By Elena Voropay

In a desperate quest to find the perfect diet, many bodybuilders gave up following the extremes of going high-protein, low-fat or low-carb. The answer? Dietitians have been preaching it for decades – a well-rounded combination of carbohydrates, proteins and fats with every meal. Sounds simple, but what do they mean by a 'well-rounded' diet?

General recommendations of 55 percent carbohydrates, 15 percent protein and under 30 percent fat are... well... too general. Just imagine that a weight-conscious woman, a beer-bellied couch potato and a cut-up bodybuilder eat exactly the same foods and nutrient proportions. Besides, eating over half of energy from carbs and keeping protein intake so low may be the cause of developing diabetes and insulin resistance. You know your growing muscles need a lot more protein than that. So, here comes a diet that promises to keep you in the bodybuilding Zone and keep obesity, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance at bay.

The 'Zone Diet' was created by Dr Barry Sears, a biochemist and a former researcher at the Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Holding 13 patents in the areas of cancer drug delivery technology and dietary induced hormonal control for the treatment for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, Dr Sears became famous after creating a diet that, as some report, has helped many desperate weight-loss health-seeking patients to get fit. In his book 'Enter the Zone' the author promises increased energy, gradual and permanent fat loss, improved mental acuity, more restful sleep, lessened joint and muscle pain, and improved cholesterol profile. You can also expect freedom from allergies, digestive disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome and many other conditions. What is the Zone diet?

Based on the theory that human digestive system has evolved over the past 100,000 years since we started eating starches, the 'Zone' diet encourages to eat more foods originally designed for human body, such as meats, fish, fruits and vegetables. Long long time ago there were no grains, breads or pasta, and, of course, candy or cakes for that matter. Men lived on meat, fruit and vegetables and had high levels of energy, could hunt for hours and hours on end, were free from diseases and never faced an obesity problem.

Luckily, you don't have to hunt for your food, but you always strive for that electrifying spark of power and limitless energy when you go to the gym. Theoretically, carbohydrates should give you that energy, but, as the 'Zone' notes, they do just the opposite.

Nutritional Zone

Unlike the traditional diet, Barry Sears recommends eating less carbs and more protein and fat.

Precisely, he points to keep the nutrient ratio of 40/30/30, respectively corresponding to percentages of total energy from carbohydrates (40), protein (30) and fat (30). So, for every 1000 calories you should get 400 of these from carbs, 300 from protein, and 300 from fat. Calculating may be dawnting, and to simplify it just crack in the caloric values.

Since there are 4 calories in a gram of carbohydrates and protein and 9 calories in a gram of fat, you need 100 grams of carbs, 75 grams of protein and 33 grams of fat. That is a lot more protein than, as Dr Sears says, most people eat. But most people are not athletes or bodybuilders who know the true value of amino acids and their mighty effect on growing bodies, tissues and cells.

Hormonal Zone

The main focus of the 'Zone' diet is the control of your body's appetite regulating hormone insulin. After eating a meal, you blood sugar levels go up, and insulin lowers them by transporting the energy you got from food to all body parts. This is the good side of insulin – nutritional support of your muscles, heart and brain. But the hormone has an evil side as well – it stores fat.

When your liver and muscles get enough sugars and deposit them as glycogen, the body fat gets a break. Your body must use these sugars first before it can tap to break down fatty deposits and use them for energy. If you raise insulin too high, you not only stop burning fat, but you send a message to your love handles to grow bigger and fatter as well. Raising insulin higher than needed is quite easy to do - eat carbs alone without protein and fat, or eat too much of anything (even protein raises insulin levels when consumed in abundance).

Insulin also affects other important muscle-building fat-shedding hormones in your body, such as growth hormone (HGH) and testosterone. To be specific, extremely elevated insulin inhibits the release of HGH from the pituitary gland with a corresponding increase in fattening estrogen and lowered testosterone levels.

'Zone' encourages to keep insulin in a “discreet zone”, but ensures that you get adequate supply of carbohydrates at each meal to keep the brain, heart, lungs and digestive organs functioning. Instead of eating grains, your carbohydrate sources primarily come from fruits and vegetables. Additionally, eating less food with each meal is the heart and soul of the 'Zone', or any weight loss diet for that matter. So, you end up eating just like the ancient active hunters. The fascinating 'Zone Paradox', as explained by Dr Sears, comes from the hunger-suppressing hormone glugacon stimulated by the increased amount of protein in a meal. Sufficient carbs and protein will maintain glugacon and blood sugar levels stable slowly releasing stored glucose from the liver. This will give you constant steady energy supply for the next 4-6 hours. This is your 'feel-good' time with peak mental acuity and no hunger or cravings despite the fact that you are eating only the recommended 1200 - 1500 calories per day.

So, your plates are always full, but the energy they carry can be compared to baby food jars. And it's all in the ingredients. Eat veggies instead of pasta – and you slash hundreds of calories and carb grams. Since carbs are down, so is the blood sugar level and insulin after a meal.

Last, but not least, hormonal secret of the 'Zone' is the connection of paracrine hormones called eicosanoids with endocrine hormones insulin, glucagon, testosterone and HGH described above. As the “most powerful biological agents known to man”, eicosanoids come from dietary lipids and from the secondary response of the foods you eat.

Just like fats and cholesterol, eicosanoids can be 'good' and 'bad', or have positive and negative health consequences. The good ones are important in the regulation of inflammatory, immunological and hemostatic processes shown through blood vessel dilation, lowered inflammation and allergic responses, improved thyroid function and metabolism, reduced pain and hightened brain function. 'Bad' ones, on the other hand, do just the opposite: promote blood clotting, pain, depress immunity and may cause many unwanted diseases. 'Good' eicosanoids are athletes' best friends! Just think about it – a lot of muscle gain without too much pain.

To get all these benefits, you need to eat more fat, and the right kind of fat, as recommended by the 'Zone' diet. What's more, the precise proportion of carbohydrates, protein and fat must be constantly maintained. Eating more carbohydrates than recommended by the 'Zone' stimulates insulin and 'bad' eicosanoid production. Eating more protein and fat than prescribed by most dietitians, makes glucagon the key player in the energy game. This is where the 'good' eicosanoids cheer. So, shifting the nutrient balance towards more lean protein from fish, meats and dairy and essential fatty acids from monounsaturated fatty acids of olives, avocado and nuts and fish will give you the most optimal hormonal 'Zone' effect optimizing body's production of eicosanoids with other hormones and make you feel contempt, alert, energized and satisfied for several hours without any hunger pains.

How-To 'Zone'

1.Drink at least 64 ounces of water a day.

2.Eat more frequent meals with less than 500 calories each at least every five hours.

3.Determine your protein needs (1.8-2.2g of protein per kg of lean body mass).

4.Keep the proportion of carbohydrates, protein and fat in the 40/30/30 caloric range at all times. That is, for every gram of carbohydrates, eat 0.75g of protein and 0.5g of fat. This “hormonally correct” meal should keep you satisfied for 4 hours after you've eaten.

5.Choose fruits and vegetables instead of breads, grains and starches.

6.Make sure your protein comes from low-fat sources.

7.Add a little monounsaturated fat ((olive oil, avocado, almonds, etc.) to every meal meal and snack.

If that sounds too complicated, Dr Sears advises to divide your plate into three equal sections, put palm-sized low-fat protein (chicken, fish, lean cuts of meat, etc.) filling up the rest two thirds with fruits and vegetables with a dash of heart-healthy mono-unsaturated fat to activate the hormonal signals that tell your brain that you are full.

Can't go without pasta or bread? Go for it, but use these as condiments and eat more protein to balance the nutrients and hormones. So, have your toast, fetuccini, or rice, but double the chicken breast to keep your insulin low and glucagon up.

• The carbohydrate/protein/fat caloric ratio of 40/30/30 differs from 55/15/30 ratio recommended by dietitians who believe that most people in Western countries already eat a diet similar to 'Zone' and suffer from obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. So, according to earlier studies, eating more fat and protein at the expense of low-fat carbohydrates may result in higher cholesterol blood levels increasing the risk of heart disease and several cancers. However, the evidence is controvercial and other studies show positive blood lipid profile response from diets similar to 'Zone' with fewer carbs and more protein. Additionally, the 'Zone' recommends increasing fat intake which is not applauded by the Heart Association. However, 'Zone's' fat comes from monounsaturated fatty acids which are known to lower the risks of many diseases, improve bone health and reduce inflammation. Unlike saturated fats, Omega-3s emphasised by Barry Sears are essential for all body cells and they don't get deposited in your arteries.

• Restriction of grains and legumes may lower the intake of vitamins B and E, Magnesium, Copper, Zinc, easily digestable amino acids methionine and leucine from plant sources, and some forms of soluble and insoluble fibre. These are all important for proper neurologic, mental and muscular function. Even though you can get sufficient amounts of amino acids from meats, minerals from seafood and vitamins and fibre from vegetables and fruit, your body metabolises them differently.

• Just like a calorie is not always a simple calorie, amino acid or vitamin is not always just an amino acid or vitamin – where these come from may matter more than you think. For example, you know that there is a difference between whey and soy protein, even though both have complete protein profiles with all essential amino acids present. But the body can tell the difference and responds to each appropriately. The bottom line is that you can't replace natural grainy compounds with anything else.
  What's more, humans are not cows, horses or koalas who can break down plant fibre and use it for energy. We lack the digestive enzyme phytase required to separate various nutrients from phytate molecules present in plants. So, even though plants give you the very best natural and organic micro- and macro-nutrients, your body just can't get these into the demanding cells. Salts of phytic acids or phytates form insoluble complexes with Calcium, Zinc, Iron, and other nutrients and interfere with their absorption.
  
• Chewing bark and pushing it through six metres of intestines is a heavy labour for your system. Your salivary glands, esophagus, stomach, kidneys, liver, intestines have to walk an extra mile or two just to transfer the bulk from your plate to the toilet seat. It is additional stress on your system which can make you feel tired downgrading the ultimate purpose of food – giving energy.

• Vegetables and fruit may compensate for adequate glucose and caloric supply, but you got to eat them in astronomical amounts to get enough energy and survive through your muscle-building workouts while keeping the sanity of the mind. That requires your agreement to stretch stomach and intestines to the point of stomach skin tightness giving you the 'pregnancy' look. And who would choose that over the tight six-pack rock-hard abdominals?

• Of course, with increasing fibre (which will inavitably happen if you want to derive 2000 calories from vegetables and fruit) you will need to drink more water. All is well, but the side effects may be indigestion, poor nutrient absorption, fluid retention or dehydration, constipation and unpredictable diarrhea, elecrolyte imbalances, expedited mineral excretion, and a lot of gas from the intestinal bacteria generated by fibre. It's not a good thing if you are about to hit the weights at the gym.

Recommendations

1. The 'Zone' diet puts more protein on the plate, and that's what keeps bodybuilders happy. A daily intake of 1.8-2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of lean tissue definitely suits muscle-conscious freaks who pride themselves on having low body fat deposits and remember the word 'protein' better than their ABCs. However, sometimes they forget that muscles don't grow as a result of increased protein intake, but rather as a result of progressive weight training and sufficient energy supply. And the best source of that energy comes from carbohydrates.
   
   Yes, protein has calories, four in each gram. That is the same amount as carbs, but the human body metabolizes and uses these same four calories differently. Whether you want it or not, your complex physiologic framework doesn't like to use amino acids simply for caloric burn and would mainly use protein for constructing new cells and tissues, such as your hair, nails, skin, muscles, bones. Amino acids are also used for synthesising hormones, generating blood cells and giving you macho powers of fertility. It is smart enough to differentiate where the supplied calories come from, and to haul them to their right destinations.
   
   So, by eating more protein you will not grow bigger muscles or be able to push yourself harder at the gym. You may help your muscles to recover from the workout, but that workout has to be stimulating, challenging, galvanizing, and you've got to have enough energy to light that muscle fire. Carbohydrates, not protein or fat, are the ultimate spark you need.
   
   However, as for protein recommendations, 'Zone's 1.8-2.2 grams per kilogram lean body mass is only slightly higher than what most sports nutritionists advise. The International Olympic Committee suggests protein intakes of about 1.2-1.4 grams per kilogram body weight per day for endurance athletes and 1.2-1.7 grams for strength-speed athletes. Considering that the later recommendations also account for fat mass, and when that is subtracted, the protein amount may come close to the 'Zone'.
   
   For example, 100kg bodybuilder with 5% bodyfat should eat 190g of protein for 'Zoning' or up to 170g for conventional diet. So, regardless of which expert's advice you follow, you may indulge in all the chicken, fish and whey you can, but keep up your carbs as well if you look to get the best possible muscle-building outcome.
   
   
2. Carbohydrates are not only the main fuel for your muscles, but they are the only energy supply for your brain. Just like your car can't run on coal, your brain's engine simply is incapable to work on anything but sugar. And the Barry Sears has thought that mechanism through. His diet does not ban carbs like earlier Atkins and similar low-carb diets, but changes carbohydrate sources from easily digestable and momentarily absorbed breads and pastas to minimally processed and hardly broken down vegetables and fruits.
   
   Eating four grams of carbs for every three grams of protein is “the ideal ratio”, according to Dr Sears. Albeit the carbohydrate amount is scaled down to 40 percent of total daily calories, this should be enough to get the mind going and keep insulin on the leash. You stay safe from ketosis (a chronic physiological carbohydrate starvation resulting in brain bonking and muscle and organ breakdown) and never get an insulin jump and don't get hungry many hours after finishing a meal. Your liver should also have enough glycogen for normal daily activities, but your gym work may go down the spiral. If your goal is to push through your sticky dumbbell points, then you need more sugars than that.
   
   
3. We were taught that if no fat touches your lips, no fat touches your hips. Fat is the most energy-dense nutrient with twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrates. You can either eat six egg whites, 100 shrimps, a large bowl of cereal, or just one spoon of oil or butter for the same amount of energy. On top of that, dietary fat loves its journey to its most usual final destination - your waist and love handles. Even sugar gets burned much easier than fat, and protein is not meant to be the energy storage material in the first place. From the biologic perspective, it takes only 3% of the available energy from dietary fat to be deposited as body fat. Compare that to 26% for carbs and a lot more for protein!
   
   How can fat be beneficial for weight-loss? The simplicity of the puzzle is that fat dwindles your every meal's GI, slows digestion, jacks up satiety, makes everything taste better so you end up eating less food and feel the need to eat less often.
   
   The 'Zone' diet gives preference to health-protective monounsaturated fat, and only one gram for every 4g of carbs and 3g of protein. Even though some rank it above the accepted weight-melting 'lower-fat bar', the slight increase of 'good' fats is applauded by all dietary experts. Don't be afraid of adding fat for fat loss. Just a spoon of flaxseed or olive oil will prevents mindless overeating of tasteless fat-free rice crackers, maintain slow nutrient release into the system, will mobilize your body fat and use it as an alternative energy source.
   
   
4. The main concern with following the 'Zone' is the calories – Dr Sears lets you eat only up to 1200 for weight loss purposes. This is by no means enough to sustain the high-intensity active lifestyle of fitness junkies and bodybuilders. Besides, even for fat-burning purposes, you want to burn a lot of calories during each workout, and that requires your heavy push. The higher the intensity of exercise, the more calories and fat cells are grilled. But where can all this energy come from if you don't eat enough?
   
   Unfortunately, your beer belly will not generate the fire within. You may be able to get that skinny girl figure, but the healthy most metabolically active muscle tissue will be gone. So, to burn calories you need to get them first.
   
   
5. The conflicting issue of caloric supply from the recommendations of Dr Sears becomes mind-boggling when you plug in all numbers – they just don't correspond. If you take 2.2g of protein per each kg of lean body mass, then scale in carbs and fat to make a 40/30/30 ratio. For 1200 calories you get a “bodybuilder” with only 41kg of lean tissue. Who weighs that little? Not anybody trying to lose some weight. If you can correct me, please do, as further investigation is required.

Working Out in the Zone

In summary, the 'Zone' diet can be a healthy way to get the nutrients and use them efficiently while keeping the workout intensity at the point you want. Here is how: To 'Exercise in the Zone', eat a 40/30/30 snack before and after training. Depending on your goal, you may want to tilt the scale slightly favouring carbohydrates for additional immediate energizing spark you always need before you smell the gym rubber and get your Testosterone going.

Right after you finish your last most powerful set, replenish your starving cells with glucose and amino acids so you don't faint in the shower after the workout. Besides, the sooner you fuel your muscles, the less chances you give them to break down even further. Get some carbs and protein here to prevent the blood sugar rush and watch your insulin as it works hand in hand with your Growth Hormone. About 30 minutes after you finish your work out, your body releases huge amounts of Human Growth Hormone. You may counterbalance the effect if whatever you eat will have too many carbs and stimulate an insulin surge. Insulin makes HGh levels plummet, so a 'Zone'-balanced meal works great here. Due to its moderate impact on blood sugar levels, a 40/30/30 ratio (or something within a 5% range with slight emphasis on carbs) will maximize muscle growth and feed your system well. So, don't just suck on sugar cubes, have some whey with them as well

A couple of hours later, eat a large 'Zone' meal to keep the system going. And stay in that 'Zone' until you go to sleep allowing your body to rest at least an hour before you hit the sack. This is essential for good digestion as it slows down when you fall asleep and continue your muscle growing life cycle.

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