The Zone Diet sets your body up to BURN FAT as a primary source of fuel while you retain your LEAN BODY MASS (LBM). How? By regulating the amount of INSULIN your body produces. Insulin is released by the pancreas after you eat carbohydrates, and while it assures that your cells receive the necessary blood sugar, it also inhibits fat burning, converts almost half of your dietary carbohydrate directly into fat and causes hunger. The Zone Diet moderates the insulin response by limiting the intake of refined sugars and keeping all other carbohydrates to about 40% of the diet.

The concept of the Zone is simple - every time you eat it must be in the correct ratio of Protein to Carbohydrate to Fats. That ratio? 40/30/30 - 40% Carbohydrate, 30% Protein, 30% Fat. The maximum control of insulin occurs when this ratio is met.

The idea of 40/30/30 has been around for a number of years. The difference the Zone makes has to do with Zone Blocks, of which there are two types. The first is the Individual Block: an individual block of Carbohydrates (C) is 9 grams, an individual block of Protein (P) is 7 grams, and an individual block of Fat (F) is 3 grams.

Put one of each of those individual blocks together and you have the second type, a Complete Block. The idea behind the Zone Diet is to have a certain number of Complete Blocks at each meal or snack. So when I talk about a 4 Block Meal, I am talking about 4 Complete Blocks, or 4 individual blocks of protein, 4 individual blocks of carbs, and 4 individual blocks of fat.

Use the table in How Many Blocks? to determine how many Complete Blocks you may eat per day OR have the math done for you by using my Block Calculator.