The Zone diet is another diet, whose food recommendations are similar to the Paleo Diet, but works on proportions of protein, carbohydrates and fats at every meal and snacks. It takes a little more work to get used to eye-balling the proportions (may have to measure food for a couple weeks until you get it down), but the results are amazing!
Check out http://www.zonediet.com/home for the official website of The Zone diet, but here is some information from their site.
Zone At-a-Glance™ – The Simplified Approach to get you started
On 1/3rd of your plate, put a piece of lean protein the size and thickness of your palm.
Examples: skinless chicken, fish, egg whites, tofu.
Fill the remaining 2/3rds of your plate with fruits and vegetables.
Most fruits and vegetables are fine, but avoid things like corn and bananas.
Add a dash of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.
Examples: Olive Oil, Almonds, Avocado.
Avoid trans-fats.
Zone Blocks™- The Precision Approach to keep you going
1. Find out how many Zone Blocks you are allowed to consume in a day.
For most women it will be 11, and for most men it will be 14. Your activity level will increase your Zone Block daily allowance.
2. Download the Blocks Guide and use this as a reference to assemble meals and snacks in exact proportions
Quick Start Guide:
The underlying cause of weight gain is cellular inflammation, especially in your fat cells. Reducing cellular inflammation depends on your diet. The first step is following the Zone Food Pyramid.
Colorful Carbohydrates
The base of the Zone Food Pyramid consists of lots of vegetables and fruits because they are low-glycemic carbohydrates rich in polyphenols. You should be eating at least 10 servings of vegetables and fruits per day. If not, consider taking a capsule of Zone Polyphenols that contains same amounts of polyphenols, the most powerful dietary anti-oxidants available, as found in 10 servings of fruits and vegetables.
Low-fat Protein
You need adequate amounts of low-fat protein at every meal. This is usually 3 ounces of low-fat protein per meal for a female and 4 ounces of low-fat protein per meal for a male.
Monounsaturated Fats
Monounsatured fats are low in both omega-6 fats and saturated fats that increase cellular inflammation. You only need a dash of monounsatured fats at each meal. You also need adequate amounts of omega-3 fats, such as EPA and DHA. If you are not eating at least one serving per day of fatty fish, then consider taking OmegaRx capsules to get the necessary daily intake of omega-3 fatty acids.
Grains and Starches
Treat grains and starches as condiments (i.e. small amounts). If you do include any grains in meal, make sure they are whole-grains indicating that at least they contain some polyphenols.