Usual disclaimer: I'm not an MD and have won no bodybuilding titles.

>The Zone Diet does not really have anything to do with these ratios.

Before I decided to be a cave man, I did quite a bit of reading.  I just
rechecked my copy of Mastering the Zone and I think it does hinge on these
ratios.  Again, a food block is:

        9 gm carb       36 calories
        7 gm protein    28 calories
        3 gm fat        27 calories

This is a 40-30-30 ratio, or at least damn close.  Of course, when you
consume a block as directed, you should only eat 1.5 grams of fat, due to
the hidden fats that Sears contends is in our food.

>The idea behind the Zone Diet is to keep the body's hormone system balanced,
>even and well functioning.  When this is happening, then all of the other
>systems work better.

----- Snip -----

Fair enough.

>PS  The easiest way is rebut the claim that the Zone diet leads to muscle
loss
>is to note that Arnold Schwarznegger is a Zone diet adherent! :-)

Well, eating a nice balance of fat, pro and carb is undoubtedly good for
you.  But I doubt that the Arnolds of the world truely follow the Zone,
other than to eat balanced meals.  I now quote page 29 of Mastering the Zone:

"In fact, the Zone Diet is a low-calorie diet ranging from 1,000 to 1,600
calories a day for most individuals."

I still contend that any such low-calorie diet is *far too low in
calories*.  You can indeed adjust your metabolism to consume bodyfat.  But
such consumption will only occur when the body is not being starved.

Again, my disclaimer - I ain't an MD so my opinions are simply that -
opinions.

James at Penn State