Is The Zone
Diet For You?
From
eDiets - The online diet, fitness, and healthy living resource You've
got a half hour for lunch and the only restaurant close enough to make is the
McDonald's down the street. A crisis of conscience arises as you struggle to
choose between blowing your diet with a super-sized value meal or Plan B:
starvation.
 You deserve a break today so we are serving up some great
news: the Zone plan will let you have your McDonald's and eat it too!
You order a Chicken McGrill and a salad. You put
the chicken on top of the salad and keep a quarter of the bun as a giant
crouton. Voila! You’re in the Zone and following one of the hottest and
most effective weight loss regimens around.
Forget about what you may think you know about
the Zone Diet and the work required to balance out your meals. There’s no
need for scales or measuring cups. All you need is your hand and a good eye to
coordinate permanent weight loss, hormonal balance, overall wellness and
prevention of heart disease and diabetes.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re dining
in the comfort of your home or if you're out on the town -- you can stay in the
Zone by following Dr. Barry Sears' super simple advice for slimming
success.
Picture an empty plate. Now, divide it into
thirds. One third will be covered with low-fat protein (enough chicken, lean
ground beef or shrimp to fit in the palm of your hand without being thicker
than your hand) and two-thirds fruit and vegetables (broccoli, tomatoes, green
beans, apples, strawberries, etc.). Round off your meal with a dash of
heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, such as olive oil, slivered almonds or
guacamole.
Yes, it’s that simple. Since first
introduced by Dr. Sears in 1995, The Zone has been a huge success. Some of its
biggest backers have been major celebrities, such as Jennifer Aniston, Madonna
and Demi Moore. Dr. Sears, a former MIT researcher, says his diet is safe,
effective and certainly no trendy, fly-by-night fad.
One of the major misconceptions held by dieters
is that the Zone is too complicated. Dr. Sears says that reputation has haunted
him since his book was first released to the general public. The problem: his
first book was written for cardiologists. Dr. Sears, who holds more than 12
patents for cancer treatments and the dietary control of hormones, used
scientific lingo and mathematical equations to discuss every last detail of the
Zone. The current version of the Zone has been tamed and is understandable
to everyone. Dr. Sears' newer Zone books break down his diet formula much like
his recommended foods break down insulin
levels. From A Week In The Zone (HarperCollins) to The Top 100 Zone
Foods, Dr. Sears is always taking strides to ensure his weight loss
approach is user-friendly for all dieters.
The Zone tackles what Dr. Sears believes is the
major cause of the spiraling obesity plague: excess insulin. In layman’s
terms, the Zone is a dietary strategy to keep the hormone insulin in a zone
that’s not too high and not too low. This is important, Dr. Sears says,
because excess insulin makes you fat and keeps you fat.
Dr. Sears believes the underlying reason for our
extra weight could very well be too many grains and starches in our diet. He
says potatoes, rice, breads and breakfast cereals are all unfavorable
carbohydrates that can elevate your insulin level. The trick of staying slim is
how you treat your carb intake.
“You don’t have to avoid these
carbohydrates completely,” Dr. Sears tells
eDiets
Treat them like condiments, not as a primary source of your meal. Eat
significant amounts of fruits and vegetables at the same time. Balance off with
an adequate amount of protein, and you have the guidelines for lifelong weight
control. These are all the rules you need to control insulin."
Once you get your insulin level in the Zone, you
won’t feel hunger for the next four to six hours after you eat. You
won’t experience those in-between-meal hunger pains or carb cravings,
because you won’t have the excess insulin levels that make you hungry. Dr.
Sears says if your meals are hormonally correct, you’ll also enjoy peak
mental acuity.
Dr. Sears says within the first two to three days
of following the Zone, your ability to think clearer will be significantly
enhanced. Within three to four days, you’ll notice a surge in energy. By
day 7, you’ll notice your clothes beginning to fit better, because
you’re shedding visceral fat, the dangerous fat that sits around the
belly. By following the Zone, you’re going to think better, perform
better, look better and feel better.
The best news of all: Dr. Sears’ amazing
plan just got better. You can now get a personalized Zone diet from the leader
in online weight loss programs,
eDiets.com.
Even though the rules to the Zone are very simple, an online dietary
program helps generate new meals and tells you exactly what to buy," he says.
"This will always be a great aspect. People only have to eat the foods they
like to eat.
"That’s the power of eDiets. People are
given an unlimited number of meals and options so they don’t have to think
any harder as to what they eat.
“Another aspect is that any lifestyle change
usually takes a year to integrate into the rest of your life. The support
groups are so important. It takes time. Losing weight is hard. Keeping it off
is even more difficult. You have to find support people who have gone through
the same trials and tribulations to give you the constant support basis.
"eDiets gives tremendous benefits even with a
simple program like the Zone. It keeps people focused and motivated towards
their long-term goal, which is a longer and better life.” |
