Zone, The

The Zone Diet was introduced in 1995 by Dr. Barry Sears. The original Zone Diet required the individual to maintain the 40:30:30 ratio, meaning that at every meal and snack, a person should consume 40 percent carbohydrate, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent fat. The Zone Diet is therefore neither high or low in either carbohydrates, protein, or fat, but represents what Sears considers to be the optimal balance of those three macronutrients.

This requirement has been somewhat relaxed and in more recent versions of the diet, meal compositions in the ranges of 35 to 50 percent carbohydrate, 25 to 35 percent protein, and 20 to 35 percent fat are acceptable. Sears claims that individuals who follow the Zone Diet will maintain stable blood sugar levels and hormonal balance, in particular to avoid insulin spikes which he claims results from high carbohydrate consumption. The Zone Diet has been popularized in Sears' books and several Web sites and through the sale of nutritional products such as snack bars.

The name The Zone refers to a concept used by athletes, who say they are “in the zone” when they are achieving their optimal level of performance. This concept is a cornerstone of Sears's philosophy: He claims that people who follows his dietary recommendations can put themselves into a state not only of optimal performance but of optimal health. He further argues that food should be thought of as a powerful drug, and eating as a kind of technology serving as a drug delivery, and thus that food should only be consumed in appropriate proportions and on a controlled schedule.

Sears includes a number of tools to help an individual plan a diet which will follow the principles of The Zone, using ordinary supermarket food selected and prepared by the individual. His system is based on defining “blocks” of each macronutrient: for instance, one block of protein contains about 7 g of protein and could be 1 oz of skinless chicken breast, 1 oz of tofu, 2 oz of low-fat cottage cheese, or two egg whites. Similarly, carbohydrates and fats are classified into blocks: for instance, a carbohydrate block contains about 9 grams of carbohydrate, the amount in one-half a medium apple or one-quarter cup lentils, and three olives or one-half teaspoon peanut butter constitute one fat block, defined as 1.5 grams of fat. After a person has determined his or her daily protein requirement (using a formula found in his books), he or she is advised to distribute his or her protein consumption throughout the day, over three meals and two snacks. The individual can then construct his or her daily diet so each meal and snack contains the appropriate number of protein blocks, matched by an equal number of carbohydrate and fat blocks. Because the carbohydrate blocks contain more calories, this keeps the diet in the proper balance to remain “in the zone.”

[Page 810]Although the Zone Diet has some flexibility depending on a person's caloric and protein requirements, a typical plan calls for 1,200 calories per day for adult females and 1,500 for adult males. Sears recommends that the individual eat five to six small meals per day which are evenly spaced, and claims that individuals who adhere to the Zone Diet will not feel hungry despite consuming fewer calories than is typical in an American diet, because of what he calls “The Zone Paradox.” This is another cornerstone of Sears's philosophy: He believes that not all calories are equal, and that if macronutrients are consumed in the specified ratios (in particular if sufficient protein is consumed every time a person eats), a person's insulin ratio will not spike and will not feel hungry despite eating fewer calories than he or she might consume on a high-carbohydrate diet.

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