If you want a weight loss plan that does not restrict any food off your diet, then Zone Diet might just be what you've been looking for. The key aspect about the Zone Diet is balance. Indeed, its meal plans are created in such a way that you get all the important nutrients without depriving yourself of the food you want.
What is the Zone Diet
The meal plan for Zone Diet consists of food that are comprised with an evenly balanced amount of all essential nutrients. Therefore, each food consists of 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat. This ratio helps ensure that you control the amount of insulin in your body. Moreover, dieters are not prevented to have a snack at anytime during the dieting period.
This diet is then suitable for people who want to lose weight or to those who just want to live healthy. The focus on controlling the amount of protein in your diet ensures that most of your energy are taken off carbohydrates instead of fat or protein. Another key factor to the Zone Diet is also limiting the amount of calorie intake, which must not exceed 500 calories for a meal or 100 calories for a snack.
Among the food types that are allowed in the Zone Diet are as follows:
fruits
vegetables (preferably leafy greens)
nuts
at least 8 glasses of water each day
Although Zone Diet does not restrict your from eating foods you want, there are certain unhealthy foods that must be avoided such as:
Although it is mainly a weight loss program, the Zone Diet does offer various other health benefits as well. Among the most noticeable benefits included increased level of energy, boost of health, and better mental capacity. Also, the cases of American people suffering from type II diabetes is growing each day. Therefore, this is a good diet to practice for people suffering from type II diabetes.
What makes this diet program works is that it is not a form of starvation diet, hence you do not feel the urge to eat. And although the 40-30-30 ratio for each meal plan applies, it is customized to suit the needs of every individual based on the following factors: sex, body fat proportion, and level of activity.
When it comes to weight loss, excessive intake of carbohydrates can produce insulin in your body, which in turn converts your excess carbohydrates into stored fat. The presence of protein in your diet though activates glucagon, which is responsible for getting rid of those stored carbohydrates. So with a balanced approach to dieting, such as with Zone Diet, weight loss is definitely attainable.
