Daniel, I've decided to join in, and been zoning for the last week and half or so. I've done this once before, so I knew what I was in for. I still find it a lot of work, and don't know if it's sustainable long-term. Benefits-wise, I've dropped 3lb fat and gained 1lb approx. and lost 1" waist at the waist. But the best thing has been how alert and active I've been feeling. I was on a pretty decent diet earlier too, but somehow the zone proportions have improved the alertness. Perhaps that's what's being "in the zone".

I tried eating mostly veggies for carbs, but that's so damn hard to do, both in terms of preparing the food and consuming it! I've now settled for bread or sweet potatoes (about 4 blocks) once a day, once veggies (3-4 blocks) and fruit for the rest.

I am also giving zone fish oil a shot - so far I must say, I haven't seen any apparent benefits. I was hoping that it would at least partially help with the back pain (by reducing inflammation) but that's not to be, yet. It's very pricey, so I'll probably switch to a cheaper brand if I don't see major benefits.

One question that's been bugging me a bit - and I admit I haven't read the zone books - so forgive me if I am asking something that's common knowledge. I am consuming 14 to 16 blocks now (which is way above prescribed level for me at activity factor of 0.7), which adds up to about 1456 calories or so. Just from what I've read elsewhere, you need upwards of 2000 calories per day. Is there something wrong with my math or is that enough calories?

Not strict zoning but down to 192 from high of 199. Mostly zone.

Good job Prasanna - and congratulations on that recent back squat PR! I know exactly what you mean about the "alert" feeling.

I'm curious: where are you getting that 1456 number? Generally speaking, I think there are frequently a lot more than 100 calories in a block, but it's never a reliable calculation, due to all the combinations in food. Although the block charts try to divvy everything out into their primary macronutrients, nature is quite a bit more complex: there's plenty of protein in nuts and several vegetables, and often a lot of fat in protein. Food does not really follow the tidy arrangements in the Zone, and I do not advocate trying to ACTUALLY add it all together - your head would just explode.

But these additional, uncounted macros contain a lot of calories. Max told me he figures there are usually about 140-150 calories in a block, which would put your total at around 2000. If you're eating really lean meats and very clean carbs, it could be a bit less.

Make no mistake: if done as prescribed, Zone is hypocaloric. The "magic" that many describe is that, despite operating at a caloric deficiency, people generally see improvements in their performance while simultaneously losing weight.

All of which is a long way of coming to my point, which is this: don't go looking for problems. I'd say if you're losing weight (assuming that's a goal), feeling better and knocking out PRs in your workouts, then you're doing it right.

Here's how I came up with that number:

16 blocks of protein = 16blocks * 7g * 4 cal = 448
16 blocks of fat = 16*3*9 = 432
16 blocks of carbs = 16*9*4 = 576

Total = 1456

Now, I totally understand that there will be minor variations and I think this whole measuring & weighing is probably intended to keep us in the ballpark, not to be accurate to the level of a few calories. But that 1456 seems way too low, hence confusion. I am not too worried because (a) I am not feeling like I am starved, and (b) there are sufficient data points suggesting that 14-16 blocks is enough. Perhaps the variations from my calculations above aren't as minor as I think, and each block has substantially more calories than my (naive) calculations suggest.

I have read that Zone is hypocaloric, but its also meant to be a "life style". If you're sonsistently hypocaloric for some period of time (to lose weight or whatever), then that's understanable. But at some point you have to consume at least as many calories as you spend, no? (if you maintain body fat % constant)

Yeah, I think there are a lot more calories hidden in those blocks than you think. One egg, for example, is one block of protein which should, in theory, be 28 calories, but an egg is really more like 60-70 calories. You might try plugging in a day's worth of foods to Fitday for a more accurate calorie count.

As for the hypocaloric thing, you're right. Here's how they teach it at the CrossFit cert: strict zone until you reach an optimum level of bodyfat (under 10% for men, 18% for women), then start multiplying your fat blocks until you stop losing weight and reach equilibrium (typically 3-5x fat). Fat is hormonally neutral, so you'll still be getting the benefits of being "in the zone" while still getting sufficient calories.

Daniel - So if you're trying to maintain weight or even gain weight (no, I am most certainly not implying that I have an optimum level of bodyfat, just curious) your calorie split among the macronutrients would end up having a larger fat component than 30%? So more like 30% protein, 30% carb, 40% fat?

Or am I misunderstanding this all and demonstrating my ignorance of the zone diet?

Put it this way...without actually following the zone diet, I put my food for last week into Fitday trying to a) figure out just how many calories I was consuming and b) balance the carbs, protein, and fat a bit better. The answer to a) was simple: not enough. The answer to b) was trickier - it was damn hard to add more overall (non-sugar) calories without having 37-40% fat.

Yes, the percentages would certainly change, though it's easier to think of it in terms of blocks, I think. That's what they say for maintenance - I don't know if CrossFit's stance on weight gain varies from Dr. Sears's, but I believe the Zone RX for gaining weight is to eat at the level you WANT to be - which should typically mean adding a block or even two.

I haven't tried it yet myself, so at the moment my personal recommendation to someone wanting to gain muscle would be somewhat different: up the protein and fat, lower the carbs, do just a little metcon (1-2x week, nothing more than 15 minutes), and work simple progressions of the big lifts. This should certainly result in muscle gain, though at the risk of some chubbiness.