Just curious if any of you follow this diet?

[Tyler Beers]

This is the block diet that is in the Cross fit training guide.

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf...ue21_May04.pdf (WFS)

What do you think of this diet? If you are using it how well has it worked for you for strength gains while staying in your desired bf% or weight range?
Overall do you think it is a good diet?

I was on this diet in the summer but have not been able to keep up with it with my busy schedule over the past 4-5 months. I started the diet to basically eat healthier. I always have had an athletic build but never really worried about what I ate. I didn't choose a bf% range that I wanted to get to bc im not 100% what mine is or was when I started. I did want to gain some weight by adding muscle (roughly 10-15lbs).
I guess my question is how well do you think this diet would work for that? At the end of February I will have much more time to focus on my diet. I am trying to get things in line now so hopefully it will be easier to get off on the right foot when I start my diet back up.

Any advice on this diet will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking.

[Darryl Shaw]

Originally Posted by Tyler Beers

This is the block diet that is in the Cross fit training guide.

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf...ue21_May04.pdf (WFS)

What do you think of this diet? If you are using it how well has it worked for you for strength gains while staying in your desired bf% or weight range?
Overall do you think it is a good diet?

I was on this diet in the summer but have not been able to keep up with it with my busy schedule over the past 4-5 months. I started the diet to basically eat healthier. I always have had an athletic build but never really worried about what I ate. I didn't choose a bf% range that I wanted to get to bc im not 100% what mine is or was when I started. I did want to gain some weight by adding muscle (roughly 10-15lbs).
I guess my question is how well do you think this diet would work for that? At the end of February I will have much more time to focus on my diet. I am trying to get things in line now so hopefully it will be easier to get off on the right foot when I start my diet back up.

Any advice on this diet will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking.

The Zone is nothing more than a low-calorie, low-carb fad diet based on a bunch of pseudoscientific nonsense. And to my knowledge there are no studies published in any peer reviewed journal that support Sears claim that it will enhance athletic performance.

My advice therefore is to read the information on sports nutrition in the following links and forget about fad diets like The Zone.

Going Against the Grain: Flaws in the Zone Diet.
Cheuvront SN, Nutrition Today, Volume 39 - Number 2 - March/April.

The Zone Diet Phenomenon: A Closer Look at the Science behind the Claims.
Cheuvront SN, J Am Coll Nutr February 2003 vol. 22 no. 1 9-17.

The Zone Diet and Athletic Performance.
Cheuvront SN, April 1999, Volume 27, Issue 4, pp 213-228

Position of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance.

IOC Consensus Statement on Sports Nutrition 2010.

IOC Sportsoracle.com - Nutrition for Athletes.

IAAF - Nutrition for Athletics.

British Dietetic Association Food Fact Sheet: Sport.

Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute Factsheet: Food For Sport.

Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation: Carbohydrates in Human Nutrition - The Role of Carbohydrates in Exercise and Physical Performance.

*All links wfs*

[Jennifer Riley]

Hello,

I actually decided to try the Zone diet in January. I was doing Paleo before the holiday season and just kinda fell off the map with it. For me I needed something that help me see portions. With Paleo it was eat as much as you like as long as it falls into these categories, and I just did see the results I wanted.

I began the Zone diet from the CrosFfit Journal (SUPER OUTDATED) on Jan 1. I've lost 10 pounds and 5 inches since beginning, while the one on CrossFit Journal isn't all Paleo friendly, most of it fits in the guidelines. For the first week I thought I was going to die from being hungry but once my stomach got used to the smaller portions I was great. I do CrossFit 6 times a week. I feel like the combination of diet and CrossFit is giving me the results I wanted to see that I wasn't seeing before.

[Jeff Enge]

Point of the Zone diet in CF applications isn't to follow it to a T. I wouldn't recommend that to anybody other than someone whose only goal is to lose weight/lean out. The prescription is to use the framework of the diet as a way to experiment and gauge what your body needs. It may turn out that you perform and feel best at amounts and numbers nowhere near what is written, and that's fine - because you have quantified what those numbers are so you can be consistent.

[Greg Geis]

Zone just seems like common sense guidelines to me. Make sure you're getting plenty of healthy fats, balance your carbs/protein intake and eat often. Ive never followed it strictly but I feel good when I eat a well proportioned meals according to zone. My wife doesn't want to put on weight and she feels much more satisfied at an equivalent calorie level eating zone proportioned meals than just winging it paleo or whatever. And the snacks during the day is another common sense health guideline whatever your goals.

I have never taken it as a "low calorie" diet necessarily. I'm a hard gainer and if you're a hard gainer or trying to put on weight you just increase to the next level of blocks. If you're putting on too much weight, then decrease a level. When I did follow it more, it usually pointed out when I wasn't eating enough and was just trying to cram it all in at dinner.

I use it like Jeff said, as a guideline. If I'm throwing together a breakfast casserole or dinner or something I've found that the general zone guidelines makes meals that make me feel good and perform well.

[Eric Montgomery]

Originally Posted by Greg Geis

Zone just seems like common sense guidelines to me. Make sure you're getting plenty of healthy fats, balance your carbs/protein intake and eat often. Ive never followed it strictly but I feel good when I eat a well proportioned meals according to zone. My wife doesn't want to put on weight and she feels much more satisfied at an equivalent calorie level eating zone proportioned meals than just winging it paleo or whatever. And the snacks during the day is another common sense health guideline whatever your goals.

I have never taken it as a "low calorie" diet necessarily. I'm a hard gainer and if you're a hard gainer or trying to put on weight you just increase to the next level of blocks. If you're putting on too much weight, then decrease a level. When I did follow it more, it usually pointed out when I wasn't eating enough and was just trying to cram it all in at dinner.

I use it like Jeff said, as a guideline. If I'm throwing together a breakfast casserole or dinner or something I've found that the general zone guidelines makes meals that make me feel good and perform well.

My main reason for disliking the Zone for a hard gainer is that, if you're a hard gainer, you'd be far better off dedicating your time to eating more and lifting heavy rather than weighing and measuring everything that goes in your mouth. If I needed to drive across the country in a hurry, I wouldn't waste time stopping every 30 miles to check for optimal tire pressure, would I?

In that case, you're far better off just eating as much as necessary to gain weight while also ensuring you hit roughly correct ratios on your macros and get enough vitamins and mineral.

[Greg Geis]

I agree, I'm not going to spend hours a week measuring out my foods (although I'm sure it works for some people). But I do like to make a few meals measured to have a rough idea of what those macros are and I like the balance zone recommends. I saw a quote a while back I liked: "if you want to get stronger, stop measuring and start eating".