Zone Diet, Two weeks in:

Okay, impressions:

Overall, things are going very well. I"m settled into a routine of foods I can have and I think I'm getting it right when I do eat out, more on that in a minute.

1) First week, I was mentally fuzzy at times. That's largely gone away. Not sure why, but I don't feel like I did the first week when at times I couldn't recall things rapidly.

2) Routine is your friend. Having everything at hand and having an idea of what you're going to eat day to day is a lifesaver. Mainly I"m eating this:

Smoothie 5 blocks (recipe in previous posts)
snack: 1 block each of lunch meat, fruit, nuts.
Lunch: 5 blocks each lunch meat, fruit, nuts.
snack (same as above)
Dinner: 4 blocks: protein (meat/cheese), salad, tomatoes, fruit, salad dressing.
Snack 1 block each protein, nuts, and a 4oz glass of wine or 8oz of beer.

3) Have a backup plan: Our cafe in the building has a cobb salad that's probably pretty close to zone, all the elements are okay and half of the tub of salad dressing is probably close to 2.5 tablespoons. There's also a store that sells milk and nuts (they sell other things, too, but for snack purposes, this is all I need). Cup of milk, three nuts: one snack.

4) You start learning to count in blocks: "Okay, got my five protein, and five fat, and am up to 2.5 on carbs . . . "

5) Results so far: Weigh in this morning: 171lbs. One week ago: 175. Two weeks ago: 179. Still fast, but as Mr. Kempie has pointed out, keep an eye on performance. Did Fight Gone Bad on Saturday, and went up 15 points. And I seemed to come out of it much better than previously. Usually Sunday's are a day of rest from the hammerin' I take the day before. Really wasn't so bad this time.

6) Eating out: Salads with meat on them are my favorite fall back option. If you dont' have enough carbs, have a piece of toast and you're pretty much there. Here in Texas, I can eat at Mexican places, because we have fajitas or carne asada almost everywhere. Black beans are a great sub for refried beans (one cup is four carbs blocks).

7) Cheats, they're gonna happen, by accident or otherwise. Overall I've been good, but sometimes, shoot, you just forget. I ate a couple mints one day (like york peppermint pattie things) not even thinking about it (wife was handing them to the kids in the car, and unwrapped them and handed them to me, I just chomped away!).

I probably can't sustain a a 4lb loss every week (well, I could, for 42 more weeks . . . but even my bones will weigh something . . ) but so long as physical performance and mental acuity stay things will be fine.

Next up, getting my supplments right. Helllooooooo fish oil capsules!!!!