Mastering the Zone. Sounds very New Age, like Yoda teaching
Luke Skywalker about the Force. But it's not. Instead it's very
similar to the advice your grandmother gave you about eating.
Eat everything in moderation, eat lots of fruits and vegetables,
and have some protein at every meal. Your grandmother didn't
know it, but she was teaching you the basic principles for developing
a lifelong strategy of hormonal balance. If you can achieve
this hormonal balance, you are well on your way to the Zone.
What is the Zone? It is the balance of hormonal responses that
occurs every time you eat. A perfect equilibrium: not too high,
not too low. Why should you want to get there? Simply said,
if you can keep yourself in the Zone, then you will:
A. Think better, because in the Zone you are maintaining stable
blood sugar levels.
B. Perform better, because being in the Zone allows you to
increase oxygen transfer to your muscle cells.
C. Look better, because in the Zone you are shedding excess
body fat at the fastest possible rate.
D. Never be hungry between meals, because staying in the Zone
means your brain is being constantly supplied with its primary
fuel: blood sugar.
All these benefits of being in the Zone will emerge within
a one- to two-week period if you follow the instructions in
this book. But the best reason to want to stay in the Zone on
a lifelong basis is to achieve SuperHealth. For most people,
health is defined as the absence of disease. SuperHealth goes
beyond that. In a state of SuperHealth you will reduce the likelihood
of developing chronic disease, the types of illnesses that represent
the bulk of our health care costs. If you have read The Zone,
you know that SuperHealth is exactly what you are aiming for.
And the only way to obtain SuperHealth is to take control of
your diet, and use it to keep yourself in the Zone on a continual
basis. The more time you spend in the Zone, the more control
you have over the ultimate quality of your life.
Level 1: What-Your-Grandmother-Told-You Rules
- Drink at least 64 ounces of water per day (eight 8-ounce
glasses). Your body is composed of 70 percent water that can
be easily lost.
- Eat more fruits and vegetables, and less pasta, breads, grains,
and starches during the day.
- Eat more frequent meals with fewer calories.
- Eat small amounts of low-fat protein at every meal and snack.
The payoff: You will stop gaining excess body fat.
Level 2: Begin-To-Pay-Attention Rules
- Determine how much protein you require per day and consume
that amount.
- Use the eyeball method to control your ratio of protein to
carbohydrate at every meal.
- Add some extra monounsaturated fat to every meal.
- Drink 8 ounces of water thirty minutes before a meal.
The payoff: You are going to start losing excess body fat.
Level 3: Now-I-Have-To-Do-Some-Hormonal-Thinking Rules
- Make sure most of your carbohydrates come from fruits and
vegetables, and use grains, starches, pasta, and breads as condiments.
Try to keep grains, starches, pasta, and bread to no more than
25 percent of the total carbohydrates consumed at a meal.
- Never let more than five hours go by without eating a Zone
meal or snack.
- Always eat a Zone breakfast within one hour of rising.
- Always have a small Zone snack before you go to bed.
- Always have a small Zone snack thirty minutes before you
exercise.
The payoff: You're in the Zone, and you have done everything
possible to achieve SuperHealth.
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