The Zone Diet

I, the girl who doesn't believe in diets, need to go on a diet.

Over the holidays, I decided that I wanted to decrease inches in my midsection. I mentioned this to some of the trainers at the gym, and they suggested that I do the Zone Diet.

I am not a diet person, but I figured that I would give it a shot.

So one of my trainer friends got me started.

On New Years Eve 2008, I weighed 144.5 and I had a body fat percentage of 20.2. Using this information (and the fact that my activity level includes intense training), he determined that how many grams of protein I should have per day, which is then broken down into "blocks". (I needed 12 blocks, which is equivalent to 86 grams of protein per day.) This information was also used to determine how many grams of carbs and fats I should have per day.

It was determined that I should have 5 meals/snacks per day and how many grams of carbs, protien and fats I should have at each meal/snack.

The Zone Diet website has meal plans and recipes to help you stick to the Zone Diet. There are good recipes and meals, including chefs salad, shrimp salad with fruit, smoothies, etc. All of which have a proper balance of protiens, carbs and fat.

So, I sat down the other day to plan out my meals, so I could begin my journey on the Zone Diet. (Did I mention I don't believe in diets? This is why.) I got such a headache just from trying to figure out how to convert the meal plans and recipes on the Zone Diet website into my own personal block prescriptions, that I actually got a headache. So, right then and there, I made a decision.

I decided not to do the zone diet. It is way too difficult to measure all of my food. Instead, I am just going to practice better portion control. I am going to eat way less carbs. My old diet consisted almost entirely of carbs: peanut butter sandiches, rice and beans, turkey sandwiches....In just the two days since I have changed my eating habits, I have noticed that a salad with a little deli style turkey, cheese and garbanzo beans can actually fill me up just as much as a bowl of soup. And it is better for me.

I have included turkey bacon or sausage with my oatmeal in the mornings, and now my breakfast lasts much longer into the day.

This is what I found out before I could even get started (something that I believed already. Now I have proof.): DIETS DON'T WORK.

But I am thinking a lot more about what I eat and how much I eat. And when I eat. Lifestyle change is still the key.

Stay tuned....