The Zone diet has become one of the trendiest diets for celebrities like Jennifer Aniston. This formerly “chubby” star of “Friends” credits the Zone diet for helping her to achieve her best body ever! But is it right for you? Get the skinny on what you need to know to decide if you want to use it to shape up and slim down for a fabulous and fit fall.
How it works: Enjoy a balanced diet with carbs, fats and protein. You’ll eat 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fats. The key is to make sure you keep that balance, even during snack time. This healthy diet features low-fat protein, healthy fats known as monounsaturated fats (for example, olive oil), fruits and veggies. A sample day could look like this:
Breakfast: Whip up an egg white omelet with added mushrooms and tomatoes for the filling. Sauté it in olive oil. Munch on a peach and whole grain hot cereal, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Whole Grain Rolled Oats.
Snack: Step away from the vending machine and treat yourself to a Zone Perfect Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar (yum!).
Lunch: Add sliced chicken to a bed of assorted greens, lightly tossed with an olive oil-based dressing such as Bragg Healthy Salad Dressing. Enjoy a small orange to nix midday sugar cravings.
Snack: Mix slivered almonds into cottage cheese and top with blueberries for a protein-rich pick-me-up that’s also high in antioxidants.
Dinner: A great choice not only for your waistline but also your heart, omega-3-rich salmon is the perfect Zone diet dinner entrée. Make simple baked fresh salmon and serve it with steamed zucchini and fresh strawberries, or create salmon cakes or a salmon salad with a can of Wild Planet Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon.
Joanne Eglash, Vitacost.com’s Diet Diva, has a master of science in holistic nutrition and more than 15 years experience as a nutrition consultant, blogger, author and journalist. She has written for a wide range of publications and websites, including ediets.com, Natural Health magazine, Shape magazine, Pregnancy magazine, Success magazine, Energy for Women and Chefs. Joanne is currently the national Diets columnist for the online news and entertainment site, Examiner.com and a featured food columnist for Yahoo.