If you are Zoning (weighing and measuring) and you've got your Zone Plan Block Charts of "preferred" and "unfavorables", then there is one more thing you need to know if you haven't figured it out already. You need to memorize the following:
1.5g of fat is 1 Block
9g of carbs is 1 Block
7g of protein is 1 Block
If you know this then all you do is multiply each one by your prescribed blocks. For example, a 3 block meal gets 4.5g of fat. This helps when using foods with labels. Otherwise, the food charts will tell you what measurement is equal to one block (i.e. 1/3 teaspoon of butter is equal to one block). So you could have 1 teaspoon of butter in your 1 cup of oatmeal and 3 scrambled eggs for breakfast when eating a 3 block meal. That's a big breakfast! I recently ate my oatmeal with butter and Allspice to add more flavor. You could also add fruit for flavor. Forget that sugar! You don't need it! Retrain those taste buds!
If anyone needs help obtaining the block charts, then contact myself or Evan.
About this blog
In other words, the Zone + Crossfit = Optimal Heath!
This blog focuses on nutrition, using the Zone Diet as the basis. However, I often eat Paleo foods in Zone proportions.
I love to investigate anything having to do with food- what we eat and why. And what happens within our bodies, our organs, our brain, when we do? My precious mother struggled with eating disorders. I want to avoid this delimma based on research, common sense, and the natural consequences on my body. The Zone shows me where the balance lies between eating too much and eating too little.
My husband runs a Crossfit gym. Exercise and choosing the right foods have become a mission for ourselves and our children. We don't want to be nerds about it, we just want to be healthy.
I have been asked by several friends what I feed our family, especially our kids. My husband and I follow the Crossfit prescription to nutrition (meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar). If you know me, you know that the sugar part of this equation will be a life long struggle given my love for chocolate! Evan adheres to the stricter version known as the Paleo-Zone diet (and I do on my good days!) which requires the same foods in a ratio of 40% protein, 30% carb, and 30% fat. Children require 50% carbs, 30% fat, and 20% protein. If you're wondering how to figure this out, I do it on a per meal basis and I have a "block" chart from the Zone website.
It seems like a headache at first, but if you're interested, just know that it is not that bad once you practice it for a couple of weeks. All you need is a $10 scale and some determination. It really is quite simple and makes my life easier at the grocery store and when cooking dinner. Most of all, I feel great when I eat well- mentally and physically, and we all know that the physical can affect the mental and visa versa!
Evan and I are hunter/gatherer wanna-be's! This blog will track my journey of health as it should be, and the honest reality of living in a sugar fried culture. When it comes down to it, I get excited to talk about nutrition, but I am definitely not perfect at it! If you have the desire to eat well, but it is often a challenge to overcome the temptations along the way, then you are in the right company!
I hope you leave this blog feeling enlightened and encouraged as you go throughout your day!
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