Sonoma Diet Review
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Sonoma Diet Review Basics:
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Overview |
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The Sonoma Diet was created by Dr Connie Guttersen who has an impressive résumé when it comes to weight loss and nutrition. We purchased the 2007 UK version but apart from the measurements being different (and the cover of course) then it looks like it is the same content. The diet is often criticised for being an almost duplicate of the South Beach diet (which is not a bad thing) and I can see why people say that. Essentially it is almost the same, you have three waves (instead of phases) with the first phase being a calorie and carb restrictive period to help you get over your addicition to sugary foods and bad carbs (although you can eat wholegrain foods in this phase with this diet, you can’t in the SB diet). Then you go onto the less restrictive wave 2 where you introduce fruits back in and can eat the starchier vegetables etc. You stay on that wave achieving steady weight loss until you reach your target weight when again like in SB then you are kind of given a free rein to do what you want as long as you try and stick to the main principles of the diet. It says throughout the book that you don’t measure your portions or count calories etc, yet later on it does list weights of fruit you should stick to and weights of tier 2 and 3 vegetables as a maximum allowed per day. It does however give you a good way to work out what you should be eating by dividing your plate into sections and having you fill each section with the appropriate food from the approved food list, a nice, easy and visual way to check you are doing things right. Oh and one glass of wine is not just tolerated but encouraged per day! This diet is more about the enjoyment of food than the South Beach Diet, you go out of your way to use a variety of foods and herbs etc to make a tasty dinner. This also means the recipes you get (150+ in the book) are more complex than in SB and will take more time and skill to prepare. So this diet gets you to eat a wide variety of foods and teaches you how to eat healthily for the long term and it teaches you why you need to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables (some great information in there about the health benefits of different coloured foods etc). Yet it seems to take more time and effort than the SB diet so unless you have the time to dedicate to it then it will be harder to stick to (although it is more tasty, maybe combine the two??). The online Sonoma Diet membership site gives you access to 600+ recipes, but some of them are repeated from the book so that number will come down. There are message boards which are reasonably active, and you get to ask a registered dietitian questions, although looking at the board then they do take up to 6 days to respond to your questions, which if you are in wave 1 means over half of that wave will have passed before they answer your question! You also get access to articles from the author, success stories and a recap on everything you need to follow the diet. If you want more recipes I’d advise going for the cookbook that is out rather than wasting any money on the membership site.
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Proof we actually own the book and signed up to the membership site – click either picture to enlarge |
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What’s included? |
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The main book is about 319 pages long and you get 150+ recipes in it. Then with the online membership you get: - Discussion boards plus access to a dietitian to ask questions |
Sonoma Diet Review – The Good & The Bad:
Pros
- Encourages a balanced diet of meat, vegetables, fruits and whole grains, as well as daily servings of good fats
- Gives you portion sizes based on parts of your plate which are easier to stick to that weighing everything
- Food tastes good so you don’t have to prepare different food for anyone else you eat with, also you can have wine with one meal a day!
Cons
- Wave 1 is going to be tough for lots of people with no sugar or even artificial sweetners, plus a big drop in your calorie and carb intake
- Meals require a lot more time to prepare than most people are used to, they are hard to follow for lunch at work!
- Exercise is not really covered
- All the fresh and wholesome food you need can push your grocery bill up
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User Comments |
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There don’t seem to be that many people discussing this diet online, but the people who do discuss it seem to like it. There is a lot of comparison with the South Beach diet and people think it too closely resembles that, plus some people think wave 1 is too difficult to follow (like with South Beach), but the general consensus is positive and there are people reporting some good weight loss. |
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Customer Support |
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Customer support was disappointing, to start with I asked for support before I signed up to the site, I used the email address on the site and had a response back saying my email address was not down as a paying member so if I wanted help I’d have to email a slightly different email address…? That was an automated response so at least nobody took the time to type that to me, but if that is automated then why can’t it just forward my email to the different email address? Or better yet why can’t they just answer my question anyway?! Then inside the membership area the message boards are not that active so you won’t get lots of help from others like in really active forums, also the dietitian takes up to 6 days to respond to your questions. So the support is ok, I mean when I sent through my email to the other address they gave me then they responded just over 24 hours later, but it could all be much improved. |
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Summary
Product name: Sonoma Diet
Product Reviewer: Katie Weston
Product Rating: 3 stars
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