Zone Simplified

8/3/2019 Zone Simplified

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!! The zone is the balance ofhormonal responses that occursevery time you eat.

!! It is a perfect equilibrium: nottoo high, not too low.


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!! If you can keep yourself in the zone, you will:"! Think better, because in the Zone you are maintaining stable

blood sugar levels,

"! Perform better, because being in the Zone allows you toincrease oxygen transfer to your muscle cells,

"! Look better, because in the Zone you are shedding excess bodyfat at the fastest possible rate, and

"! Never be hungry between meals, because staying in the Zonemeans your brain is being constantly supplied with its primaryfuel: blood sugar.

!! All these benefits of being in the Zone willemerge within a one- to two-week period.

SicknessHigh-Carb

(refined sugars,starches)

WellnessPaleo-lithic

(lean protein,vegetables, nutsand seeds, somefruit, little starch,

and no sugar)Fitness

Weighed/Measured

Paleo-Zone


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!! For most people, health is defined asthe absence of disease but accordingto our continuum that is onlywellness.

!! If we can achieve fitness, orsuperhealth, we would have to

become well before we developedsickness, or disease.

!! The Zone is a diet that strives forhormonal balance.

!! Although thinking of food hormonallymay be revolutionary, eating in the Zoneis not.

!! Simplified, the Zone is nothing more thana moderate amount of low-fat proteinwith a significant amount of vegetablescovered with slivered almonds, and fruitfor desert.


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!! To be a little more precise, for every cup ofvegetables, or half a piece of fruit, or ! cup ofpasta that you plan to eat, add an ounce of low-fat protein.

!! To top it off add a bit of mono-unsaturated fat,like a little olive oil or a few slivered almonds.

!! Do this at every meal and snack, and yourepretty close to being in the Zone for the nextfour to six hours.

U.S.Food-Guide Pyramid

The ZoneFood-Guide Pyramid


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!! Virtually every dietary recommendation madeby the U.S. Government and leadingnutritional experts is hormonally dead wrong.

!! It is based, foundationally, on grains.!! Isnt that what we do to fatten cattle, feed them

excessive amounts of low-fat grain?

!! Notice the term low-fat. Is that the enemy?!! If fat is not the enemy, then what is?

Insulin!!!


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!! Excess insulin is what makes you fat and keepsyou fat.

!! It is a storage hormone that also accelerates silentinflammation."! Humans can store unlimited amounts of excess calories as

fat.

!! We posses a unique evolutionary mechanism thatlimits our immediate use of incoming dietary fatfor energy when excess carbohydrates are present

in the bloodstream.!! Since incoming dietary fat is not being used for

energy, the elevated presence of insulin ensuresthat the incoming dietary fat is stored.

!! The body produces excessive amounts ofinsulin when you eat either:"! A) Too many fat-free carbohydrates"! B) Too many calories at a meal

!! These raised amounts of insulin do not allowyou to mobilize your blood sugar at a steadystate.

!! Chronically elevated levels of insulin in thebloodstream that isnt removing the sugar inthe blood, leads to a very serious disease.


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!! Hyperinsulinemia is an endocrine systemdisorder associated with blood sugar control.

!! When we eat carbohydrates, the sugar fromthese foods enters the blood stream.

!! The pancreas thus begins to produce insulin tosweep this sugar from our blood.

!! Because we ingest large quantities of refinedcarbohydrates throughout the day, the insulinwe produce begins to lose its effectiveness atremoving sugar from our blood

!! As insulin loses its effectiveness to mobilize sugarfrom the blood, the pancreas is called upon tomake more.

!! Hyperinsulinemia is thus manifested throughthese elevated insulin levels in the blood todamaging levels.

!! Add this to the already damaging levels of bloodsugar that is no longer responding to the insulin

and,!! The pancreas will reach a point where it can no

longer produce the amount of insulin needed tocontrol your blood sugar and you will bediagnosed as having Type II diabetes.


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!! Other diseases/problems/symptomsassociated with hyperinsulinemia:"! Obesity"! Heart Disease"! Atherosclerosis"! Cancer"! Vascular Damage"!

Death

!! We can easily avoid metabolicderangement and control insulin levelsby simply following a diet consisting ofPaleolithic foods in moderation.

!! Paleolithic?"! Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds,

some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. Keepintake to levels that will support exercise butnot body fat.


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More precisely, we canfollow

The Zone!!

!! How does the Zone control chronicallyelevated levels of insulin?

!! By hormonally balancing it with an equal doseof Glucagon

!! What is Glucagon?!! Glucagon is a mobilization hormone that is

stimulated by protein."! It tells the body to release stored carbohydrates at asteady rate, leading to stabilized blood sugar levels.


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Insulin Glucagon

Nutritional Teeter Totter

!! Protein is required by the body to maintain andrepair critical systems on a continual basis."! These systems are comprised of the muscles, the

immune system, and every enzyme in your body.

!! More importantly, as stated previously, itstimulates glucagon which has the opposite

physiological action to insulin."! In fact, it acts as the major governor of excessive

insulin production


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!! How much protein should one eat at a meal?"! Take your lean body mass and multiply that number

by .7 if CrossFit is your only sport or by .8 to 1.0 ifyou supplement your CrossFit addiction withanother sport.

"! Follow that up by dividing the number you getabove with the number 7 to get your protein blockprescription

"! For example:(LBMx.7)/7 = Protein Block Prescription

!! This block prescription you now have is anutritional measurement of protein containingexactly 7 grams per.

!! With block measurements any source of proteinis now on the same level in terms of amino acidcontent.

!! For example:"!

One block of protein could be 1 ounce of slicedturkey, chicken, or beef.

"! One block of protein could be 1 " ounces of fish, ortwo egg whites, or ! cup of cottage cheese, or 3ounces of extra-firm tofu.


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!! So now that we have a block prescription andwe know what a block of protein is:"! Treat it like a prescription drug by taking fairly equal

doses throughout the day

"! These equal doses will be spread out over 3 mealsand 2 snacks

!! For example:"! If you are prescribed with 11 blocks of protein, this

eleven will be spread out like this:

3 3 1 3 1

Breakfast Lunch Snack Dinner - Snack

!! According to Dr. Sears, We are led to believethat carbohydrates are the closest thing tomanna from heaven.

!! After all:"! Theyre fat-free"! If you are an athlete, eating them will make you

faster

"! If you are a cardiovascular patient, they will makeyou well

"! If you are fat, eating them will make you thin!! Right?


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!! Do we even know what carbohydrates are?"! If asked that question most people are quick to say

pasta, bagels, cakes and cookies.

!! What about fruits and vegetables?"! If asked that question most people are quick to say

fruits are fruits and vegetables are vegetables.

!! Believe it or not but humans are geneticallydesigned to eat primarily fruits and vegetablesas their major source of carbohydrates.

!! Humans over time adapt and evolve to theirsurroundings and become efficient.

!! Grains as a reliable source of food did not exist10,000 years ago.

!! This relatively short amount of time has notgiven the majority of humans enough time togenetically adapt to high-densitycarbohydrates.

!! Not enough time to adapt = Big Problems!!!


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!! We can avoid these problems by letting most ofour carbohydrate intake come from fruits andvegetables, and use grains, starches, pasta, andbread in moderation."! More precisely, we can follow the block method once

again.

!! A block measurement for carbs is determinedby its ability to stimulate insulin secretion.

!! Fruits and vegetables are not very carb-densewhereas grains and starches are highly carb-dense.

!! Why is density important to me?"! Because the density of the carbohydrate determines the

amount of food per block.

!! One block of carbohydrate contains 9 grams ofinsulin-stimulating food (Fiber is subtracted)

!! For example:"! 1 " cups of cooked broccoli has the same amount of

insulin-stimulating carbohydrate as ! cup of cookedpasta.

!! Density is important because 6 cups of cookedbroccoli stimulates the same amount of insulin as 1cup of cooked pasta, in addition to having morefiber, minerals, and vitamins.


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!! Now that you know what a block ofcarbohydrate is we need to match it with ourprescription of protein.

!! Lets look at our previous example once again,"! With a prescription of 11 blocks of protein we will

need to match that with exactly 11 blocks ofcarbohydrate.

Protein 3 3 1 3 1Breakfast Lunch Snack Dinner Snack

Carbohydrate 3 3 1 3 1

Last but definitely not least:

F A - T


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!! Do you want to burn fat?"! Ill let you in on a little secret:

It takes FAT to burn FAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!! How:"! 1) It has no effect on insulin"! 2) Fat slows down the entry of carbohydrates into

the bloodstream

!! The slower the rate of sugar into the blood the slowerand lower the insulin production.

"! 3) Fat causes the release of the hormonecholecystokinin (CCK) from the stomach.

!! CCK goes directly to the brain to say, Stop Eating.

When you remove fat from your diet(as in fat-free/low-fat) and replace itwith carbohydrate, you not only robfood of its taste, but you distort the

hormonal signals that stop you fromover-consuming calories, and

increase your likelihood of storing

fat by increasing insulin levels.


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!! We know we need fat but what kind of fat?1)! Stay away from trans-fats and foods with

hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list.

2)! Limit saturated fats as the body is able to producethese on its own. (Over-consumption causes thebody to shut off its saturated fat producing factory)

3)! Balance your intake of polyunsaturated fats, whichare the building blocks of eicosanoids.

A)! Relatively increase Omega-3 fatty acids (fish, cod liver oil)B)! Limit Omega-6 fatty acids (sunflower oil, safflower oil)

!! Finally:"! If you are restricting your intake of saturated fats,

moderating the amounts of omega-6polyunsaturated fats, and taking in relatively limitedamounts of omega-3 essential fatty acids like EPA,then what TYPE OF FAT SHOULD YOU EAT TOHELP YOU BURN FAT?

Mono-Unsaturated Fats


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!! Mono-Unsaturated fats"! Are hormonally neutral,"! Have no adverse effect on membrane fluidity,"! Have no effect on eicosanoids,"! Are easy to find, and"! Taste great

!! Some excellent sources of mono-unsaturatedfats are:"! Olives, Avocado (especially guacamole), macadamia

nuts, pistachios, cashews, almonds, and of courseolive oil.

!! Now that we know what kind of fat to eat howmuch of it do we need.

!! As mentioned before with protein andcarbohydrate blocks, there are also fat blocks.

!! A fat block is only 1.5 grams of fat, whichtranslates into one macadamia nut or 1/3teaspoon of olive oil.

!!If we look back at our previous example:"! A person with a prescription of 11 blocks of protein

and 11 blocks of carbohydrates must now match thatwith 11 block of fat


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11 Block Prescription

Protein 3 3 1 3 1

Carbohydrate 3 3 1 3 1

Fat 3 3 1 3 1

Breakfast Lunch Snack Dinner Snack

!! As you now know, start out with yourindividual protein prescription and:"! Spread the protein blocks out throughout the day

!! Three meals and two snacks."! Never let more than five hours go by without a Zone

meal or snack.

"! Make sure that you always balance yourcarbohydrate blocks with your protein blocks.

"! Throw in some fat to help with controlling insulin aswell as losing body fat.


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!! Protein examples for a 4 block meal:"! Fourteen strips of bacon"! Four ounces of skinless chicken breast"! Six ounces of flounder"! One cup of egg whites"! Twelve ounces of extra-firm tofu

!! Obviously the fourteen strips of bacon are notyour best choice but that is the amount youwould require if bacon were your proteinchoice. (No fat blocks for the meal either)

!! Carbohydrate examples for a 4 block meal:"! One snickers bar"! Two ounces of uncooked pasta"! Three bags of frozen vegetables"! One cup of strawberries, " cup of grapes, and one

apple

!! Again, the snickers bar would not be your bestchoice but it is four blocks of carbohydrates.

!! How about the pasta? Not a whole lot to eat.


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!! Fat examples for a 4 block meal:"! Four macadamia nuts (richest source of

monounsaturated fat)

"! Two teaspoons of almond butter"! Twelve olives"! Four teaspoons of olive oil and vinegar dressing"! Two tablespoons of guacamole

!!As you can plainly see this is not a high fat dietbut rather a moderate fat diet.

!! A few sample 4 block meals would include:"! How about fourteen strips of bacon and a single

snickers bar (obviously you dont need to add anyextra fat to these choices)?

"! What about 4 ounces of skinless chicken breast, 2ounces of uncooked pasta, and 4 macadamia nuts?

"! An even better choice would be 6 ounces of flounder,1 " bags of the vegetables, 1 cup of strawberries, halfan apple, and 12 olives

Lot of food isnt it?


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!! Zone Meal Construction TemplateProtein Carbohydrate Fat

Salad ___ _____ ___

Protein Course ___ _____ ___

Main Carbohydrate ___ _____ ___

Course

Dessert ___ _____ ___

Alcohol ___ _____ ___

Total ___ _____ ___

1.! Never eat any more low-fat protein than youcan fit on the palm of your hand

2.! Let the volume of the low-fat protein you aregoing to eat determine the volume of thecarbohydrates you can eat at the same time

"! If you are eating unfavorable carbohydrates, thenyou can have the same volume portion as the low-

fat protein your eating"! If youre eating favorable carbohydrates, then you

can eat double the volume of the low-fat proteinportion.


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3.! Eat at least five times a day, divided into threemeals and two snacks.

4.! Never let more than five hours go by withouteating a Zone meal or snack.

5.! Make sure that most of your carbohydratescome from fruits and vegetables.

6.! Always eat a Zone breakfast within one hourof waking.

7.! Always have a small Zone snack before you goto bed.

8.! Drink 8 ounces of water thirty minutes beforea meal and continuously throughout the day.

10.! Try not to eat more than five blocks of anymacronutrient (protein, carbohydrate) permeal.

12.! Make sure that the number of carbohydrateblocks is correctly balanced with the numberof protein blocks at every meal or snack.


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Thanks!

Any Questions?

Ricky Frausto, CSCSCrossFit Omaha

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Zone Simplified