build muscle, vitamins mineralsA friend of mine is trying to lose weight and build muscle, so I turned him onto the Zone diet which I used years ago to lose weight and get fit. Basically all I did was swap out my dinner plate with my salad plate, and the pounds fell off painlessly. I also told him not to get discouraged if the weight comes off slower than he thinks it should because muscle weighs more than fat. Those diet guidelines that simply take weight versus height into account for body mass index are missing that important fact. I heartily applaud his efforts to build muscle, and believe that the easiest way to do it is to move around, walk, lift weights, and enjoy all of it. It can be fun to build muscle, and I hope he finds the type of exercise that he enjoys quickly so he doesn't lose his motivation to lose weight and build muscle.

The Zone diet is one of the healthiest diets around. Even though I've lost the weight I intended to, I still practice the eating habits from the Zone diet. I pretty much have the recipes mastered, so I loaned him the cookbook shown here, Zone Perfect Meals in Minutes, until he gets the copy he found online at Fit Electronic at http://www.fitelectronic.com/. This is a good starting point for him and since he's in the mood to lose weight and build muscle, I wanted him to have something right away to get started.

The Zone diet has been around for years now and I believe it's one of the healthiest eating styles out there. It allows a reasonable amount of fat in the diet and lists high glycemic food to avoid and low glycemic food to consume with gusto. Since starting this diet, I hardly ever eat bananas anymore, and avoid peas and carrots as a result of the recommendations from the Zone diet. I get vitamins minerals that are present in these foods from other natural sources.

Basically the Zone diet balances dietary components to maximize the metabolic rate and when the body is functioning at its best, it's not hard to build muscle. I hope he enjoys the diet. It's not a difficult one at all, especially for people who like a lot of vegetables and are meat eaters, although there are menus for vegetarians within the Zone diet system. It has worked beautifully for me and my family, and it's good to see that the Zone is still around to help people lose weight quickly, especially on a diet with lots of vitamins minerals. The meals are delicious and the food is so healthy, so it's a win-win diet for anyone wanting to gain the gift of good health and fitness.