By: Chris Hartwell

When the weekend rolls around it's time to have fun, relax, and enjoy a meal out with friends and family! Who can remember how to zone a meal when staring at a menu with it's endless options? Is it truly possible to Zone while in a restaurant? Chris Hartwell shares a few tips to keep in mind and keep your diet on track when you are dining out.

Macedonian, Spartan, and Roman warriors were the athletes of ancient times. These armed men spent most of their lives outdoors engaged in physical activity. At times this meant marching thirty to forty miles to engage in face to face combat. Victory was often decided on wheat barley, herds of cattle, and olive oil. Warriors practiced foraging and living off the land was practiced during spring and summer, when crops were ripe. Aiding in mobilizing and staying on the move. These warriors built lean tissue while boosting their metabolism.

Today’s athletes and CrossFitters choose to stay in competition shape. Victories are increased pull ups and making Personal Records. Gains and Results are seen through proper diet and exercise. The Zone by Barry Spears is one of the best ways to see Results fast. Together CrossFit and the zone will get your body where you want it to be. It will help you optimize your physical performance and get strong fast, lose fat, and gain muscle.

The easiest way to start the zone is to approach it in small steps. Start by zoneing one meal a day. Learn to recognize portions and know your individual block requirements. You can zone anything, anwhere, anytime! Whether you are a vegan or you sometimes like to indulge with an alcoholic beverage – you can zone it! A lot of people do a pretty good job of zoneing their food while at home, but think that they can’t Zone in restaurants. But you Can! Just follow a few guidelines in this article to help you Zone your meals while eating out.

The most important thing to remember when you’re at a restaurant is portion control. If you are a 2 to 3 block person, in a typical restaurant ,you are served twice sometimes three times the amount you should actually eat. There are a few tips to recognize the amount of food you should be eating from the guant plate.

1. A deck of cards is about 4 oz. of meat
2. Eat ¼ to ½ of the carbs served
3. If you are a 2 block person eat half a deck of cards for your meat portion
4.  

In Texas eating out during the weekend usually means TexMex at one point or another. Two ideal plates to order would be Fajiats or Enchiladas. The fajitas are great because you can build your own:. A couple strips of meat, one corn tortilla, and a bit of guacamole ,lettuce, and tomatoes and you’ve got a 2-3 block zoned meal. If you decide to order enchiladas: If you order with meat, forgo the cheese. go with a light sauce, substitute lettuce and tomatoes for rice and beans and maybe a bit add a bit of sour cream. This would be a 3-5 zone meal. As for a beverage, 2 beers or 2 cocktails fall with in the carbs. So skip the chips and have a couple drinks.

Another great weekend tradition, especially in the summertime is BBQ. Most times when we order BBQ its in ¼, ½ ,and full pounds (a.k.a family style). This can help us out with portion control, we just follow the guidelines. A deck of cards or smaller for protein. If you order the ¼ lb brisket put a piece to the side to take home. The carbs are in the form of white bread, beans, and other sides. Portion control here is very important. For example, a ¼ of a white bun is 1 block. If you eat half a BBQ sandwich and you’re a smaller zoner, like a 2 block small female that would be lunch. When eating BBQ most of us will have a cold adult beverage, or a beer, which you can zone! Beer equals carbs so we have to watch the combination of beer and any other carbs. For 3 block zoners and under. 2 beers is the max per meal.

Beverages, like fruit juice can be sneaky. Most juices take only a ¼ cup to represent 1 block. Also be mindful of the sugar content in drinks. It is always best to opt for a beverage that has little to no sugar content.

A Few Tips on Alcholic Beverages
Purity is Key - If you're going to opt for an alcholic beverage go for one that isn't mixed with soda (Sprite, Pepsi, etc.) and aviod drinks with high sugar content.
Try a Vodka and Tonic instead of Pina Colada
or Tequila on Ice with Fresh Lime Juice

Zoning your food always comes down to choices, but you can have just about whatever you want. The Zone isn’t about deprivation and cutting out foods from your diet. It’s about making your meals proportionate so that your body gets the very best from every meal. This will speed up your results, increase your energy, and you’ll feel great!