Here I go again. After a failed attempt on Nutra System and another failed attempt on Weight Watchers, I think I have found the answer. I can see all the eye rolling going on from you guys who have followed my lack of progress in the past but wait until you hear what I have to say about the latest “diet.”
I put the word “diet” into quotation marks because The New Sonoma Diet isn’t a diet, it is a way of eating that a person can do for the rest of your life. It does not limit any certain food groups, but has you eating foods from all of them. Meats, fish, poultry, veggies, fruits, whole grains, and even fats. I started on Friday, (writing this on Sunday afternoon) and have been eating more food than I ever ate on any diet. I have lost a pound and for me, that says a lot. I gained weight on Weight Watchers. To know more about the lose weight, read here.
Initially, I found this plan online, but waited until I got the book and could read for myself the background of the author. She is a registered dietician with a doctorate and she comes from a family who used to eat good, wholesome food. She said what started her on her quest to find a way to eat that is pleasant and healthy was when she watched her father who was a medical doctor, go from a happy man who needed to lose a few pounds, to a miserable person who was constantly on one diet or another; in search of a new way to lose the weight. The happy family meals she used to know were gone, replaced by unhappy people.
I like food and I like to eat. I also want to eat what is good for me and my family. I have a chronic health problem that is made much better when I do eat healthier. The Sonoma way of eating seems like a perfect fit for both me and my family. The only thing I am having a problem with so far is forcing myself to eat breakfast, which is something I am not used to doing. Luckily, the breakfasts are not huge amounts and I can do them. One day, all that is required is a piece of whole grain toast with peanut butter on it and coffee. Sounds good to me.
We just finished eating lunch. We had wraps that consisted of left-over grilled steak from last night, grilled sweet peppers, also from last night, baby spinach and a small amount of crumbled blu cheese all folded up in a whole wheat wrap. I offered my family the choice of some extra avocado and some tomato, too, but that was it. I am full. Not overly stuffed, but comfortably full. My husband is liking this way of eating, too, because I am cooking again. My son and his significant other were here for lunch and both of them seemed to enjoy the wraps as well. It wasn’t diet food, it was food. Good, wholesome, healthy food.
After the first ten days on the new plan, I even get a glass of wine with dinner. What could be better? As long as I keep losing some pounds I will keep touting this way of eating. It is healthy, wholesome, and very tasty. It isn’t a diet, more a new way of eating that can easily be something I can do the rest of my life. I certainly can’t say that about Nutra system.
The New Sonoma Diet by Dr Connie Guttersen, RD, PhD
