The Zone Diet Keeps Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels at Bay

Barry Sears

Having witnessed every man in his own family die of a heart attack and with his deep longing to escape the same fate, Barry Sears, Ph.D., a biochemist from Long Beach, California, worked out a diet plan that stabilizes blood sugar levels and hormonal balance — The Zone Diet. When the Zone Diet was introduced in the mid-1990s, a long list of big name celebrities in Hollywood became its avid fans and, of course, the rest of the world right along with them. Numerous other diet plans have been introduced since then, but the Zone Diet continues to be favored by many.

zone diet

By entering the Zone and taking on his Zone Diet, Barry Sears promises permanent weight loss, the attainment and sustainment of peak physical performance, enhanced mental alertness and improved thought patterns, and the slowing down of the natural aging process.

The Premise

The chief premise of the Zone Diet is based on the conviction that an overabundance of insulin, which is the body’s natural hormone that regulates blood sugar levels, prevents the body from effectively burning fat and, therefore, we gain weight. By closely balancing the intake of carbohydrates, proteins and fats at every meal as well as at every snack, the blood sugar levels and with them the levels of insulin can be kept in check. In actual fact, the Zone Diet may come from a slightly different angle but it is very similar to all the other low carbohydrate and high protein diets which are flooding the market today.

Getting Started

You cannot just dive into the Zone Diet and expect optimal results unless you understand that its success rests completely on accurate calculations of every morsel of food you put into your mouth. Assuming that you know how to distinguish between carbohydrates, proteins and fats; you must know their caloric values and ensure that each one of your meals and the in-between snacks are comprised of 40:30:30 ratios of forty percent calories from carbohydrates plus thirty percent calories from proteins plus thirty percent calories from fats. Hold on! Do not relax just yet, because you are not done with your calculations. Now that you are aware of the expected ratios, you need to know what is your daily allotted caloric count and that is a calculation based on your personal weight, your height and your waist and hip measurements.

Have I managed to scare you completely? Sorry for being the bearer of bad news. However, there is some good news to be delivered. To make your life easier and to relieve you of much of the calculations, Zone Food Blocks have been generated. Each of these blocks consists of a set amount of carbohydrates, proteins or fats and, depending on your body size; a specified number of blocks are assigned to you.

And there is one final issue to deal with as you still do not know how to prepare your meals. You will get all the help you need, however, within the pages of Barry Sears’ book, Enter the Zone and through the Zone’s official website. Furthermore, you can always take the easy way out and order prepackaged meals and snacks to be delivered directly to your home.

Good luck!