Principles of the Zone Diet Plan

The Zone diet plan is a way to maximize your energy with proper nutrition and exercise. It's all about efficiency, maximizing results and getting into your perfect zone for fitness. The system is not so much a revolutionary diet plan as it is a finely tuned diet plan that focuses sharply on how food affects your body and general insulin levels.

The basic principles of the Zone diet plan are rather simple. It's all obtaining a peak performance through careful life management. You pay attention to almost every aspect of your waking and sleeping life to fine tune your body into a perfect machine. The list includes physical exercise, calories and number of meals a day. However, the most important focus in the diet is about what you eat rather than how much.

Basic Zone diet principles

• Always keep to a 40/30/30 ratio with food. This translates into 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent healthy fat in each meal.
• Try to keep your eating at a 5/5 ratio. This translates into eating five times a day, no more than five hours apart.
• Stick with protein low in fat to help keep at the proper food ratio and insulin level.
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water each day. The minimum glass size allowable is 8 ounces. So you must drink at least 64 ounces of water a day.
• Exercise regularly, but not fanatically. Workouts should be kept to a reasonable level to help improve your body, not break it down.

The Zone diet plan claims that people who stick to it will feel more energy, better focus and an elevated mood. Body fat levels will decrease and your ability to handle stress will increase. General health will improve and your body will be better abler to fight off sickness and disease.