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The Zone Diet Plan
How Does Zone Diet Work
Sample Meal
Zone Diet Recipes
The Zone Diet Vs Others
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One of the biggest misconceptions for losing weight and achieving
health is that people need to eat carbohydrates
Trying to lose weight and achieve health is often hindered by
one main factor – most people do not truly understand their body. One of
the biggest misconceptions for losing weight and achieving health is that people
need to eat carbohydrates. For example, athletes are taught to eat
carbohydrates for better performance, people with cardiovascular disease are
told to consume carbohydrates to achieve health, and for people wanting to lose
weight, carbohydrates are the answer. Unfortunately, this information is
wrong! These same people 15 years later are overweight and unhealthy.
With The Zone, you will learn that the body needs
fruits and vegetables, which should be your main source of carbohydrates, not
starches, breads, pastas, and grains. Most people do not realize that
excessive carbohydrates actually cause the body to produce too much insulin,
which in turn causes the body to become fat and produces that horrible sluggish
feeling. When insulin levels are too high, the brain becomes cloudy,
physical performance decreases, and even the main predictor for a heart attack
is affected. With The Zone, you will learn ways in which your body
processes foods and why. By understanding how your body works with foods
and hormones, you will gain the ability to move one-step closer to the new,
thinner and healthier you.
Understanding Your Body And Hormones
The
most powerful hormones in your body are called eicosanoids. These hormones are
what control every organ, every cell, and every system. Amazingly, few medical
doctors are even aware of these hormones. The reason is that these particular
hormones only live a short time, never travel through the bloodstream, and are
invisible to scientific study. Even yet, a Nobel Prize was awarded for their
research in 1982, when it was discovered that these hormones are the molecular
glue responsible for holding the body together. Eicosanoids determine whether a
person will suffer a heart attack, how well the immune system performs, whether
or not inflammation or pain is experienced, and other invaluable controlling
functions. What The Zone teaches is that eicosanoids can be good and bad
and by changing the way you eat, you can find the perfect balance, which in turn
leads to a lifetime of health.
The
one thing that can destroy these hormones is an excess of insulin. When
excessive insulin is produced, one specific form of polyunsaturated fatty acid
is produced, called arachidonic acid. This acid is needed by the body since the
body always needs a certain amount of bad eicosanoid for that hormonal balance
to be achieved. On the other hand, having an excess of fatty acid is danger in
that many deadly diseases can develop such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease,
arthritis, and so on. Okay, now here is the interesting part – the excessive
levels of arachidonic acid are found in red meat, egg yolks, and organ meat. This is why it is so critical to avoid saturated fats and these types of foods.
In
The Zone, the balance of hormones is compared with that of an automobile
carburetor. An automobile cannot run unless a proper balance of gas and air are
in check, which is the job of the carburetor. For the body to run optimally, it
needs a balance of carbohydrates and protein. For this balance to exist, a
hormonal carburetor is required. Since the body is not created with such a
thing, The Zone acts as the carburetor by helping you keep the amount of
insulin in the bloodstream at the appropriate level. Every body has its own
ratio of what the appropriate balance of carbohydrates and protein are. For
most people, a 1:1 ratio works best. If needed, small adjustments can be done. However, before these adjustments can be made, you need to understand how this
hormonal carburetor works.
The
guideline is simple that if you consume bread, starches, pasta, or grains, the
volume should equal the volume of low-fat protein for that same meal. If eating
favorable carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables, the low-fat protein for that
same meal can be doubled. What makes your hormonal carburetor so great is that
it controls the calorie intake for you. Keep in mind that there is no such
thing as “ideal weight.” Sure, excessive weight is unhealthy and adds stress on
the heart and joints but 150 pounds on one person may be too much while on
another person, it is their healthy weight. With The Zone, your intake
of food will be broken down as:
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Corbohydrates : 40%
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Fats : 30 %
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Proteins : 30 %
Once your meal is
planned, the numbers for the carbohydrate, protein, and fat on your dinner plate
should be the same. To follow The Zone, you should have equal numbers of
carbohydrate, protein, and fat at every meal. Always remember that moderation
is the key to its success – not too much and not too little.
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