Sonoma Diet?

[linda_loo]

Has anyone tried this, or read the book? The online program?

[LeighW]

Haven't tried it, but the Washington Post ran a review of it yesterday. I like Sally Squires and read her column every week.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/30/AR2006013001237.html

If this link doesn't work, you can go to washingtonpost.com and search for "Sonoma Diet."

[LyLMyssChaos]

I have actually thought about trying this diet, after I have this baby, so I thought I would bump this back up.

The only thing I don't like is that like other diets you are supposed to do a "kitchen purge" and the things they want me to clear out(fruit juice, potatoes, jelly, bread, crackers, etc.) could be VERY difficult with children. I think if I follow this diet, I'll have to do it by using willpower.

[Rose]

The only thing I don't like is that like other diets you are supposed to do a "kitchen purge" and the things they want me to clear out(fruit juice, potatoes, jelly, bread, crackers, etc.) could be VERY difficult with children. I think if I follow this diet, I'll have to do it by using willpower.

LMC, That could very hard to with kids. What about doing WW? AT least in the beginning? I haven't done either but at least with WW you wouldn't have to do quite the purge with WW.

[DianeCourt]

I'm on Day #1 of the Sonoma Diet. I bought the book & am also trying the website (you get one week free, then it's $5 a week after that).

What I like so far:
1. Food tastes great! I made two outstanding recipes today.
2. I can drink a glass of wine per day if I like starting on Day #11
3. I'm learning portion control, which I hope will stick with me after I'm done with the diet.
4. I can make dinners that my husband will eat, too. (I just eat less than he does.)

What I don't like so far:
1. Extensive shopping list, good food isn't cheap
2. Lots more time in the kitchen to make all those tasty meals
3. No fruit until Day #11

I can do ANYTHING for 10 days, so I know I'll at least make it that far. BTW, I didn't do the kitchen purge, I'm just relying on good old-fashioned will power.

[jennylou]

What's the concept of this diet?

[DianeCourt]

Check out their website (www.sonomadiet.com) for the basics. In summary, they promote consumption of whole foods (no refined sugar or flours) & visual portion control. There are three waves. The first wave is the more calorie restricted & lasts for 10 days. No fruits during this period. The second wave lasts until you reach your target weight. Weight loss is more gradual in this period, fruit becomes a part of your menus, and you can have a glass of wine with dinner every night if you choose.

So far it's working for me, ladies! I'm down 5.5 lbs in 10 days. I just started Wave #2, so wish me luck! I decided to stick with the web membership because I like the meal planning features there. I'll continue to update.

[linda_loo]

The only thing I don't like is that like other diets you are supposed to do a "kitchen purge" and the things they want me to clear out(fruit juice, potatoes, jelly, bread, crackers, etc.) could be VERY difficult with children. I think if I follow this diet, I'll have to do it by using willpower.

what about having your children eat the same foods as you? i mean, our kids are so young, we could easily mold their food tastes into these healthier ones, kwim?

[DianeCourt]

I thought I would post an update on how the Sonoma Diet is working for me so far. I started the diet on 5/1, and as of this morning, I'm down 15.5 lbs! I'm surprised at how easily I've changed my eating habits. I'm 5 lbs away from my target weight. Sometimes at night I still really, really crave dessert, but my husband is helping me a lot. He'll get me some fruit and I'm usually fine after that. I've been cheating a bit on the weekends (popcorn at the movies, one scoop of Ben & Jerry's, pizza), but I'm sticking to the plan during the week and it's working. Maybe this will encourage some of you who were thinking about giving the Sonoma Diet a try!

[DianeCourt]

I'm still going with The Sonoma Diet! I lost 20 lbs way more quickly & easily than I would have ever dreamed, so I decided to set a new goal to lose an additional 10 lbs. My status as of today is in the ticker in my signature. I'm down more than two sizes and feel great. :)

At this point, I'm kind of an auto-pilot because I feel like the principles of the diet are more habit instead of something new that I'm trying to learn and get used to. I think that's a good thing that will hopefully help me maintain my weight in the long run. I still have dessert cravings & allow myself to indulge about once a week. (You gotta live!)

I've also discovered some quick meal options marketed through Kraft & "The South Beach Diet." South Beach is pretty similar to Sonoma, so I've been buying their wrap sandwich kits, frozen meals, breakfast wraps, & cereals to eat during the week. I really like the breakfast wraps - they fill me up & don't taste like diet food. This has made it easier to watch what I eat when I'm working & busy with my baby girl.

Thought I would share in case anybody is considering giving The Sonoma Diet a try!

[firefly]

Congratulations on you sucess!!! Will power seems to do well :)

[DianeCourt]

Thanks! :)

[jennylou]

Wow, awesome job. And you're right, of the principals you were mentioning I was thinking it sounded an awful lot like the SBD. :)

[jay&erinn]

Diane: Congrats on your success. I'm thinking of trying the diet. I had my second DD 3 weeks ago and have stalled out losing the baby weight. I had a really restricted pregnancy eating wise due to low blood sugar (had to cut out most sugar and carbs to even out my blood sugar so there weren't highs and lows). Because of that I've been eating every piece of junk under the sun since DD #2 was born. I have 7 pounds left to lose from this pregnancy and I'd like to lose about 7-8 more then that. Is the book worth buying or would joining the web site be all I have to do to get all of the info.
Also, is dairy allowed at all? I haven't seen it mentioned in any of the reviews so far. I also didn't know if it was too low calorie in the beginning or not since I'm breastfeeding.

[DianeCourt]

jay&erinn: I definitely recommend getting the book. It has a few short chapters in the beginning that explain the principles of the diet, and I couldn't have gotten that as easily from the website. The rest of the book is recipes, which are the basis for the diet. I like to have my recipes in book form for when I'm in the kitchen cooking. You can pick up the book at Target for like 30% off the list price.

I used the website for the first couple months because I liked the menu planner & shopping list features there. Once the diet became more of a habit & lifestyle change, I found I didn't need those tools, so I cancelled. There are also message boards there where you can ask questions of other dieters & Sonoma Diet staff. I think it costs roughly $5 per week for access to the site. You can get a free trial week by going here:

www.sonomadiet.com/offer

[alo]

Wanted to bump this up since I recently started the Sonoma Diet. Hubby and I are on Day 6, and so far it's going pretty well. The first few days were rough - with no sugar and no fruit I thought I was going to go nuts (I miss my chocolate!). But I got through the cravings and am doing much better now. Hubby is feeling a bit tired (a normal side effect of sugar withdrawal), but other than that he's doing well too.

Like I said, we're on Day 6, and I've lost 2 lbs. and my husband has lost 4. So we're going to stay with it, hopefully, until we reach our goal weights. I have 8 more pounds to go (although if I lost an additional 5, I wouldn't be upset) and my husband has another 6 to go. The weight isn't "falling off" in Wave 1, as we keep reading about, but I think that's because we were eating relatively healthily before.

As for the recipes, the ones we've tried so far have been really good! We especially like the Spaghetti and Marinara Sauce - very light and tasty! The food does take some advance planning, especially if you're going out (we were at a ballgame and realized we couldn't eat a.single.thing there). But once you accept that, it's pretty easy to figure out.

Congrats to Diane for her loss on this diet. Here's hoping that it works well for us too!

[DianeCourt]

Good luck, alo!

Here I am over one year after starting the diet and I'm still keeping the weight off. My total weight loss was 34 lbs! I don't strictly follow the diet anymore, but I follow some of the principles everyday for maintainance (portion control, whole grains, limiting refined sugar). Every once in a while I still get the book out & make some of my favorite Sonoma Diet recipes just because they were so tasty.

[mgrace]

Great job DianeCourt!

Does anyone have recipes to share?

[RoxyRocks]

A girl I know does this diet and swears by it!!! I think she has lost like 20lbs~

[Surftraitor]

I just bought the book and am going to start adopting the principles laid out in it. I'm not sure I'm going to be strict on it. I'm just looking to lose 10-15 lbs, and DH is looking to lose 20+. I'll update as I get started. ILs are coming into town for a week, so I think I'll start it then.

I don't intend to do the kitchen purge--too difficult when you have a little one.

[DianeCourt]

I just bought the book and am going to start adopting the principles laid out in it. I'm not sure I'm going to be strict on it. I'm just looking to lose 10-15 lbs, and DH is looking to lose 20+. I'll update as I get started. ILs are coming into town for a week, so I think I'll start it then.

I don't intend to do the kitchen purge--too difficult when you have a little one.

I didn't do the kitchen purge, either. :)

[Surftraitor]

Well, I took the plunge and started the diet today. I've done brilliantly thus far although I was jonesin' for a big snack after I got home for work. How in the world am I able to just eat 11 freakin' almonds as a snack all.day.long? I was fine at work but am suffering a bit at home, within steps of my kitchen.

As I mentioned above, I'm not looking to be completely religious to the Sonoma rules, just use as good guidelines. Nonetheless, I feel I owe it to myself to do the first wave, which lasts 10 days.

DH is joining me on this adventure. Sadly, he hasn't started out so well since he hasn't read the book at at all. He told me he had oatmeal (sugar & spice) and OJ this morning. "That's in the diet, right?" he asked. Um, no. He also got a last minute invite to the All Star Home Run contest, so I'm sure he's stuffing himself with garlic fries, beer, nachos. Grrr....

[DianeCourt]

surftraitor: I found that it took my body the first full 10 days to adjust to the smaller food amounts. After that time, I wasn't feeling hungry after having my 11 almonds or 22 peanuts! ;) If you can make it past the first wave, the rest is much easier. Good luck!

[Surftraitor]

DianeCourt is so right!! The smaller portions was an adjustment, but it just made me realize how ridiculously large my portions used to be. I'm on day 10 today and feeling very good. I should start the 2nd wave today, but will likely wait until tomorrow since I cheated over the weekend when we hosted a dinner party.

For me, the hardest days seem to be Mondays on the diet. I'm not sure why. I'm busy, I'm working all day...its weird. I love that I'm cooking with such fresh ingredients. The recipes have so much flavor and they really do not take as long to prepare as you fear they will. Last night, I told DH this is the longest time we've gone without a frozen pizza or delivery. Rather pathetic, in hindsight.

Overall, I've definitely lost weight. As a rule I don't weigh myself unless I'm at the doctor's office, so I have no clue how much I've lost. What's exciting is that my jeans were loose this morning when I put them on. To me, that's much more valuable than numbers on a scale.

[DianeCourt]

DianeCourt is so right!! The smaller portions was an adjustment, but it just made me realize how ridiculously large my portions used to be. I'm on day 10 today and feeling very good. I should start the 2nd wave today, but will likely wait until tomorrow since I cheated over the weekend when we hosted a dinner party.

Good for you! Don't you love the recipes? I still break out the cookbook every once in a while just because they're so tasty. One of my favorite side dishes is the broccoli sauteed in olive oil & lemon juice with roasted red peppers & goat cheese (I substitute feta).

I know now that portion sizes were my biggest problem when I was overweight. I'm not following the diet's rules 100% anymore, but many of the principles are incorporated into my lifestyle:

*reasonable portion sizes (no more seconds!)
*whole grains ALL the time. This is getting easier now that most products are offered with whole grains.
* dessert is a treat

[mgrace]

Thanks so much for the free offer link, DianeCourt!

From the very little I know (about both plants), this does seem a lot like the South Beach Diet. Anyone know what the differences are? I'm not so sure about the first 10 days, but after that I think I should be OK. The Sonoma Diet is how I *want* to eat, but I guess I just need an extra push and possibly this will excite me. :)