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Dr. Barry Sears Zone Food List

The Zone diet, invented by Dr. Barry Sears, encourages the restrictions of carbohydrates as a tool for weight loss. Rather than consuming refined carbohydrates (such as pastry products), when you follow the Zone diet, you will consume healthy, complex carbohydrates. Dr. Barry Sears intended the Zone diet to be a balance of 40-30-30, or 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fats and 30 percent proteins. Choose from the approved food lists to create your daily menu.

  1. Fruits

    • The Zone diet allows two servings of fruit per day for men, and one serving daily for women. Zone-approved fruits include blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries, oranges, mandarin oranges, kiwi, apples, cherries, lemons, peaches, apricots, limes, light fruit cocktail, tangerines, nectarines, pears, grapes, grapefruit and plums. If you choose applesauce as your fruit, consider 1/3 cup of applesauce to be a serving size.

    Vegetables

    • Under this diet plan, dieters can choose from many different vegetables and can enjoy unlimited amounts of them. Approved vegetables include zucchini, turnip greens, turnips, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, watercress, spinach, asparagus, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, beans, broccoli, artichokes, alfalfa, brussel sprouts, collard greens, leeks, kale, iceberg or romaine lettuce, salsa, onions and radishes. You can also enjoy unlimited servings of Jalapeno peppers, green or red peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, sauerkraut, celery, cauliflower, carrots and snow peas.

    Dairy

    • If you’re following the Zone diet plan, you may have one serving of dairy per day. One serving of dairy is equivalent to 8 oz. of 2% milk, 4 oz. of cottage cheese, 1 oz. of low-fat cheese, 6 oz. of natural yogurt or 6 oz. of Greek yogurt.

    Legumes

    • Legumes are a low-fat source of protein. You’re encouraged to eat up to ¼ cup of legumes at one meal per day. Legumes include kidney beans, black beans, lentils, chickpeas and hummus.

    Other

    • The Zone diet encourages healthy, moderate amounts of condiments. Allowed condiments include one tbsp of mustard, one tbsp of natural peanut butter (or almond or cashew butter), two tsp olive oil, two tbsp guacamole, ½ tbsp butter and one tbsp light cream cheese. The Zone diet restricts alcoholic beverages to two per week. This diet plan also encourages the consumption of water every day (as opposed to soda or coffee).

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