How to Challenge the Zone

Thanks to everyone who came to FC's opening party! Much fun was had amidst caveman food and games (who knew cornhole could be such a workout). Apologies to Rachel for dropping the tire, and to the Potterf family for having to witness Sorority Fran at 1 in the morning.

And now, since the Zone Challenge begins tomorrow,

How to Zone
First, I highly recommend reading CrossFit #21: Zone Meal Plans and/or Enter the Zone. Both are available at FC for perusal, though having them on hand, especially the article, will come in handy later. However, Van's Zonal Primer, using our hypothetical model of mediocre fitness, Totally Average Dude with a weight of 160 pounds, a height of 5 feet 7 inches, and a body fat percentage of 17%, as a guinea pig example, should take you quite far.

1. Get measuring cups and a scale - You can definitely estimate quantities, but especially at the beginning, it's helpful to see exactly what 4 ounces of buffalo tail looks like (i.e., it ain't looking like the whole buffalo).
   
2. Understand what a "block" is - Blocks are just a convenient way to view your food; you could calculate total percentage of calories (40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, 30% fat is what we're going for) at each meal, keeping in mind that a gram of carbohydrate and a gram of protein each have 4 kilocalories, while fat has 9, but that sounds positively dreadful. So, blocks. 7 grams protein is a block of protein, 9 grams carbohydrates is a (all together) block of carbohydrates, and 1.5 grams of fat is a block of fat (are we getting this yet? Good). But you don't ever have to think about grams and kilocalories. Instead, when you plan a meal, you just look at the charts and ensure equal blocks of each macronutrient.
   
3. Figure out your body type and concomitant block plan - Look at the chart in CFJ 21 on page two and figure out your body type. Example: TAD is a medium fella and a CrossFitter, so he is "Medium Male" on the chart. He thus eats breakfasts, lunches, and dinners of 5 blocks and snacks of 1 block, for a total of 17 blocks.
4. Plan a day of meals - Peruse the charts on pages 3 and 4 of CFJ 21 and pick out delicious foods that you like to eat, putting them in combinations of palatal excellence. Example: TAD is a paleolithic kind of guy who also has a passion for mimosas and moosetracks fudge ice cream. For his first day, Monday, he plans on a simple breakfast of eggs with cheese sprinkled on top [ 3 eggs = 3 blocks of protein, 2 oz cheese = 2 blocks of protein for a total of 5 blocks of protein], a handful of almonds [15 almonds = 5 blocks of fat], and fruit - TAD would like a banana, but sees it on the unfavorable carb list and decides its glycemic index is too high [1 apple = 2 blocks of carbohydrates and 1 and 1/2 oranges = 3 blocks of carbohydrates, for a total of 5 blocks]; a TAT sandwich (turkey-avocado-tomato, like a BLT but with a better acronym) for a 5-block lunch [2 slices of bread = 4 blocks carbohydrates (TAD's not thrilled that bread is an unfavorable carbohydrate, but he doesn't want to give it up, plus he substituted for bananas at breakfast, so he feels fine doing this so long as he's careful with his quantities) and 1 cup tomatoes = 1 block carbohydrates for 5 blocks of carbohydrates; 5 oz turkey = 5 blocks of carbohydrates; 5 Tbs avocado=5 blocks of fat], a protein shake for a 1 block snack [1 Tbs. protein powder, 1/2 cups grapes, and 1/3 teaspoon canola oil blended together], fish, salad, and ice cream for a 5-block dinner [7.5 ounces fish = 5 blocks protein; 1 large salad = 1 block carbs, 1 and 1/3 cups sauteed zucchini = 1 block carbs, 3/4 cup ice cream = 3 blocks carbs; 2.5 Tbs salad dressing = 5 blocks fat], and another protein shake as a snack a bit before bed - just as TAD will not wait more than 5 hours before his next meal/snack, he doesn't want to go all the way from dinner until he wakes up without balancing out his food intake.
   
5. Plan out a week of meals - Do this before grocery shopping so you know what you need to get. Example: Psych - you didn't really think I was going to write out an entire week of fake meals for some madeup acronym complete with block breakdown, did you? I will, however, point out that TAD can still quaff his weekly mimosa with Sunday brunch and be fine Zonewise, so long as he accounts for the orange juice and champagne as already being 2 blocks of carbohydrates, more if there's more than 4 oz champagne and/or more than 3/8 cups orange juice.
   
6. Weigh and measure out your food Sunday night; cook what you can - The more prepared you are, the less likely you'll be to eat whatever is on hand in the wrong proportions. Freezer bags and tupperware containers are your friends. So are almonds, as they provide a good fat source if you find yourself stuck with the usual meat and potatoes fare. Obviously it already is Sunday night, so do it Monday night and you'll be ready to rock for the week.
7. Check up on the blog and leave comments both on it and in the FC Zone Journal - Seeing others' experiences and advice and sharing your own will make this a more fun adventure because let's face it, laughing at your friends' mishaps is nearly as rewarding as attempting a good diet plan, and quite a bit simpler. I'll post here at least bi-weekly, so you can comment on your progress that way, plus we have a Zone Challenge journal at the gym that will be the communal diet diary.
   

Contact me with questions via email, facebook, blog comments, phone, or ESP if your service plan is good enough. Good luck!