Dr. Barry Sears developed the Zone Diet. The diet uses the 40/30/30 strategy. This means that you consume 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein. The good Dr. Sears advocates a balanced diet plan in order to lose weight and avoid diseases.

The Zone Diet focuses on insulin production as the major facet of weight loss. Consuming foods that raise blood sugar and stimulate insulin production are bad for you. Excess insulin is stored as fat. When you eat foods that rapidly produce insulin your body is encourage to store fat rather than burn it for energy. Spikes in insulin are believed to cause heart disease and diabetes.

Some foods moderate insulin production and allow the body to slowly or more regularly produce insulin. For example, the sugars (carbohydrates) in fruit and vegetables are better than those in white flour. White flour causes insulin levels to spike! In addition, processed foods are bad because contain empty calories that cause similar spikes in insulin production.

On the Zone Diet you’ll eat 3 daily meals and two snacks. Your snacks, of course, will prevent hunger between meals and prevent you from overeating during meals. Choose carefully though and avoid empty calories that will spike insulin production. Your meals will adhere to the 40/30/30 rule. Meaning 40% will come from vegies like corn, cauliflower, beans, squash, peppers and the like. 30% of your calories will come from protein. A good portion measuring device is to eat a piece of protein (chicken, steak, fish etc.) that is about the same size as your palm. And any excess fat should be removed before eating.

Fats are included in the meal to slow the digestion and provide steady energy. Slower digestion means that dieters won’t feel hungry right away. The Zone diet recommends fats that are good for you like nuts and oils like canola and olive.

Foods that spike insulin must be avoided at all costs. Candy, cakes, pies, and other snacks clearly cause insulin spikes and must be avoided. However, other foods can be just as bad. For example breads, pasta noodles, and heavy starches can have the same effect as candy and cake. So try not to eat too much of these foods either especially because these foods are so addictive.

The Zone Diet provides many pre-packaged foods to make sticking to the diet very easy and affordable. And your weekly grocery list can be altered slightly to conform with this diet’s requirements. In fact, you could probably change your family’s menu to be consistent with the Zone Diet and they would not even notice. There are many great Zone Diet recipes that are kids favorites.