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I am so excited about this diet, it's been 15 days and I have lost 15 pounds, I've followed the instructions completely. I sit at a table and take my time and I'm very satisfied and full when dinner is finished. I love the recipes, packed with flavor. I was excited after the 10 days to have my first glass of wine and was suprised how much I enjoyed it. No more sugar cravings either and the energy level is through the roof. Two thumbs up for this new way of eating.
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When we received the book, there was something missing. There should have been a folder enclosed to give you quick ideas for recipes. We were very disappointed in the product.
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This is my second time to order this book.My first one disappeared and I loved the book sooo much I ordered it again.It is the most tasteful cookbook I have ever used.
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I bought the Sonoma Diet book when I gained some weight during my mid 30's (mostly around my midsection & my upper arms), and have been having a very hard time losing it. I'm not a fan of rigid, restrictive diets, so I was looking for something that wouldn't rob me of an entire food group--for me, those types of diets are doomed to failure within a week or so. The Sonoma Diet has been wonderfully successful for me--I've been on it for about 15 days, and I've already lost 16 pounds; it's been a consistent weight loss beginning on day 2, which was nice for my motivation. Oh, and the vast majority of the weight is coming straight off my tummy AND my upper arms, which has NEVER happened before on any other diet--I am THRILLED about that!
Here's a list of the things I LIKE about the Sonoma Diet book, and after that I will give a list of the things I DON'T like about it, so you can make up your own mind. I'm living on a very tight budget right now, and I'm a family of one (just me), so I will be sure to comment on how this diet works for a single person with a tight income, in case anyone is in a similar circumstance.
What I LIKE about it:
--The diet is based on science, and is clearly up-to-date with its thinking, rather than being based on the author's personal weight-loss experience. The book is written in everyday language, which was nice for me, so I could read it quickly without a thesaurus handy, but still feel like they did their research and worked with doctors and nutritionists to develop a good plan for optimal health.
--In addition to providing the theory, an optional meal plan, recipes, and much more in this book, they also include a chapter on how to overcome typical hurdles and problems that most dieters face. I am finding that chapter to be particularly useful as I move from the early phase into the main portion of the diet.
--The recipes are quite creative, use a variety of ingredients (which have been easy to locate), and have ALL turned out extremely tasty. And I *really* hate bland food. These are the kind of recipes that I would proudly serve to my friends or loved ones at a dinner party. My personal favorites thus far have been: Chicken Tandoori (and the chicken tandoori wrap for lunch the next day); Steak and Blue cheese wrap; Broccoli and Roasted Red Bell Pepper with Goat Cheese (I add a tiny bit of toasted sliced almonds on top and it is just delicious!); and Tuna steaks with Rosemary. Oh, and there's a wonderful Chicken & Black Bean with Roasted Chili Spread wrap that just blows me away and it is made with leftover chicken, so it takes me just a few minutes to throw it together, yet it tastes like something you'd order in a restaurant. Seriously.
--The book provides you with a visual guide to portion control, and once you get the hang of it, you won't have to do any measuring, and there's never, ever any weighing or calorie counting. This is especially nice when you eat out or when you eat at a friend's house, because no one else has to know that you are on a diet. And the portions are really not all that restrictive. It's just about balance--making sure you don't let the carbs overwhelm your plate, or that you don't have too much or too little protein in relation to your veggies. I love food, and yet, I never feel hungry (or have cravings), and I actually almost never eat the snacks they recommend between meals--before starting this diet, I was almost constantly grazing.
--As I think I mentioned, they give you an optional meal plan that you can follow from day 1 until you reach your optimal weight. If you don't like that structure, you can either cook from their recipes, or even make your own recipes, using the foods that come from the "tiers" that are appropriate for where you are in the diet. It's very flexible. In the beginning, I stuck to the meal plan exactly, but now I am using that as more of a general guide, but I still cook from their recipes, because they are so delicious (and because I'm losing weight so successfully).
What I DON'T like about the Sonoma Diet:
--For a single person on a tight budget, it is rather expensive to follow their meal plan. They do not make the most efficient use of ingredients. For example, they may have you purchase a large perishable item (I can't think of an accurate example off the top of my head, but just so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about, let's say it is a cucumber*), and then their recipe will only call for 1 Tablespoon of it, chopped. And then, for the next 4 or 5 days, you will not use *any* more cucumber in your recipes, which means that it will go bad if you follow their meal plan. During the first two weeks of the diet, I ended up throwing away 3 paper grocery bags filled to the brim with produce that had gone bad because of this, which was VERY distressing to me. (*No, it is NOT cucumber that they actually do this with--they recommend you eat cucumber in many salads and as a snack; I'm just not able to recall at the moment what items they have done this with, but they have done it with many, many ingredients in their meal plan, to my frustration) This is the main reason that I have stopped following their meal plan exactly--I can't afford to have so much food go bad on me, so I have adapted the plan to make meals that use similar ingredients back-to-back. I now spend much less on groceries, and have little problem with waste.
--Similarly, their meal plan does not make use of leftovers (except in one or two instances), although each recipe is usually written to make enough for a family of 4. So, if you're single, you must either decide whether you'd like to start your BBQ to cook just one little chicken breast or 3 oz piece of fish (many meals are grilled, which I love, but starting coals for just one chicken breast seems very wasteful and slow at times...), or whether you'd like to change the meal plan to make effective use of the leftovers. Personally, I've opted to do the second--but be aware, it does alter the diet a bit, because the author strongly recommends variety, variety, variety to make sure we get all the nutrients we need and from varied sources. But on a budget, sometimes that's just not practical--or even possible. I've had to make that choice.
--My third and final criticism about the Sonoma diet may just be something that I'm not great at, and other people might be better. You can make your own decision. The diet *strongly* recommends that you avoid pre-processed food (such as microwave or pre-packaged meals) in favor of fresh ingredients, of course. What this means on a day-to-day basis is that each meal must be prepared, and to some extent, cooked--which means you will be scrambling eggs most mornings (except on the days you choose to have cereal, which you shouldn't have every day), making a salad (with chicken or shrimp or something) or maybe a wrap of some kind for lunch, and then cooking a full dinner in the evening. For me, there are some days where I can barely find the time to prepare ONE full meal...let alone THREE. Not to mention 3 meals' worth of dishes to wash each day! For those of us on very busy schedules, with no family members to help out, this can be a bit of a challenge. Personally, I'd say this is the most difficult aspect of the diet for me--far more challenging than giving up the sweets and cakes I thought I was so addicted to. But, I just tell myself that a healthy lifestyle isn't always easy...and anything worthwhile is worth doing right, even if it means I have to do a bit more planning around my meals. The flavor and creativity that I sit down to eat each meal is well worth it, in my opinion. But you will have to decide for yourself!
Hope this was helpful to someone!
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This book was highly recommended to me as a great way to change eating habits and achieve better health. I like the basic ideas in the book, and it is easy to follow the recommendations. The fact that fruit has to be given up for the first 10 days did put a damper on my enthusiasm. I think that any diet that limits a good food group is not realistic.
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