Went off the rails a bit after making some progress, failure is part of the learning process, embrace it. If being disciplined were easy, everyone would do it. Weighing and measuring your food is not easy, but necessary if you expect consistent results. Here is what I have learned during my short experience with the zone:
1. The timing of your meals is really important. If you wait until you are actually hungry, you are setting yourself up for failure. I can't go more than 3 hours without some type of satiating protein and fiber.
2. Don't eat out of balance. If you are supposed to eat 3 blocks of the macros, eat 3 blocks. Having more carbs or no fat and then trying to play catch up later in the day doesn't work. There is a hormonal response that happens when you keep your macros balanced and this is the only sustainable way to keep making progress.
3. You will always eat more or less than you need if you don't weigh and measure your food. Keep yourself honest.
4. You are going to fail. Accept it as part of the process and then move on. Perfection doesn't exist, think long term habits not short term success or failure.
5. Pay attention to the signals your body is sending. For whatever reason, I find that eating my 16 blocks happens best within an 8-10 hour period of the day and then I stop eating. For some people, grazing and spreading their blocks out over 12-16 hours works best for them. It is not about a one size fits all prescription. Find out what works for you and then stick with it.
