advise on how to avoid crashing in Zone?

[Daniel H Smith]

I'm 37 in April, about 6'3" and 208 pounds (164 LBM). My goal is singular: I want a flat stomach, sustainably. Belly fat is my physiological Rosebud. My stomach is the dead last thing to go.

I started doing the Zone based on a Crossfit document (May 2004 newsletter), using its attached block chart. 5 blocks, per directions in the book.

I kept on it with strict measurements for 10 days using measuring cups. I estimated one meal, and took one Sunday off.

Majority of the time I felt strangely nourished...I was surprised to feel solid on so little food.

By lunch around day 11 though I was unrecognizably moody and deprived. I ate pad thai (albeit with extra tofu) and edamame for dinner. Roughly a 5-block meal. And then a big ice cream from Cold Stone.

Been doing P90X, but I didn't feel like doing so much as yoga as I crashed on this regimen. I'm off it the past two days.

1. How can I avoid crashing?

2. Related to that, how can I get diversity of foods? It's always huge quantities of one vegetable and a smaller portion of egg whites and tofu/tempeh. (breakfast was good, though - soy milk over oats with protein powder, probiotic yogurt, and fruit...no problem.)

3. How can I avoid dairy in my protein blocks?

4. Should I switch to Paleo? I don't think effects will show up unless my portions are pretty regimented. I do not lose weight without a deliberate program.

Also, can anyone recommend a water-soluble spirulina?

Thanks for your insights!

[Eric Montgomery]

1. Eat more. And eat more good food that will keep you feel full longer.
2. Eat lots of different fruits and vegetables and meats.
3. Speaking of...where is the meat? Meat should be your primary protein source, not dairy.
4. Yes, it probably wouldn't hurt. Pad thai, Cold Stone, tofu, soy milk, oats, and edamame are pretty much full of fail. Food quality will have much more of an effect on your body composition than following some "magical" Zone ratio which is basically no more sciencey than numerology.

[Mark E. Wallace]

Originally Posted by Daniel H Smith

2. Related to that, how can I get diversity of foods?

Perhaps by eating more diverse foods?....

It's always huge quantities of one vegetable and a smaller portion of egg whites and tofu/tempeh. (breakfast was good, though - soy milk over oats with protein powder, probiotic yogurt, and fruit...no problem.)

That's not "no problem." That's fake milk over grains with processed protein on top. Who's to say what's in the yogurt? The fruit is okay.

3. How can I avoid dairy in my protein blocks?

Don't eat dairy, I guess. Nobody's forcing it on you.

4. Should I switch to Paleo? I don't think effects will show up unless my portions are pretty regimented. I do not lose weight without a deliberate program.

Personally, I think you'd be much better off on Paleo. At the very least, start eating more real whole, unprocessed foods. Eric's "full of fail" comment on the Pad thai, Cold Stone, tofu, soy milk, oats, and edamame is right on the mark.

- Mark

[Katherine Derbyshire]

5 blocks per meal or total? If you were eating 5 blocks total , you crashed because you were only eating less than a third of what you should be, plain and simple. So eat more.

Where's the meat? If you're vegetarian, it would have been helpful to mention that...

If you don't want dairy, don't eat it. If you want a more diverse diet, eat more diverse foods.

Katherine

[Joe Bernard]

To avoid crashing on the Zone, don't do it. Like the others said, do paleo, it's much easier and alot less stressful. I have to include junk food so I don't lose weight on paleo, that's how effective it is.

[Daniel H Smith]

It's actually 5 blocks protein, 19 total blocks per day. To answer the question about meat, I eat a lot of tuna - a can is a 5-block protein, and that's my steadiest lunch protein on Zone eating.

I guess I attributed Zone eating to Crossfit based on the past newsletter I mentioned before; I'm hearing more support for Paleo on this board.

I have The Paleo Diet for Athletes, and I'll read it, but I haven't eaten red meat regularly in years. If Paleo is possible primarily on fish, that's workable, I'm cool with fish. I'd really like to do it with vegetarian protein sources primarily, though. Can anyone suggest Paleo proteins that are vegetarian?

Originally Posted by Katherine Derbyshire

5 blocks per meal or total? If you were eating 5 blocks total , you crashed because you were only eating less than a third of what you should be, plain and simple. So eat more.

Where's the meat? If you're vegetarian, it would have been helpful to mention that...

If you don't want dairy, don't eat it. If you want a more diverse diet, eat more diverse foods.

Katherine

[Katherine Derbyshire]

Originally Posted by Daniel H Smith

It's actually 5 blocks protein, 19 total blocks per day. To answer the question about meat, I eat a lot of tuna - a can is a 5-block protein, and that's my steadiest lunch protein on Zone eating.

Ah ha! Still nowhere near enough food. Each block contains protein (7g) AND fat (1.5g) AND carbs (9g). So 19 x (7g pro + 1.5g fat + 9g carb) is what you should be eating.

If you're going to follow the Zone, please, for your own sake, invest in the book.

I have The Paleo Diet for Athletes, and I'll read it, but I haven't eaten red meat regularly in years. If Paleo is possible primarily on fish, that's workable, I'm cool with fish. I'd really like to do it with vegetarian protein sources primarily, though. Can anyone suggest Paleo proteins that are vegetarian?

Eggs, and that's about it. Legumes are not paleo. But fish and shellfish are fine.

Katherine

[Daniel H Smith]

Originally Posted by Katherine Derbyshire

Ah ha! Still nowhere near enough food. Each block contains protein (7g) AND fat (1.5g) AND carbs (9g). So 19 x (7g pro + 1.5g fat + 9g carb) is what you should be eating.

If you're going to follow the Zone, please, for your own sake, invest in the book.



Eggs, and that's about it. Legumes are not paleo. But fish and shellfish are fine.

Katherine

Right, but that's how I'm eating. I read the book, did the measurements. It's 19 protein blocks, with matching amounts of the two other macronutrients.

[Joe Bernard]

Originally Posted by Daniel H Smith

It's actually 5 blocks protein, 19 total blocks per day. To answer the question about meat, I eat a lot of tuna - a can is a 5-block protein, and that's my steadiest lunch protein on Zone eating.

I guess I attributed Zone eating to Crossfit based on the past newsletter I mentioned before; I'm hearing more support for Paleo on this board.

I have The Paleo Diet for Athletes, and I'll read it, but I haven't eaten red meat regularly in years. If Paleo is possible primarily on fish, that's workable, I'm cool with fish. I'd really like to do it with vegetarian protein sources primarily, though. Can anyone suggest Paleo proteins that are vegetarian?

Tuna has very little fat, so you'd have to add 3g of fat for each block of protein instead of 1.5g.

[Jacob Israel Briskin]

Oh Lordy, so many things wrong here....drop the Zone, grains, and creepy soy business, eat red meat and bacon, thank me later.