Weight Loss Programs - Essay Example

Eating Smart With the 30-30-40 System: A Closer Look at the Zone Diet SC115-05 Principles of Nutrition Eric B. Stein Today, the diet industry makesbillions of dollars, capitalizing on people’s hope to get thin and be happy; as a result, there are hundreds of diets to choose from. Some diets require individuals take extreme measures with their health, such as consuming only liquid for extended periods of time, eating a diet high in saturated fat, or even ingesting a tapeworm. However, not only are these diets dangerous to the individual’s health, they are not meant to be continued on a long term basis.

These are short-term schemes that may result in losing weight quickly, but, as seen in many follow up studies on a diet’s success rate, the long-term results are further weight gain and possible health side effects. In essence, the very word ‘diet’ implies a short-term effort rather than a long-term commitment. In this case, the program that will be discussed today should not be thought of as a diet, but a lifestyle plan that is easy to follow, realistic in its requirements and expectations, and accessible to all people regardless of their income levels.

The program is the Zone Diet. This program is in the category of “right-food-combination” diets that base their eating plan on the belief that, in certain healthy combinations, the body will lose extra fat and return to a health body weight (Nathan & Delahanty, 150). The Zone Diet, created by Dr. Barry Sears, was introduced in 1995. Dr. Sears is a certified biochemist who argues that people gain weight due to unstable blood sugar levels and hormonal imbalances. The type of food and the quantities in which we eat certain foods contribute significantly to these issues.

Unlike other low-carbohydrate diets, the Zone Diet is not as restrictive as the Atkin diet that prohibits the consumption of carbohydrates. Our body needs carbohydrates like our cars need gasoline; carbohydrates are the fuel for our bodies that provide us energy. However, what Dr. Sears highlights is that people’s daily diets are too high in carbohydrates, which is causing weight gain. The best example for why we keep gaining weight is to compare our high-carbohydrate diets to the high-carbohydrate diets of livestock.

Cows fed on a diet rich in grass, food they are meant to eat, stay relatively thin; however, cows fed on a diet rich in carbohydrates, such as corn, become much fatter and in a shorter amount of time (DrSears.com). This example clearly demonstrates that, if consuming the proper foods in the proper quantities, all living things will return to and remain at a health body weight. The diet follows a 30-30-40 principle which simply means the following: users of the Zone diet must get 40 percent of their calories from carbohydrates, 30 percent from protein, and 30 percent from fat (Kamenetz, 2004).

The rational behind this diet is balancing insulin levels because, when insulin is not balanced the result is weight gain, energy loss, mood swings, and a possibility of developing chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease (Goldstein & Goldstein, 207). All of your meals should follow this 30-30-40 plan, and each category should be filled with clean or whole foods, rather than processed foods. Your carbohydrates should come from whole grains, beans and legumes, and starches, which include whole wheat breads, brown rice, kidney beans, lentils, sweet potatoes, and squash, to name a few.

Your fats should come from healthy sources, including olive oil, nuts and seeds, and avocados. Your proteins should come from lean sources, including chicken or turkey breast, low-fat dairy, eggs, fish, and tofu. In addition, you may choose to supplement your diet with a daily dose of Omega-3 fish oil, which can be purchased at any health food store at a moderate price. Finally, although this is completely optional, there are Zone-specific pre-made meals and snacks that can be delivered to you to take the guess work out of eating.

Finally, there are 6 simple rules to the diet that do not require bulky equipment, weekly meetings, journal keeping, or other expensive diet-monitoring systems. The rules are as follows:1. Always eat a Zone meal within one hour of waking up.2. Try to eat five times per day: three Zone meals and two Zone snacks.3. Never let more than five hours go by without eating a Zone meal or snack.4. Eat more fruits and vegetables and less bread, grains, and other starches.5. Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day.6. Don’t worry about an occasional mistake at a meal; just be sure to make the next meal a Zone meal. (qtd. in Goldstein & Goldstein, 2002).

This lifestyle plan is successful because it is a simple, common-sense approach to eating that is available to all people, regardless of their income level. Following this diet will result in many health benefits in addition to weight loss, including “reduced risk of heart disease, breast cancer, and type 2 diabetes, protection from arthritis and osteoporosis, and fewer infections” (qtd. in Goldstein & Goldstein, 2002). With a program that costs virtually nothing while guaranteeing such benefits, there is absolutely no reason to pass on the opportunity to incorporate these simple principles into your daily life.

Jennifer Aniston, Cindy Crawford, Tom Cruise, and Tiger Woods all said ‘yes’ to the Zone Diet. With endless amounts of financial funds, these celebrities could choose any diet program at any cost; however, they see the rationale behind the simple and easy-to-follow rules of the Zone diet. However, these celebrities looked great before the Zone and are excellent examples of how the Zone can help people maintain their healthy body weight. A real example of the power of the Zone is the effect it had on our biggest success story, Manuel Uribe, a man from Mexico and one of the heaviest people in history, who lost an amazing 400 lbs with the Zone diet (Wikipedia, “Manual Uribe”).

With time, effort, and consistency, Manuel lost the weight over the course of two years, which is a reasonable and healthy amount of time to lose that amount of weight. He is the true success story of the Zone Diet, and if you commit to changing your life by putting yourself into the Zone, you too can be a success story. ReferencesGoldstein, M. C., & Goldstein, M. A. (2002). Controversies in Food and Nutrition. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Kamenetz, A. (2004, June). Weighty Decisions. Vegetarian Times, 37.

Retrieved December 11, 2010, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5036690786. Manuel Uribe.(2010 December 7) Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Uribe_GarzaNathan, D. M., & Delahanty, L. M. (2005). Beating Diabetes: The First Complete Program Clinically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Glucose Tolerance. New York: McGraw-Hill. Sears, Barry Dr. (2007). DrSears.com: The Science Site of Anti-Inflammatory Nutrition. Web. Retrieved from http://www.drsears.com/