The Zone/ 40-30-30

In an amazing coincidence, my trainers at my Crossfit gym gave me this article just this morning and so I have just read it, but not done anything with it.  I have lost some weight, but not body fat percentage, and they tell me that I will see a real difference with the Zone.  And I really believe that I should have lost more weight than I have, given that I think I make pretty good food choices (I don't eat snacky things) and I exercise a whole lot more than the average person on the street. 

I am going to get the book on my way home from work and give this two weeks.  I had not really calculated calories or whatever for myself, but I was told to go for 10 blocks per day.  One of the few things I do try to watch is protein and I aim for 70 grams of protein for day.  So, it was reassuring to see that each block was 7 grams of protein and if I should have ten blocks, there is my 70 grams of protein.  That was a little bit of validation for me. 

So, Lauren, I would love to have someone do this little experiment with me.  Are you up to a two-week trial of The Zone? 

Crossfitters love the Zone but I think there are some real issues if you follow it to the letter.  First, it is an extremely restricted calorie diet. I don't have issues with the 40-30-30 but I am a 225 lb male and according to the zone I should be doing blocks which equal about 1200 calories.  Also, remember that most crossfit workouts are no longer than 30 minutes with the majority less than 15 in duration.  Anyone training for endurance needs more calories in my opinion. 

Just my 2 cents.

So I had my first breakfast in The Zone.  Normally for breakfast I have fat-free yogurt and cereal.  My yogurt would be my protein and has 9 grams of protein, so that works for one protein block and so I had two cartons of yogurtto get two blocks. 

My cereal would be regarded as an unfavorable carbohydrate, but it is what I have at the moment.  It has 20 grams of carbohydrates and so would be a two-block carbohydrate. 

I don't usually have fat at breakfast, so I got some almonds and had 8 dry roasted almonds, which would be two blocks of fat.  So I guess I had a two-block breakfast and it was more food than I usually have.   

I am going out to lunch today and will try to keep in The Zone.  So far so good for the first meal of this two week experiment.  How about you, Lauren?

Hello Ladies - let me know how the Zone works for you.  Lauren - are you doing crossfit? I see that you are in the Denver area.  I just wanted to know what you thought.  I started going about 5 weeks ago.  How about you Leah?  Are you enjoying it and seeing results?

Prior to endurance training, I did a women's boot camp (mostly strength training and high intensity interval training), lots of similarities to CrossFit.  I did it 5x week for 45 mins each time.  I followed an approx 1200 calorie diet that was 40/30/30 but the 40% was protein.  I worked out at 5:45am and had a protein shake 30-60 mins after my workout.  No additional post workout carbs.  Next meal was approx. 4.5 hours after the post-workout shake.  Basically looked like this

Pre-workout: 1/2 slice of ezekiel toast w/ 2 T natural pb
Post-workout:  2 scoops Ultimate Muscle Protein or Muscle Milk Light
12 noon:  4 oz. chicken, 2/3 cup brown rice, 2 C. broccoli
3:30pm:  4 oz. chicken, 3 cups of tossed salad w/ lots of veggies, 1/2 orange, 1/4 c. strawberries
7:00pm:  4 oz. lean protein or fish, baked potato, asparagus or other veggies drizzed in Olive oil

I followed that exactly, only substituting different lean proteins.  I did not eat 4 1/8 oz. of protein, and I did not eat 3 7/8.  So, when I say i followed it, we're talking +/-1 %.  

Saturday is a free day.  You are supposed to eat more calories & carbs.

Results:  went from a size 10 to a 4 (19 lbs.) in 8 weeks.   Kept it off for a year and a half without any problems.  Started endurance training and eating more carbs, put 10 lbs back on and cannot shake it, despite that I train way more.  When I am done tri training, I will go right back on my higher protein, lower carb diet and I have no doubt I will take the extra 10 lbs. back off in a couple weeks.

Most people don't agree with how I did it, but it worked for me.  As it worked for 4 of my friends:  
1.  142 to 110 (size 10 to 2) in 12 weeks
2.  152 to 115 (size 10 to 2) in 3 months
3.  200+ to 150 (size 20 to size 10)
3.  150 to 135 (size 10 to 6)

All of these girls were only doing boot camp 45 mins/day, 5x week, all have kept it off for 2 years.  All of them followed that plan TO THE LETTER.  Including taking a free day. 

Do I think it is enough calories to optimally fuel you if your primary goal is endurance sports?  No.  Which is why I have added in carbs right now despite that I have gained some weight from doing so.  But in August boot camp and my body will be my primary goal again and endurance training will be secondary, so at that point, based on my goals, I will switch back.

Wow.  I am not sure what to do with that information.  I am about 145 (now a size 8, sometimes 6) and I sure would like to be a size 2 and would love to achieve that in the next 8-12 weeks - with the loss coming from body fat with no loss of hard-earned muscle.  Sounds like a fantasy to me. 

I do Crossfit 3x per week.  I do the sbr as often as I can, which is not as often as I should considering I am training for a HIM in October, but there are only so many hours in the day.  It sounds like there isn't any way to have both, which just seems wrong to me. 

But the reality is that I have been working out every single day (love those peaches) at varying levels of intensity, but still daily, with really an overall very good diet and the scale hasn't budged from 145 (plus or minus a pound fluctuation) OR from mid-30's in body fat percentage, which doesn't make any sense to me either. 

I wonder if a 35:35:30 ratio would work.  And maybe I just ought to go back to eating ice cream on demand.