Posted on by lhl

i’ve been reading “enter the zone,” written by dr barry sears, phd, and while its appealingly written, a quick calculation of the amount of protein i need (lean body mass * activity coefficient) and then multiplying out the 30%-40%-30% protien, carbs, fat ratio gives me a daily caloric intake of between 1060 and 1200 calories depending on the activitiy coefficient i use. this is extremely calorie restricted diet. i was maintaining my weight at 2100-2300 calories/day. now, what i want to ask is, great, this thing works great if you want to lose weight, but how the heck is it maintainable? what happens when you want to maintain your body fat %? where’s the caloric deficit going to go? does your bmr magically drop down? anyway, i’ve been doing a lot of reading recently trying to find some scientific evidence either way, but it’s been tough going. a lot of anectdotal stuff and all that. i wanna see studies! anyway, some interesting things i’ve come across:

“Although the 40-30-30 balance is fairly healthy, the 800 to 1,200 calories allowed daily aren’t,” says Susan Roberts, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at Tufts University in Boston. “That’s in addition to the fact that no such zone exists.”

tons of pro/con-zone articles and sites excluded for brevity. for those of you w/ extra time and lack of anything to do with it, like me, check out the scientific american ask the experts in medicine page. it has some really neat stuff.