How to Treat Obesity with the Zone Diet

According to the American College of Physicians, approximately 3 out of 10 people in America are obese. Dr. Barry Sears formulated the Zone Diet to treat obesity naturally with diet modifications. The steps to begin are simple. The only requirements to start the Zone are a dinner plate, eating utensils and willpower to succeed. The diet will treat obesity for a lifetime if followed properly. Dr. Sears' website explains the Zone diet in detail, but the basics are very simple.

Things You'll Need

• Regular dinner plate
• Eating utensils
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Low-fat protein
• Monounsaturated fats

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Obesity responds quickly to the Zone diet.

  Begin treating obesity with the Zone diet immediately with each meal and snack. Divide the dinner plate into three equal sections.

• 2

  Salmon is a source of lean protein for a Zone meal.

  Fill the first section of the plate with a lean source of protein. Examples of lean protein include tofu, reduced-fat cheese, turkey, chicken, lowfat beef, and fish. The amount should be equal to the size and thickness of the palm of the hand. Any extra protein will be stored as fat in the body, according to Dr. Barry Sears. The purpose of this diet is to trick the body into burning the excess fat to provide energy.

• 3

  Broccoli is a good carbohydrate choice.

  Fill the second spot on the plate with nonstarchy vegetables. Examples of nonstarchy vegetables include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, lettuce, and spinach. The vegetables may be cooked or uncooked. Avoid starchy vegetables such as carrots, corn, and potatoes except in very small amounts every once in a while. Never let starchy vegetables equal more than 25 percent of a meal or your total carbohydrates for the day.

• 4

  Apples are an excellent choice for the carbohydrate section of the meal.

  Fill the last portion of the plate with fruit and a small amount of nuts or olive oil to complete the Zone meal. Apples, oranges, kiwi, pears, berries and grapes are all excellent choices that Dr. Sears states will not cause as much of a rise in insulin levels as other fruits like bananas or raisins. His books and his website have lists of favorable and unfavorable foods for each of the three sections of the meal. The nuts and oil are monounsaturated fats which are good fats.

• 5

  The Zone Diet effectively removes unwanted inches from an obese person's body.

  Keep following the instructions for dividing up the dinner plate at each meal, and eat two small snacks each day. An example of a Zone snack is a 1.5-oz slice of cheese, 6 almonds and 15 grapes. After a week, the obese patient will start noticing a difference in hunger levels and begin losing weight. The weight may come off very quickly at first if the patient is very obese because of the reduced calories. However, the weight loss normally will occur at 1 to 2 lbs. per week.