Should regular exercisers try the Zone diet?

Dr. Barry Sears’ popular Zone program has appealed to many dieters because of it’s moderate balance of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. With a ratio of 40% carbohydrates, 30% fat and 30% protein, many find the diet easier to follow than the more restrictive Atkins style eating plan and find it to be more successful in the short run than traditional high carbohydrate diets. In Mastering the Zone, Sears’ 1997 follow up to The Zone, a New York Times bestseller, Sears addresses the issue of exercise. Zone dieters categorize their weekly activity level based on the intensity and duration of exercise and use that category to determine their daily protein and calorie intake.

Sears provides six physical activity categories in the book ranging from Sedentary to Elite Athlete. Sears’ categories have been questioned by some nutritional experts because there is a significant gap between the Elite Athlete category which is defined as two heavy workouts per day and the next step down which is “very active” and is defined as more than 2.5 hours per week plus moderate weight training. In ” A Week in the Zone” the chapter which lays out a week of typical Zone meals, elite athletes are provided more calories than other groups which are all categorized as “typical males and females.”  Many active runners, triathletes, tennis players, swimmers and skiers exercise every day. This puts them well above the 2.5 hour mark, but far below being categorized as elite athletes. So what’s a regular exerciser to do?

Leslie J. Bonci, M.P.H., R.D, CSSD, LDN is a runner and registered dietitian with a master’s degree in public health from the University of Pittsburgh. Her column in Runner’s World recently addressed this issue for runners.

“Many of you asked about The Zone or South Beach as “good” plans for weight loss”, she writes. “Remember that these plans are designed for people who do minimal exercise, not distance running, so the carb intake is going to be too low.”

Her suggestions for a modified approach include adding more fruits, vegetables and beans to your diet, adding liquid-y foods such as chili or stew that make you feel fuller. She recommends that endurance athletes should not go below 50% of the day’s intakes from carbs. Her article “How Can You Lose Weight, But Not Energy?” is a helpful read for those who are diet shopping or struggling to maintain a low carb diet.

Several components of the Zone diet are helpful for anyone trying to maintain healthy eating habits. The food plan encourages eaters to consume a great variety of foods. Sears suggests that dieters plan meals around a lean protein, avoid starchy foods and eat complex carbohydrates packed full of fiber and important vitamins and minerals. These are also components of the Mediterranean diet which has garnered favor among many health experts. A registered dietitian or nutritional expert can help exercisers be sure that they consume enough calories to fuel regular workouts.