Here is an alternative food pyramid from Balanced Bites. The closer you follow this pyramid, the healthier you’ll be, and the better results you’ll see in the gym. As always, you need to pay attention to having zone balanced meals, but you’ll see a lot of improvement by just making better food choices and eating less processed foods. Notice there are no grains, breads, or sugar on this pyramid. They shouldn’t be in your cupboard either. Now…go throw away some junk from your pantry!
Hey everyone! We are back with an awesome video from Mike & Val. They have been with Crossfit Kinnick since the beginning in the garage in 2007! How time flies! Needless to say they have been on The Zone for quite a while. They have both seen amazing results. Since starting the zone challenge Val has lost over 2% body fat. She is under 20%. For women you typically want to be between 15-20% depending on your body type and so forth. Mike on the other hand hangs out around 13-14%. For Mike he is more interested in gaining lean mass/muscle. Since starting the Zone challenge he has put on over 5#s of muscle! Great work you guys!
As I am sure you guys noticed they seem to work as a team with getting ready in the morning. Not that they are helping each other get their food ready its more that they are both Zoning which makes life much easier. So encourage your whole family to Zone with you.
Mike & Val work for Edison so they catch the train in the morning and get back just in time to hit a wod at the box. They pack and prepare all their food in the morning so they can successfully stay in the Zone throughout the day. Notice how they use simple foods like leftovers, turkey deli meat, packaged fruit cups, and thin bread slices. They also have veggies and other great stuff as well. Take some of their tips and use them when you are getting prepared for your day in the morning. It doesn’t take much time and you will love the results of the little time you put into it in the morning. Good luck my friends and be sure to thanks Mike & Val for opening their beautiful home to us so early in the morning.
George says: Great video!
veronica says: LOVE all the family and their diet zone videos! Keep them coming!
Cyndy says: You make it look easy! Thanks! Good job!
If you go to Crossfit Kinnick you know who Blanca is. She is an amazing athlete and the Zone has transformed her into a lean mean fighting machine. You can tell by her before and after pictures as well as her awesome times and lifts on Beyondthewhiteboard.com. She is an exceptional athlete but without the Zone and Crossfit she wouldn’t be able to do what she does everyday. Here is Blanca showing us a simple but delicious meal that even someone as busy as her can do. She is a mom, wife, works full-time in LA, and Crossfits at 6am 5 days a week. You won’t hear any excuses coming out of her mouth. If anything she pushes herself too much…if thats possible. Take a look at her video and give it a try. She uses both fruits and veggies for her Carbs and chicken for her protein and a good fat source.
Something I want you all to remember is this… Once you have weighed and measured your Zone portions for a couple weeks you no longer have to weigh and measure. After doing so for those 2 weeks you will be able to eyeball the amount or right portion. I recommend checking your portions occasionally to make sure you are still close. But don’t get too obsessed with it unless you are trying to compete at a high level. I personally weigh and measure all of my protein. For my veggies I eyeball it as well as for my fat. If you don’t mind the weighing and measuring I say go for it. The closer the portions are the better results you will see. Have fun with it.
Hey guys! Here is our latest Zone Challenge video with Jeremy showing us some ideas for prepping veggies. Its not only important to have Protein ready to go but also to have veggies ready to grab and go or throw into a salad or stir fry. Be sure to rinse all your veggies before cutting them and eating them. About 6 months ago or so, Giermaine and I checked out Dr. Barry Sears’ book, “Top 100 Zone Foods”, from the library and read up on all the top Zone food choices. Now we try to stick to the top Zone foods. The top Protein choice is Haddock (fish), the Top Carb is Cauliflower, and the Top Fat source is Olive Oil from Italy. Here are some of the best choices for Carbs. Cauliflower, Blackberries, Blueberries, Kale, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Red Cabbage, Collard Greens, Spinach, etc. I highly recommend buying that book or checking it out from your local library. If you are serious about your health, optimal performance, and dropping or keeping fat off then you need to take a look at these foods. Enjoy. Let me know if you have any questions.
Veronica says: Love the videos!
You guys are doing a great Job helping people stay in gear with the zone diet!
Nick says: Sprouts all the way!!!
Ash says: Hey Jeremy!
I love the videos! I can help out with some of those curry recipes and stuff to.
Anyway- quick question on this one. I read a few things here and there that say that veggies loose their nutrients after they are cut for more than 15 minutes. Do you notice the veggies going bad after a while?
Heather says: Hey thanks for advertising the library! Great place to work and help the community get what they need in all different aspects of their lives…come and visit the Ovitt Family Community library for zone books people!
Olivia says: Just a remark, the best olive oil is from Spain!!!! (I’m Spanish)Regards
We are back with another Zone Challenge Video. This time Jake “The Chef” Mannion takes us through a delicious and great Zone meal. Jake shows us how easy it can be to toss together a meal using pre-cut and pre-packaged food from Fresh n Easy. I am sure you guys have noticed Jake has taken his fitness to a whole new level lately smashing PR’s left and right. Not only that but his body has made a rapid transformation since introducing more vegetables into his meals. If you have questions on how he made the switch from Chicken, Apples, and Cashews to Gourmet Chicken/Feta Cheese Salads be sure to ask him. Thanks for the quick and delicious meal Jake. Take some tips from Jake and have a great Salad tonight for dinner!
Blanca says: That’s look super easy and delicious. If you’re trying to save some money, just cook up your chicken on Sunday night for the rest of the week!
Miguel says: Question Blanca.. If you cook it on sunday how many days can it be good for??.. the Whole week?
Jason says: Sunday is a cook day for my house. We cook for the whole week. Even if you do more than what you think you’ll grub on during the week that’s okay. For protein, I’ll cook 4 pounds of ground beef at one time plus roast a whole chicken plus whatever else I can think of. Get some freezer bags and toss the stuff in there (make sure to squeeze out the excess air). If you’re doing the zone, measure out your blocks, get smaller freezer bags, and then toss that stuff in each bag. You now have a meal ready to go that can go from the freezer to your lunch bag to the microwave (I guess some sort of dish/plate will have to come into play but you get the point). I wouldn’t recommend this with veggies but if you’re making a protein dish (soups, braised meats, chili, etc.), for sure. Planning food for the week is a great way to avoid the sodium drenched gamble that is eating out.
Great tips for everyone Jason. Having your protein prepared ahead of times is key. I will be doing a video soon about prepping food. Keep getting after it everyone!!
Thanks for sharing my article- I’m glad you liked it. One note…
“As always, you need to pay attention to having zone balanced meals”
I think that statement is a bit off… different people thrive on different macronutrient ratios. If I ate a Zone diet, I’d be starving all the time. I have done it. It’s a low-fat diet and does not feel good for everyone. Be careful of broadly generalized statements about how much of each kind of food every person should eat to be healthy, feel great and perform well!
Diane,
At our gym we teach food measurement via zone blocks, but not necessarily a 40-30-30 macronutrient breakdown. That’s just the zone starting point, but in many places Dr. Sears talks about tweaking it for different people for different reasons. He talks about “athletes” needing up to 5x the base prescription for fat. Each of our clients has their own personal ratios depending on a variety of factors. Many of our clients eat 3-5x the base fat, and many eat less than the base carbs. It all depends on their performance and how they feel.
The important point for us is that they know what they are eating, and how much. That way we can watch their performance, and how they are feeling, and tweak accordingly. It becomes very hard to know what tweaks they need if we don’t know what they are eating and how much.
Although I agree that most people will see positive results from merely removing non-paleo foods from their diet, that will only get them so far. We want to have the ability to tweak their diet for optimum results. Without measuring, or a least paying some attention to quantities, it’s very hard to figure out where they need to go to improve.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Yep… I think it’s just funny that the Zone originally had a prescriptive set of ratios and then there’s also tweaking… that seems to negate the entire prescription to me. I think it’s smart to get people started and see how they feel and perform to tweak it– good plan. And yes, I agree that TONS of people have no concept of how much they’re actually eating or even under eating so weighing and measuring has a place for the newbies!
Rock on- feel free to share posts of mine anytime.
D