What You'll Eat
On Zone, women get 1,200 calories a day, and men get 1,500—divided among three meals and two snacks. It’s up to you to make sure you’re eating the right proportions of each type of food: 40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent fat. Low-fat protein choices, like skinless chicken, turkey, fish, egg whites, low-fat dairy, tofu, and soy meat substitutes, are emphasized. So are colorful carbs—think fresh fruit or steamed veggies. And small amounts of healthy fats, such as olive oil, fish oil, almonds, or avocado, are OK. Nothing is off limits, but dieters are encouraged to steer clear of pasta, bread, bagels, cereals, and potatoes, which are all carb-rich, as well as fatty red meat, egg yolks, liver and other organ meats, and processed foods—all high in saturated fat.
Recipe Resources
Plenty of Zone recipes are available online. Since you might not get enough vitamin D, calcium, and potassium, it’s worth considering ways to incorporate these nutrients into your meal. Here are a few resources:
- Official Zone recipes
- Collection of Zone recipes
- Vitamin D sources
- Calcium sources
- Potassium sources
Last updated by Angela Haupt | January 02, 2013
The low-carb Atkins diet leaves much to be desired. It's effective for short-term weight loss, but isn't great for overall health.
Nutrisystem determines portions, prepares and delivers your meals, and tells you what to eat and when.
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