How To Plan Your Meals When Following the Zone Diet

The “Zone Diet” was conceptualized by MIT biochemical researcher Barry Sears in 1995. This dietary plan encourages calorie consumption from carbohydrates, proteins and fats in a balanced proportion.  Unlike other diets that demonize one from another, the zone diet focuses on the 40:30:30 ratios for calories consumed respectively from carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It works on the premise that the ratio will achieve hormonal balance and fat burning.
 
Many people who are into the zone diet have to eat three main meals a day with snacks in between. Eating zone food on a hectic schedule can be tedious for some who would resort to Abbott’s Zone Perfect nutrition bars. Others, like celebrities, would have zone delivery to their homes, with food in the right proportion for every scheduled zone meal. These options can be pretty expensive. For those who have the luxury of time but not of the pockets, planning your meals when following the zone diet is a breeze:

1. Schedule your meals. Timing is essential for the zone diet to work. To stabilize hormones, you have to eat an hour after waking up. After that, you have to eat from 2 to 2.5 hours or 4 to 6 hours maximum. It does not matter if you feel hungry since the objective is to keep hunger pangs away while maintaining nutrients in the bloodstream. List them in a chart.
2. Know which items to avoid. Try to stay away from starch as well as sugar-rich items like corn, carrots, peas, bananas, raisins and grapes. They can be eaten in moderation, and always opt for low carbohydrate versions. Caffeinated drinks and alcohol should also be removed from the meal plan. However, a glass of wine daily is allowed. 
3. Chug a lot of water. Water in its purest form should be taken to keep cells hydrated. Half a gallon or about eight glasses of water or more.
4. Stock up on supplements.  Fish oils are a great source of fat for the zone diet, especially when you try to avoid fat in the meal plans. Sears believed that fat is necessary for burning fat. Also include multivitamins and minerals along with the zone diet, as sometimes necessary nutrients are lacking in a meal plan for a certain day. 
5. Protein in the palm of your hand. Protein consumption should be as big as the palm of your hand. Its approximately 7 grams or about 1.5 ounces per meal. Men should also consume a little more protein than women to conserve muscle tone and maintain necessary daily energy. It is also best to take a low-fat protein food to jumpstart your day.

The zone diet also acknowledges that each person is different, so when you start getting in the zone, you need to personalize your meals depending on the level of activity you will engage in. You have to keep in mind that your carbohydrate intake should match your protein intake to make the magic of weight loss working.