The Sonoma Diet is a three–step diet program that was originally introduced as a book written by dietitian Connie Guttersen. This diet is definitely inspired by the food and culture of the California Sonoma Valley with a flare of the Mediterranean. Its emphasis is supposed to be on what you eat rather than what you don’t eat.
Because of its popularity the diet is now available online.
It offers 14 tools to help you with your weight loss goals including a customized meal plan, more than 500 recipes and printable shopping lists. There is a short tutorial vaguely explaining its three steps promising to make you lose weight, feel better and eat great.
The stages of the plan are called waves.
Wave 1 is the most restrictive phase lasting 10 days. In wave 1 you will break addictions with fatty and sugary foods. Wave 2 is the phase where most of your weight loss will occur. Each meal is created with specific portions in mind. There is no calorie counting with The Sonoma Diet. Wave 3 is basically your lifelong commitment of eating to maintain your weight.
Food:
The Sonoma Diet’s way of eating puts a lot of emphasis on food celebration and not deprivation. With this diet you will eat what are considered “Power Foods.” These are foods that are high in phytonutrients and antioxidants, as well as enjoy a daily glass of wine. There are very few recommended processed foods on this diet.
Power Foods Include:
Almonds
Bell Peppers
Blueberries
Broccoli
Grapes
Olive oil
Spinach
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Whole Grains
Like most diets you will have to go without certain foods, especially sugar and anything made with refined flour. Sonoma does allow Mediterranean style meals incorporating olive oil, feta cheese, fresh market meats and veggies. You will eat 3 meals a day plus snacks.
Exercise:
For the most part exercise is not strongly emphasized. The Sonoma Diet is about balance and healthy eating habits. If you are interested in an online diet service that has a customized workout plan, then we suggest you look elsewhere.
Community:
Sonoma Connections gives you all the motivation you need to make with this online diet service. You can join the Sonoma Pals. This program allows you to join forces with others that share your goals and interests. You can also access online boards. These boards keep you in touch with a thriving community. Here you can swap stories and share what motivates you.
Additional Tools:
When joining The Sonoma Diet online, you will get a customized meal planner and over 500 recipes, including a recipe search. You can also get printable shopping lists, eating out guides, wine, guides, food diary, portion guide, online dietitians, and a weight tracker.
Ease of Use/Support:
You will not be able to preview the online diet service unless you purchase a membership. The Sonoma Diet is approximately $4 a week billed every 13 weeks. There is a five–week minimum. After five weeks you can cancel at any time. The Sonoma Diet does offer a telephone and email contact. However, there is no FAQ section to answer your questions prior to contacting the company.
Summary:
Overall The Sonoma Diet tries to provide balance and taste to help you transform your life. Unfortunately, we found this diet very similar to a low carb diet. The recommended level of carbs per day during wave 1 equates to be about 40 grams. The Wave 2 menus were over 100 grams, but there were still meals that have as low as 69 grams. This is low carb. Unfortunately, The Sonoma Diet claims not to be a low carb diet and does not prepare dieters for carb crashes that could occur. The Sonoma Diet has amazing recipes, great insight, and a very supportive community. There are just too many inconsistencies and inaccuracies for us to highly recommend this diet. For a similar diet plan with more online options, see the Mediterranean Diet offered by the best online diet service eDiets.
