Sonoma Diet Plan

The Sonoma Diet plan is allegedly one of the easiest and most sustainable diet plans available online.

"Easiest" and "most sustainable" because there is no calorie-counting or measuring of food intake involved and you are even allowed to eat a variety of Mediterranean-style foods. This plan is based on so called "power foods", which induce weight loss. As long as you include a "power food" in each of your meals, you are good to go.

Overview:

The Sonoma plan consists of 3 phases (or waves) essentially representing a low-carbohydrate diet including lean meats and the "power foods" mentioned above.

This approach is considered most effective for burning body fat and producing long-term weight loss results.

Simplicity is a major element, because there is no counting or measuring involved. Portions are restricted through specific plate sizes for the different meals.

Some of the power-foods involved are: Almond, Bell peppers, Broccoli, Blueberries, Grapes, Olive oil, Spinach, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Whole grains, etc.

Company info:

The creator of the Sonoma Diet, Dr. Connie Guttersen, is a registered dietitian and professor of nutrition. The official website www.sonomadiet.com contains plenty of tips and shows how to easily navigate the various weight-loss tools that are available on the site too.

Food and Recipes:

Products allowed on this plan are not difficult to obtain or "unusual". You are given two food-lists you must stick to.

One list contains the foods you need to avoid and the other contains the "power" foods you need to eat in order to automatically induce weight loss. Equipped within these two lists you can now "pick-and-mix". (A back-up list of "semi-allowed" foods is also included for greater variety.)

Sample menu:

Breakfast: Buckwheat and Pear Pancakes.
Lunch: Greek Pizza or Chile-Mint Burger...
Dinner: Marinated Flank Steak or Grilled Bass with Strawberry Salsa...
Dessert: Peachy Berry Cobber or Apple-Blueberry Tart or Tropical Fruit Pops...

Waves:

Wave #1 lasts the first 10 days. Here most fruits, some vegetables, refined flour products, large amounts of sugars and resources of saturated fat are excluded from the diet.

Wave #2 is considered the main segment. This is the phase where additional foods are being re-introduced to provide greater variety. Now the emphasis is being shifted towards pleasure from eating healthy foods. The weight loss rate in this 2nd Wave is allegedly slower than during Wave #1, but it is supposed to be consistent.

Wave #3 is the maintenance phase.

Exercise:

Exercise is not an integral part of the Sonoma Diet, but moderate walks and light exercise is recommended.

Pros:

- Has a database of 500 recipes even including a wine guide
- Provides weight-loss tools such as meal planners, weight tracker, food diary, shopping lists and more
- Features an online support community and dieter forums

Cons:

- Exercise is not highlighted