I have read about SP and the zone. THe zone looks good but I have never watched fat in my diet and don't know if I could. So what are the differences in the two??

amanda

Amanda,

The largest difference is that the zone is very strict about quantities. You calculate how many blocks of protein you need, and divide that up into meals and snacks, and you can have very limited amounts of fat (for someone who comes from a low-carb perspective). It also works out to be a very low calorie diet.

Before I started it, I was very intimidated about calculating blocks, but after I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy.

When I tried it, I felt like it was all about deprivation. A teaspoon of olive oil on a salad is not very much. A half zone bar for a snack was not do-able for me, as hard as I tried. I was hungry & grouchy. It was a lot like weight-watchers for me in that I couldn't stick to it, and then I felt like I was "bad".

Another thing that drives me bananas is when an author plays the 'evolution card' - and claims that their diet is exactly what we evolved on and then recommends that we eat only egg whites and toss the yolks.

The zone gives a green light to artificial sweeteners, which is in contrast to Schwarzbein. Zone also recommends low-fat versions of everything.

Anyhow, I am in much stronger agreement with the basic reasoning behind Schwarzbein, and I find it lots easier to live with. (Or maybe 'work toward' is more accurate).

Hope this helps.

Lila

There's not much I can add to Lila's reply, Amanda, except to say that my parents tried The Zone and found it too restrictive and hard to follow. A friend of ours, however, is following The Zone and loving it, but her husband doesn't like it.

In both cases, they are either now following (my parents) or going to read (our friends) TSP.

I am totally biased because I have never followed another plan, but I think your best, easiest, and most realistic course is to follow TSP.

The best way to tell what is best for you will be to read the books.

Good luck!
;-Deb

I used the Zone diet to lose my baby weight, and I am following TSP for maintenance. The Zone worked well for me to lose the weight. I lost 1-2#/wk most of the time while following it. My former WOE was low-fat/high carb, so the Zone was easier for me than going straight to low carb. I was already used to limiting fat, so that wasn't an issue for me. What was difficult was measuring everything . There is an "eyeball" method you can use, but my eyeballs tend to overestimate portions.

The main reason I switched over to TSP is that is just sounded simpler, and the maintenance diet is very similar to the maintenance phase of the Zone diet. What most people don't realize is that the 40/30/30 proportions the Zone is famous for are what you use during weight loss, but when you are ready to maintain you start adding fat. But when I started adding fat, I realized I needed to take into account the carbs in fats like peanut butter, cashews and avocados.

Another thing I like better about TSP is the emphasis on whole foods. With the Zone, sweet potatoes and doughnuts are in the same category: unfavorable carbs. I didn't like that there wasn't a distinction between healthy carbs and unhealthy carbs. But of course you can decide for yourself only to eat whole foods on the Zone as well. Seems like a lot of people who follow the Zone spend a lot of energy developing Zone-balanced sweets, and I needed to get away from that. I still struggle with a sweet tooth that I like to feed with artificial sweeteners.

I still use the Zone guidelines to determine approximately how much protein I should have per day. I don't always measure my protein portion, but sometimes I do just to make sure I am getting enough protein. Hope this helps!

Jen