Carbs

The Zone Diet encourages its followers to choose vegetables with a low glycemic index and a little fruit.

Good options include:

• Fruit such as berries, apples, oranges, plums and more
• Vegetables such as cucumbers, peppers, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, yellow squash, chickpeas and more
• Grains, such as oatmeal and barley

Protein

Protein options in the Zone Diet should be lean. Good options include:

• Lean beef, pork, lamb, veal and game
• Skinless chicken and turkey breast
• Fish and shellfish
• Vegetarian protein, tofu, other soy products
• Egg whites
• Low-fat cheeses
• Low-fat milk and yogurt

Fat

The Zone Diet encourages choosing a type of monounsaturated fat. Good options include:

• Avocados
• Nuts, such as macadamia, peanuts, cashews, almonds or pistachios
• Peanut butter
• Tahini
• Oils such as canola oil, sesame oil, peanut oil and olive oil

Advantages Of Zone Diet

• The diet teaches good eating habits such as portion control and sugar reduction
• The diet does allow for a fruit- and vegetable-rich diet
• Dieters report that cravings for processed carbs begin to disappear after a few days
• This diet can help withrapid weight loss for a special occasion On the other hand, disadvantages to this diet include:
• Rapid weight loss: although this is also listed as an advantage, most habitual dieters will know that rapid weight loss is often swiftly followed by rapid weight gain!
• This diet is not practical for many people, and some report that it is difficult to fit around their lifestyles
• This diet can be expensive to follow
• The restrictions on this diet involve cutting out some valuable vitamins and minerals