Has anyone tried "zoleo"? page

[reba627]

Or I guess I would call it "zomal" if I did a zone/primal combo.

A friend suggested I give Zoleo a try after letting her in on my frustrations with the scale not moving, really, since I started my primal journey a couple of months ago. I've dialed back the carbs again and am now easily keeping them under 100g/day (they are generally more between 50-75g/day), I'm getting enough fat in (I think, although another friend pointed out that I should try low fat because consuming around 70-80g/fat in a day, well she does low-fat and has dropped 40 pounds), aiming for at least 100g of protein daily, but still, nothing.

I know things are changing though, clothes are fitting a tiny bit better, I do CrossFit 3-4 days a week, I feel so much better not putting the crap I used to eat into my body, and while it may not be in the cards for me to lose 20 pounds like I want (I'm 5'5", 166 currently, and at about 29% BF, and have PCOS), I would like to shed the fat that needs shedding (especially around the midsection where I still look like there could be a baby in there!), and it's discouraging to see so many people have immediate success with it once they cut out sugar/grains, and here the scale still sits the same, as does the tape measure.

However, said friend that suggested it said when she did it, she didn't really do it to lose weight (because she has no weight that needs to be lost), and she cut the carbs and doubled or tripled the fat intake.

[iniQuity]

I have no idea what you’re talking about specifically but I assume it’s a combination of the zone and primal diets? So basically getting all three macronutrients in every meal?

I call that everyday life!

It sure can be frustrating not to lose fat, but I wouldn’t dial back on dietary fat too much. Fat is WAY important. The only thing I advice is not adding TOO MUCH man-made fats or extra fats. I love coconut oil and butter, but I tend to limit butter a little bit so as to not get too many unwanted calories.

Try this, without letting it become too annoying in your daily life: Eat 2-3 meals daily, focus on meat, fat and veggies (fibrous mostly, you do crossfit so I would definitely eat some starches, but not at every single meal) and make that all you eat. Some people don’t realize how much their snacking tends to pile on, or their smoothies, etc. If having a smoothie (or insert your “thing” here) every now and then makes your life more enjoyable then by all means go ahead, but I think mild sacrifices that don’t keep you up at night are a good way to get your body in check.

[lizch]

What's the difference between Zoleo and Primal?

[erica057]

Sounds like primal with more fruit and less fat?

[reba627]

Zoleo (as it's been described to me) is eating paleo (or in this case, primal) foods, but in zone proportions, so 1 block of fat, 2 blocks of protein, blah blah blah.

I personally haven't tried the Zone diet, mainly because it looks like a lot of calculating! (Although I currently am measuring out my food, but more for the sake of keeping track of my carbs, protein and fat), and then you throw in my metabolism test I had done several months ago (pre-primal switch) and she told me for weight loss, I should be eating 1800 calories a day, and most days, I'm closer to 1400-1500.

[theholla]

Since you have PCOS, which is strongly associated with insulin resistance, I would try dropping the carbs even lower and replacing them with more fat. A lot of the folk here with insulin resistance have found that even 50-100 carbs is too high for them.

The big caveat is that not everyone can sustain CrossFit-style training on so few carbohydrates.

[lizch]

Zone worked for me weight-wise, but focusing on exact ratios only fueled my unhealthy relationship with food. Primal has been a much better fit for me: good rich primal food in whatever proportions feel good that day. I'm skinnier, healthier, and happier NOT worrying too much about ratios.

[carlh]

Wikipedia says the zone diet "centers on a "40:30:30" ratio of calories obtained daily from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, respectively."

According to the diet's website, it's a pay-to-ship meal plan of essentially carbs. To which you can add your own vegetables. I see no strong mention of protein or healthy fats.

Wikipedia goes on to say "Sears believes the characterization of the Zone diet as 'high-protein' is inaccurate, as more calories come from carbohydrates than protein."

Holy crap...he's selling a 5 bagels or 10 slices of bread for $13.75!!

I don't see how the two diets are compatible at all for a "hybrid"...?

[reba627]

Haha Carl, you're right! And, as a self-professed lover of all things bread, I'm patting myself on the back with how good I've been not eating bread, or any other grains. I've cut back on fruit and am eating more veggies, and today, made a "pork chop sandwich" for lunch (two thin pork chops with some spinach, artichoke hearts and maybe an ounce at most of goat cheese stuffed in the middle). Who needs bread when you can use meat?!

I told myself that when I get back from vacation I'm going to give myself a break from the scale (both body AND food scale) and try the whole "eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full" mentality, rather then seeing "crap, I've only eating 1200 calories today and it's 9pm, must eat more!". I am, however, doing a fantastic job at maintaining my weight (too bad that's not what I'm going for here!)

[theholla]

@carlh - I used to try to follow the 40/30/30 ratio (it was recommended in New Rules of Lifting for Women), but my fat percentage kept creeping up, haha. Primal is a much better fit for me

I think that you could definitely eat paleo foods to fit those ratios, and I could see it being beneficial in certain cases, like for endurance athletes. I wouldn't be surprised if a hybrid was going around the CrossFit community, where Zone and Paleo are both very popular...