The Sonoma Diet plan is a progressive eating regimen that claims to help you lose weight by closely mimicking the healthful dietary patterns of the Mediterranean Diet. Although the Sonoma Diet stresses health-promoting foods, such as whole grains, fresh vegetables and nuts, the diet is criticized by the American Dietetic Association for its preliminary menu restrictions and failure to encourage an adequate amount of exercise in conjunction with the diet. Speak with your doctor about how to properly incorporate exercise into your lifestyle while following the diet, and how to curb cravings for sugar during the introductory phase.
Identification
The Sonoma Diet Plan is the brainchild of Dr. Connie Gutterson, a registered dietitian and nutrition teacher at the Culinary Institute of America. The Sonoma Diet is Gutterson's spin on the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes olive oil, grains, lean meats, nuts, vegetables and wine.
Sonoma Diet Waves
The Sonoma Diet is comprised of three distinct phases called "waves." The first wave -- which encompasses the first 10 days of the diet -- encourages you to eliminate all refined flours and sugars from your diet, which enables quick weight loss, according to the Sonoma Diet's official website. Then, you move on to the second wave, which emphasizes consumption of foods such as olive oil, whole grains, almonds, spinach and broccoli. Wave 2 also allows you to drink white and red wine. When you reach your target weight, you move on to Wave 3, in which you are allowed to eat larger portions of the foods you ate in Wave 2, with the addition of occasional snacks and desserts.
Features
To help you achieve your weight loss goals, the Sonoma Diet plan suggests that you eat your breakfast in a 2-cup bowl or on a 7-inch plate, and that you eat your lunch and dinner on 9-inch plates. This method eliminates the need for counting calories, says BestDietFoods.net, and helps you to avoid overeating.
Warning
The suggested menus in Wave 1 of the Sonoma Diet are very low in calories, so you many not get adequate nutrition during this phase, says American Dietitian spokesperson Elisa Zied. Furthermore, Zied feels that the complete elimination of sugary foods suggested in Wave 1 may only set you up to quickly return to your old eating habits. Finally, Waves 2 and 3 do stress nutritionally dense foods, and may help some people reach their weight loss goals when combined with exercise, says Zied.
Warning
Although the Sonoma Diet may help you reach your weight-loss goals, you may have health conditions that need to supported by a specific diet, or you may take medications that can negatively react with certain foods. Speak with your medical doctor about how the Sonoma Diet fits into your personal health maintenance plan before you begin the diet.
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