The Zone Eating Plan
40:30:30
Dietary Approach
Based on Dr. Barry Sears, ENTER THE ZONE
Drs. Eades, PROTEIN POWER
and 40-30-30 NUTRITION
Hello,
I am Dr. Brown, a long time chiropractor in San Diego, CA.
I
am a successful "Zoner" and knowledgeable in the low-carbohydrate
approach to eating.
I am not Dr.
Sears and I am not not a bio-medical researcher. This site is for support on those who need more
information on this new approach to fat control and health. I endeavor to help
others become more healthy but I can not be responsible for anyone's actions
who read this site. You must take responsibility for your own health or lack of
it. Be sure to follow your own
doctor's advice before changing the way you eat.
Why Change the Way I Eat?
By a recent national survey, up to 60% of all Americans today
are OVERWEIGHT and 30% are OBESE!! Heart disease and diabetes
continue to rise. This is a national tragedy that threatens to
overwhelm our health system as the "baby boomers" grow older.
It is ironic that for the past 10 years we have been conducting a
huge dietary experiment; our fat consumption has gone
down yet our fat bellys
have gone up. So what is going wrong? We should be getting
slimmer by eating less fat in our diet. The answer lies
in HUNGER. The Standard Diet proposed by most dietitians
and heart and diabetic specialists is based on the idea that we should get
65-70% of our daily calories from carbohydrates. The rest of the diet should be
equally from protein and Fat. Some even get that fat percentage down to 10%.
Indeed, some people have become FAT PHOBIC!!
(I bet you know a few) The reason low fat diets fail is
because the body shifts into carbohydrate burning mode so it
needs less and less fat for energy requirements. The
standard diet would be fine if people could follow it. What happens is that
carbohydrates DO NOT CONTROL THE HUNGER.
You know the drill, you gorge out on a spaghetti dinner and 2 hours
later, you're hungry again. The fact is, carbos do not "stick
to your ribs" so you are forced to either "ignore" your
gnawing hunger or EAT MORE!! America would be
fine on a high carbohydrate diet if it could only STOP
EATING!!! But it can't. The
reason lies in the BIG CULPRIT,
INSULIN.
Why it Works
Most lower carbohydrate diets work because they control the production
of insulin. The digestive system treats all carbohydrates (pasta, rice, breads,
cereals) the same ... as if they were glucose sugar.
Glucose, you may have heard, causes the pancreas to pump out insulin into the
blood. Insulin tells the muscles, liver and fat cells to store away as much
glucose as they can, burn the remaining carb and save the dietary fat for later.
In the presence of a lot of carbohydrates, insulin teaches the cells to
reduce fat burning and burn the carbs instead.
This used to be a very good survival method back in the cave-people days but
hey ... we have refrigerators now.
Here is another problem: Insulin has a long half-life in our bloodstream. Longer
than it takes to store away the glucose. This causes us to run out of blood
sugar and get tired in a few hours. Our head then goes into brain-fog and sends
down a request for more glucose.
The fat cells say, "I'd like to oblige, Mr. Brain, but insulin is still
floating around and so I'm still in STORAGE MODE. Sorry ".
The Brain says, "I don't care where you get it, just GET SOMETHING SWEET TO
EAT!!" Well, that guy is the boss so you know what happens next. Grab that
cookie!
If you eat too many carbohydrates, you don't need to burn fat because
you have carbs to burn instead.
Your body stores dietary fat if it doesn't need to burn it. (read
"get fat")
Simple, huh?
Extra Health Benefits
Years and years of excessive insulin stimulation eventually burns out
the cell's insulin receptors so that it now takes more insulin than ever to
react normally. This is "insulin resistance" and can lead to
hyperinsulinemia and Adult Onset Diabetes.
Excessive insulin has been directly linked to many health problems.
Insulin stimulates the growth of the muscle lining in arteries causing them to
stiffen. This coupled with the fact that insulin signals the kidneys to retain
salt increases hypertension. Insulin also stimulates cholesterol synthesis
completing the path to heart disease.
If the two major killers (heart disease and diabetes) could be reduced,
think of the impact on our health system, not to mention your own health!
Combining protein with a moderate amount of carbohydrates, controls the insulin
response and allows the body to convert stored fat into energy (read: "lose
your fat").
The muscles and the brain continue to function at peak efficiency even after
the meal has left the small intestine. This food combining also causes digestion
to be slowed a little, further helping to control appetite.
The result is the ability to go longer periods on less food and never running
out of energy.
Isn't that what you have always wanted? Isn't that what you never experienced
while eating all that high carbohydrate food?
References
Introduction to the Basic Concepts
The basic eating plan is based on a simple concept: Every
time you put food in your mouth it must be in the correct ratio of Protein
to Carbohydrate to Fats. Period. That ratio is
simply: Almost equal calories of each. (Slightly
more from Carbohydrates than from Protein and Fat)
The maximum control of insulin occurs when the gram
ratio of Carbohydrates to Protein to Fat are 9:7:3. Therefore,
the size of the portions will reflect this fact. Carbohydrates
will make up the largest portion of your meal, protein next and
fat last. Period. For
simplicity sake, we refer to this quantity as a BLOCK OF FOOD.
9:7:3
The Mechanics
1. Calculate your fat
percentage. (Use ONLY the fat percentage calculation on this page)
2. Multiply fat percentage times your present weight. This is the amount of
fat on your body.
3. Subtract the fat weight from your total weight to find out how much LEAN
BODY MASS you must support.
4. Rate your activity level on a scale of .5 (couch potato) to 1.0
(tri-athlete)
5. Multiply your activity rate times your LEAN BODY MASS to find the amount of
daily protein you need to maintain your lean body mass. Some say these protein
levels are too high. I contend that the RDA for protein is based on averages
taken from our sedentary, ill population and should be closer to these levels
for peak performance and optimum health.
6. Decide how you want to spread your protein grams throughout your day. You
MUST spread your food out over at least 5 meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner,
afternoon snack and bedtime snack. (NOTE: The latest thinking is that
the lowest limit is 11 total food blocks or 77 grams of Protein, 99 carbs, 33
fat)
Helpful Hints
1. Think of carbohydrates and protein and fat like three different powerful
drugs that must be combined in just the right dosages to avoid side effects
from each other. This is exactly what is happening with the insulin reaction.
2. NEVER go more than 4 or 5 hours without eating. Don't eat more than 5
blocks of food at any meal. (NOTE: The latest thinking on blocks is that
the LOWER LIMIT is 11 blocks per day, no less!)
3. This is a NON-DEPRIVATIONAL eating plan. If you get hungry, eat. Then
figure out what you ate too much of or too little of at your last meal to
cause you to be hungry too soon. (Hunger with fatigue = too much carb. Hunger
without fatigue = too much protein)
4. It is based on a balance of foods, never a gluttony. There are no
"reward meals" of excessive carbohydrates. You strive at all times
to "be in the zone" of the physiological effects gained from
balanced protein - carbohydrate levels.
5. In a few days, you will begin to feel full for at least 4 hours and find
that the quantity of food needed at each meal is less and less. This is
because you are burning the fewer calories you are consuming more efficiently.
6. Recalculate your Lean Body Mass once a month to verify that you are losing
FAT and not Muscle.
7. Increase your exercise level. As you become less heavy and feel more
energy, you will naturally want to be more active.
8. Each meal should be at least 1 food block in size and eaten within an hour.
9. Drink lots of water.
10. Perfectly Zone balanced meal replacement bars can be eaten when you are
unable to find "real food". Several brand names are available on the
market.
11. Read the book.
How to contact me:
If you live in the USA you may send questions and receive FREE answers.
I prefer to respond by eMail however.
Send email to Dr. Brown
Snail Mail:
Dr. David W. Brown DC
4545 Park Blvd. Suite 105
San Diego, CA 92116
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