Fad Diets: Enter the Zone

Fad Diets: Enter The Zone

The way we eat, or what experts recommend we should eat, can be as much a fad as the clothes we wear or the way we style our hair. More carbs or less carbs, the truth is Americans today have just been getting fatter. To keep up with the trends, more and more fad diets have come about in the last few years, making promises of successful weight loss. The Zone diet is no exception, "In the Zone you'll enjoy optimal body function: Freedom from hunger, greater energy and physical performance, as well as improved mental focus and productivity", says Barry Sears, creator of the Zone.

What is the Zone Diet?

Macronutrients are simply protein, carbohydrates, and fat. The diet's plan suggests 40 percent of your daily food intake come from carbohydrates, 30 percent from protein, and 30 percent from fat. The book will help you to calculate the daily grams of protein you need. When you find your grams of protein you need to divide by 7 to get the number of blocks of protein you should be eating each day. 7 grams of protein equals one block. So if your daily intake was 75 grams this would be equivalent to 11 blocks each day. For each block of protein eaten you need one block of carbohydrates, which is equal to 9 grams. This goes for fat as well, each block of protein needs one block of fat, which is equal to 1 Ð'Ð... grams. (1) This seems like a good balance of the macronutrients, however, breads, grains, and pastas are highly discouraged in this diet. Carbohydrates in the Zone should mainly come from fruits and vegetables, and even some of these are limited. This is somewhat different from the recommendations of the ADA and the food guide pyramid that suggest 6-11 servings from the bread, rice, grain and pasta group daily.

The result of this diet is a quick initial weight loss due to the loss of water. Consuming carbohydrates causes water to be retained, so when significantly reducing carbohydrates there will be water loss, like in this and many of the other fad diets. In addition to the decreases in carbohydrates, if calories are too low not only will dehydration occur but lean muscle mass will be lost as well. This is the result of ketosis. (2)

What is Ketosis?

Ketosis is the presence in the blood of abnormally high levels of acidic substances called ketones. Ketosis is caused when the body metabolizes body fat and lean body mass for energy purposes, instead of the usual glucose from carbohydrates. The body usually burns glucose which it obtains from carbohydrates, but if there isn't enough glucose in the bloodstream the body draws on alternate energy systems, which causes the appearance of ketones in the blood. (3)

Although you may see quick weight loss, which if done