How The Zone Diet Works

By Alan B. Densky, CH

The Zone diet is a weight loss program that pays close attention to calorie intake and physical exercise to deliver results. It is a lifestyle-changing program to help people lose weight and get in better shape. The key aspect of this diet plan is the set of eating guidelines developed by the biochemist, Dr. Barry Sears.

The theory behind the diet focuses on the effect of carbohydrates on the body's insulin levels. Consuming too many carbohydrates causes the body's blood sugar levels to spike, which prompts the body to release insulin, a hormone that lowers blood sugar levels by storing the sugar as fat. It is believed that by eating the right foods, blood sugar levels can be controlled to keep insulin levels in "the zone," a range where the body is supposed to burn fat more efficiently and stop storing excessive fat.

The diet balances protein and carbohydrate consumption in a 3:4 ratio, meaning 30% of your calories will come from protein and 40% from carbohydrates (another 30% typically comes from fat). It is important to monitor calories on the Zone diet, with most meals being no more than five hundred calories each and snacks being no more than one hundred calories each.

Under the plan, you eat five times a day (three meals and two snacks), never going more than five hours without eating. If you get eight hours of sleep per night, this means having breakfast within one hour of waking, lunch within five hours of breakfast, a snack within five hours of lunch, dinner within two to three hours of snack, and a late night snack right before bed.

Most of the foods consumed on the Zone diet include lean cuts of meat, such as chicken or fish and other sources of protein, lots of fruits and vegetables, and a limited amount of carbohydrates. Sugar, breads, rice, cereals, and potatoes are the types of carbohydrate rich foods that dieters are to avoid eating, but can eat once in awhile. Dieters must also avoid processed foods and high sodium foods.

Exercise is another important component of the Zone diet. The diet recommends moderate intensity exercise for thirty minutes per day, six days a week. Physical activity is supposed to increase the effectiveness of the Zone diet. Other enhancements to the diet include taking vitamins and nutritional supplements.

The Zone diet works well for many dieters, but it takes a lot of dedication. Unfortunately the Zone diet as well as most other diets generally fail because a diet is worthless if you can't stick to it. Many must fight to keep to any type of diet because of food cravings, out-of-control appetites or eating habits, or a simple lack of motivation. Hypnosis is perfect for overcoming these issues and providing the motivation to stay committed to a diet program like the Zone diet.

Hypnosis is routinely used in combination with dieting because it does many things to increase the effectiveness and success rate of weight loss programs. One thing that hypnosis programs do is help promote positive thinking, especially to counter negative thoughts. Hypnosis is terrific for relieving stress, because it help us deal with our emotions.

Weight loss hypnosis is used to directly treat the mental obstacles that keep people from losing weight. Take for example people who cannot control their cravings and appetite because they struggle with "emotional eating." People who are emotional eaters compulsively eat in response to their feelings, such as when they are feeling sad or depressed. Hypnosis can be used to break the associations in our unconscious minds between eating and our feelings. This way, people are freed of their compulsive eating habits and able to stay committed to complex diets such as the Zone diet.

Motivational hypnosis has become an extremely popular and effective technique to use with weight loss programs because motivation is the key to success for most dieters. Hypnosis treatment programs tap into the power of the unconscious mind to naturally focus our thoughts on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. These programs help dieters explore their reasons for wanting to lose weight and exercise so dieters automatically feel motivated to stay with their weight loss plan.

Hypnosis is a powerful motivational tool that will help you "stay in the zone," exercise, and experience natural weight loss.