If Madonna’s sports routine, mixing dance, yoga and cardio is well known, another health secret of the star is less: her diet. For several years, the Madonna follows the “The Zone” diet, also called “Hormonal balance regime” or “of the right middle”. Created in 1995 by Barry Sears, a biochemist, this method is based on a strict balance of nutrients in order to stabilize hormones related to fat storage.
How does the zone diet work?
To comply with this diet, each meal must contain 40 % carbohydrates, 30 % protein and 30 % lipids. The objective is to limit insulin peaks and maintain stable energy. Meals do not exceed 500 calories, while snacks are around 100 calories. The rule: never stay more than five hours without eating.
This approach makes it possible to integrate pasta, rice or desserts, provided you respect the balance between the three macronutrients.
Foods allowed … and those to banish
Among the recommended foods are low glycemic fruits and vegetables, such as apples, cherries, tomatoes; Enjar proteins, contained in chicken, cod or tofu and good fat, such as those of avocado, nuts, olive oil …
On the other hand, refined sugars, alcohol, pastries, sodas, starchy foods such as potatoes or corn, as well as oily meats and cold meats are prohibited.
A popular but controversial method
Barry Sears promises a loss of 1 to 1.5 kilo per week for those who scrupulously respect the method. Many celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore or Cindy Crawford have already adopted it. But several experts warn against the limits of this diet.
Professor Antoine Avignon, a nutritionist diabetologist, warned us in a previous article on the subject. “”Food recommendations are favorable but in the long term, no beneficial effect has been demonstrated. It is a restrictive diet therefore allowing rapid weight loss but beware of the yo-yo effect “.
Aurélie Guerri, a nutritionist dietician, underlined for her part: “It is a hypocaloric diet with little carbohydrates but which is made up of foods good for health and quality: good fats, low IG foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, not refined, too sweet or processed foods. There is still a specific calculation to make to compose your meals, this is quite restrictive. The drop in daily calorie intake can cause a drop in energy. “
Same story on the side of Dr Arnaud Cocaul, nutritionist doctor. According to him, it is a “regime whose constraints are too large for it to be tenable in the long term “.