmask] (Tim Josling)
Basic Helps
32. Not enough water
33. Not enough sleep (yes you can reduce your sleep but not by too much)
34. Too much caffeine/coffee in particular
35. Too many (over 1/3 of any meal or snack) unfavourable foods esp carbos
(such as bread)
36. Not eating enough bulky carbos (low calory vegetables etc) to fill
your stomach
37. Not getting *any* exercise
38. Getting your calculations wrong, or changing the number of blocks per
day because they are 'obviously' too low
39. Going cold turkey into the diet (better to ease into it)
40. Not eating every five hours max
41. Not having the bedtime snack
42. Eating more than 5 blocks in one meal
43. Losing weight too quickly
44. Not adjusting the ratios to your optimum level.
45. hormonal carburetter . . . if you are hungry and can't concentrate,
decrease carbos slightly(25%) . . . . if you are hungry and can
concentrate, increase carbos slightly (25%)
At 08:17 AM 7/12/97 +0000, you wrote:
here are the things I pass along that have been helpful to me:
>1) Support - consider getting on the Zone mailing list - I know, I
>know, another mailing list, but this is a good one. Information on
>the list is at this site, including links to the archives of the
>list:
>
>http://www.fish.com/~asya/zone/
>
>If you are interested in the physiology of the diet (and physiology
>and nutrition in general), Mike Kurilla's posts can't be beat.
>
>2) Information, and more support:
>
>Here is Barry Sear's site:
>
>http://www.eicotech.com/
>
>However, my favorite site, with lots of links, is at:
>
>http://ZoneHome.com/
>
>Both of these also have ongoing discussions, but I find these a pain
>to read, it just takes forever to download them.
>
>****3) Don't go hungry!! I can't emphasize this enough.
>
>4) Don't obsess too much. This can be an obsessive diet, especially
>at first. You don't have to balance gram for gram, just get it in
>the ballpark. When in doubt, I try to lean on the getting more
>protein side of things.
>
>5) Develop a repetoire of stuff you can grab quickly to eat if you're
>hungry, and develop a regular breakfast that you can roll out of bed
>and make without thinking about it.
>
>6) Take the drinking water part seriously.
>
>7) Exercise helps, even if it's just short walks.
>
>8) Realize that it does get easier, really.
>
>9) One word: "Bag-o-Salad" :-)
>Laura D.
|