The Sonoma Diet

The Sonoma diet. Does the phrase conjure images of plum-dark wine and succulent salmon enjoyed overlooking verdant grape vines?

If so, that may be the aim of Connie Guttersen, PhD, RD. The author of The Sonoma Diet hopes you’ll see her diet plan as marrying pleasure with health, where every meal is about “celebration, not deprivation.”

The secret to losing weight forever, says Guttersen, a registered dietitian and dietary consultant, is not in avoiding foods you love but enjoying the right foods in the right amounts.

Even in the most restrictive phase of the diet — the 10-day induction period — whole grains and cereals, eggs, low-fat dairy, and nuts are on the menu. And after the induction period almost nothing is forbidden, including wine and occasional sweets.

Almost nothing is forbidden. What’s limited at the start, and discouraged throughout this diet plan, are foods with saturated fats, refined white flour, and added sugar. As a matter of fact, if you’re not ready to literally purge your pantry of processed foods, you may not be ready for this diet.

However, the Sonoma diet would be ideal for those with a love of fruits, veggies, wine, and healthy foods.

It would also suit people motivated to follow the restrictions of a structured plan, who have the time and desire to cook, and who are willing to stock a pantry free of sugar and trans fats, adds Elisa Zied, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, and author of So What Can I Eat?!

How It Works

Like the South Beach and Atkins diets, the Sonoma diet begins with an induction phase.

Called Wave 1, this 10-day span is meant to wean you from sugar and highly processed foods, while teaching you about nutritionally balanced meals and portion control.

“Baby steps simply don’t work,” says Guttersen, so Wave 1 begins with a dramatic household purge of all processed foods or those laced with hydrogenated fat. White rice, potato chips, butter, fruit juice, sausage, bacon: adios!

Because of their natural sugars, wine, fruit, and several kinds of vegetables are also banned the diet’s first 10 days, the better to “naturally recalibrate your body.”

The allowed foods list for Wave 1 is fairly long and includes lean beef, eggs, asparagus, eggplant, low-fat cottage cheese, soba noodles, olive oil, almonds, walnuts, and unlimited herbs and spices.

To spur compliance and aid the reader in sticking to the plan, the book includes more than two dozen recipes for this phase, including Greek Salad with Grilled Shrimp, Mushroom Omelet, and Steak and Blue Cheese Wrap.

Wave 2 allows the same foods as Wave 1 and is the part of the diet Guttersen recommends you stay with until reaching your target weight. This wave includes a roster of more than two dozen fruits, a wider array of vegetables, some sugar-free sweets, and up to 6 ounces of wine daily.

The day after you reach your target weight you enter Wave 3. This phase is about extending the Sonoma diet lifestyle into “a permanent way of existing happily on this planet,” Guttersen says.

To that end the author recommends you use this phase to seek out exotic fruits and vegetables, enjoy sweets as rare, special treats (”and nothing more”), have fun with physical activity, while still keeping refined foods and hydrogenated fats out of the pantry and out of your life.

Speaking of physical activity, where’s the mention of exercise in these waves? It’s there, but it just isn’t the focus of this book, the author admits.

Between explaining the diet, offering an extensive sheaf of recipes for each wave, answering questions, and providing well-measured doses of encouragement, you’ll find a small sprinkling of fitness advice; the bulk of it is on roughly two pages.

If you want detailed suggestions on amping up your physical activity even as you power down your junk food consumption, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

What the Experts Say

In 2005 WebMD interviewed health professionals Elisa Zied, MS, RD, and Roger Clemens, DrPH, about the Sonoma diet, and they had good things to say — and a few reservations.

Fearing just another entry in a sea of tricky, hard-to-follow diets, Zied was instead pleasantly surprised by the Sonoma diet.

“I was very excited that [the book] was written by a registered dietitian. That’s always a good thing,” Zied said. She also appreciated the book’s emphasis on food enjoyment.

Also pointing out the positive, Clemens, a food science communicator for the Institute of Food Technologists said, “The author, Connie Guttersen, has an interesting and creative approach to encourage people to modify their behaviors in a fun manner.”

Both experts remarked on Guttersen’s emphasis on portion c ontrol, and Zied sees the diet as sensible though she does have reservations about Wave 1.

“The first wave is the most extreme, the most low-calorie,” says Zied, who is unsure how realistic it is to ban processed foods and sugars from the home, especially when not everyone in the house is on the diet.

“It’s too simplistic,” says Zied. “I have cookies in my cabinet, but moderation is preached in my home.”

Both experts agree that for all of Wave 1’s limitations, the result is likely to be a rapid drop in pounds — anywhere from 2 to 5 over the 10 days, according to Guttersen — an important psychological boost for many embarking on a new weight loss plan.

Zied, however, says that Wave 2 of the Sonoma diet encourages a more sustainable weight loss.

“I say, get rid of the gimmick, and just go to Wave 2, and that’s giving you a basically healthy diet with some indulgences.”

Food for Thought

Clemens wishes the book contained a greater emphasis on exercise, maintaining that it’s an essential element to overall health.

“If there was a sequel to the book, I think [Guttersen] would do well to team up with an exercise expert that has the friendly style that she has,” Clemens said.

Overall, Guttersen’s diet recommendations appear sound. Enjoying alcohol in moderation, eating plenty of produce, minimizing refined foods, and being vigilant about portion size are all basic tenants of most medically approved eating plans. They get a thumbs up from Zied.

“Cutting your portions of energy-dense foods, incorporating more physical activity, and doing simple things are really going to make a difference over time,” she says.