Just how effective is the Zone Diet?

The dramatic fad diets and quick fix solutions that chase elusive weight loss goals have been around for decades. Some plans brag about their out of the box approach to lose weight faster and some diets claim to be backed by sound scientific theories. Yet a common thread in most fad weight loss diet plans is a restrictive eating strategy and a low carbohydrate diet.

The zone diet, developed is a popular bestselling diet plan that works around the similar concept of manipulating macronutrient distribution of the diets in order to spur weight loss in dieters.

Basic rules of the Zone Diet

The Zone diet advocates a consumption of approximately 1200 kcals and 1500 kcal for women and men respectively. An amount that is 30-40 per cent lower in calories than what is recommended for a healthy adult. One must eat five times a day with a gap in between two meals never exceeding beyond five hours.

The first zone meal or snack should be within an hour of waking up in the morning.

The palm and five fingers are after used as measuring tools for dividing macronutrients on a dinner plate.

The protein on the plate should be size and thickness of the palm and the portion size of carbohydrate rich foods must be determined by ones fist size.

The dieters must follow a 1-2-3 rule which means, for every part of fat that one consumes, they need two parts of lean proteins and three parts of good carbs.

Drink at least 12-13 glasses of water and indulge in 30 minutes of exercise everyday.

Consuming fresh fruits and vegetables is compulsory