Sonoma Diet and the Mediterranean Diet - Sonoma/Med November Support

I think this worked out pretty well last month so I guess I'll start a new thread for this month. Here's to another good month of good eating. We'll all have to start dealing with the holiday challenges. Maybe we can share some good ideas.

Thanks for starting this thread. A few years ago, I lost over 50 lbs
by following the Mediterranean diet and an exercise program.
Needless to say, naughty eating habits:devil: returned ,so I am restarting.

I am planning to start tomorrow and record in a food journal, this
helped a lot last time around. I had to really think about the selections
each day,rather than aim for a fast food drive thru.

In the October thread, you mentioned you are taking pilates classes.
If you have had a year of pilates classes , you can do the mat exercises
at home. Recently I purchased a Pilates Stick (and the dvds). Beside
the mat exercises, you can do many of the Reformer and Cadillac exercises
as well. As I am in the Northeast, our winters can be difficult and going
out to evening class often just not possible. This is working out very
well. Also, add dance workouts and weight exercises to prevent
boredom and get a total w/o.

Subscribing to thread, here I go:carrot::carrot::carrot::carrot:

welcome jahra. I used to live in the Northeast so I remember those cold winters. I belong to a yoga studio so I go to yoga and pilates classes depending on what fits my schedule. I went to a yoga class today-that is the only thing that was offered.

keeping a food diary is very helpful. I also find it helps prevent mindless eatinig.

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm still pretty much on plan. I did give in and eat a couple pieces of left over halloween candy last night but I plan to take that to work today and get it out of my house.

Had a few pieces of Halloween candy, and discarded the rest.
So far staying true to the Med diet, but need to get back
to exercising. Thanks for the welcome petra, will add yoga to
my exercise rotation. So far, raking lots of leaves so burning
some calories.

Would love to hear some ideas on breakfast. Getting tired of oatmeal,
cream of wheat and egg white omelet with veggies.

I tend to rotate around on breakfast between a few things. Oatmeal, whole grain cereal (I like shredded wheat n bran with a banana), and eggs fixed a couple different ways. These are specific Sonoma recipes. One is eggs scrambled with canadian bacon, green onions, and a little cheddar cheese and stuffed in half a pita. Another is eggs scrambled with green pepper, green onions and cheese, in a whole grain tortilla, with salsa. And the last is yogurt and fruit smoothie. I also do baked eggs once in a while. Toast with peanutbutter is another quick idea. How's that for some options?

Hello.

I'm keeping mostly on plan and feeling pretty good. I did have some Halloween candy but declared myself done with it on Saturday and haven't touched it since.

I'm pretty boring when it comes to breakfast. I simply adore my pb and toast and have to talk myself into something different every once in a while. I do make a lf quiche that freezes nicely. Maybe you could do something like that and freeze it in individual servings or create a lf burrito with egg whites and veggies.

I'm planning lentil soup today in the crock pot. Yum!

I finally got the halloween candy out of the house today before I did too much damage with it. Thank goodness.

Just want to drop in on this thread and say HI!......I am new to this type of diet but there's a little voice inside that thinks it is what I am looking for....everything I've read on-line so far makes so much sense! Plus I want to be able to learn to creatively cook....enjoy all ascepts of food instead of obsessing about calories.....there's a lot of books....where should I start?

In this months Woman's World there an article about the Omega Diet....that's what got my attention and I brought fish oil....my BIL swears that fish oil cured his knee and acid refleux problems.

I appreciate your witness that this diet does work when you work it (oops, I forgot to look at your screen name ...sorry)

Hopefully, I'll stick with this and post more.

The support and connection is so imprtant to me....thanks for being there!
Thinkerbell

Hi!

I joined the Sonoma on-line weight loss group and bought the books....the diet book and cookbook. Ah, it sounds just what I've been searching for....I love food, eating and have wanted to become a "cook".

I feel lucky because I do love all the foods....veggies, fish etc....and only recently learned to like olives and EVOO....and over time I switched to alot of whole grains already.

Except brown rice...still prefer white...partly because I know how to cook it!

Any tips on cooking brown rice?

Thanks,
thinkerbell

Buy good quality brown rice and it just takes longer to cook. I've learned to enjoy some other whole grains a lot like bulgur and spelt. I also eat a fair amount of whole wheat couscous which cooks up quickly.

I also belong to the sonoma site so maybe I will run into you there. It definately helps to enjoy cooking with this way of eating. I don't know a lot about the Omega diet but I believe it was written by someone who is Greek and was also basically based on Mediterranean principles.

How's everybody doing? It's been a little quiet here for a couple days. I wanted to make another suggestion about the brown rice. One of the people on the sonoma site says she cooks hers in beef broth and it makes a big difference. I've never tried it but there's another suggestion for you.

I made a thai chicken stir fry over the weekend. I usually like thai food but I wasn't crazy about this. Won't make it again. My call week has not been too stressful so far thank goodness. I'll still be happy when it is over on Thurs. morning.

Hi everyone,
I am new here. I just brought home the books from the library and made up my shopping list. I start tomorrow. I am excited to start and have a support system as well. Looking forward to getting started!!

Welcome. Not a big group here but jump in. We'll try to help if we can.

Hi All,
I am so happy to find 3FC, especially this group. A big thank you to petra65 for your posts! My quick history: I was on WW and doing well until Graves' Disease popped up and changed many aspects of my life including my eating habits. I've been following the Mediterranean diet since August-down 10lbs, but needed more structure, information and support.

Even though I'm only on Wave 1, I've noticed that everything tastes better, more flavorful. Has anyone else noticed this?

Thanks for the brown rice advice Petra! I went to the market and found that there are oodles of whole grain rice now....I cooked a wild mushroom rice for dinner....yummy! with salmon and broccoli....so delicious!

I am not exactly following the recipes that she sends on-line....but I am following the basic principles.

Has anyone tried any of the recipes that you love?

I did buy the Laughing Cow spreadable cheese....OMG, delicious and only 35 calories!

I really want to become a delicious and nutritious chef!

Today I went to whole foods market and they had wheat-berry and couscous and the Tabbaleuh (sp?) on their salad bar.....these are strange to me so it was good to try it.....I liked the couscous....not so crazy about the wheat-berry..did not try the tabbaleuh (sp?).

How about soups....always looking for good soup recipes, especially veggie based soup.

thinkerbell

I LOVE tabbouleh. It's not that hard to make yourself. Wheat berries are probably not very tasty by themselves. I've used it in a concotion of various grains as a breakfast cereal.

You know you can change the menus she sends you on line, you can browse through the choices there and find something the interests you more or fits with ingredients you have in the house. I really like the chile mint burgers. I'll have to think about some others. I mentioned some of the breakfast ones I use before. Also the pork chops in curry marinade but I like curry anything. I have some cooking light recipes I also use that are sonoma friendly.

Thanks Petra for your advice of modifying!

I want to share a bit of something.....I now realize that to be successful at this, I need to enjoy my meals. My DH is a meat, potato and very, very plain eater....hates onions, not crazy about garlic....it's the way I love to eat!

It's time to cook for ME!!!!!!

I made a wonderful chicken cattitore (sp?) dish...with onion and garlic and mushrooms with boneless thighs and Bartilli plus pasta....OMG....ah-mazing!
My DD loved it too!

The Bertilli plus pasta was very good and seems so healthy with omega 3's! Woo-hoo....I am so happy finding delcious and nutritious foods that I love....that's the Sonoma Way (btw cooked it in EVOO).

I found the recipe on You-tube! A quick 6 minute complete meal prep....love, love, love the internet!

I wish she (the author of Sonoma) would put cooking videos on her web-site....I get scared of cookbooks...but always learning!

So far this week 4 great dinners

M~ steak, salad and corn-on the cob
T~ hearty veggie soup with rye bread and speadable laughing cow cheese
W~ salmon, wild rice and broccoli
T~ chicken cattitore with Bertilli plus pasta
Yummy!

Thinking about making chicken soup for Friday....and then maybe some seafood over the week-end.

Oh and I lost 1 lb since my last weigh in!


Thinkerbell

Great job thinkerbell. sounds like you are off to a great start.

Hi Everyone,
I am so glad that this thread got started! I always wondered why there isn't more support forums for the Med Diet, especially since it's one of the only diets that keeps showing up positive results in studies :D.

I've pretty much had it with diets! I'm not talking about the healthy eating plans - I'm talking about diet as "die" with a "T" - I've had two years of restrictions - low carb, low fat, high protein, low protein, eat this, not that - yikes! I just want to eat REAL food that I enjoy, keep the calories low but not insanely low, and not worry about whether I'm eating too many carbs, too much fruit, too little protein, etc.

I've wanted to do a Med way of eating for a long time but I think I've been afraid because it's the one eating plan that doesn't have boundaries (except no fake stuff :)). But I've made my menus and I want to start tomorrow and just take it one day at a time. I want to focus on healthy eating, working on my emotional eating issues, and not worry about weight loss, which I know will come if I keep at it.

So I need a lot of support!

Tam

Tam,

I with you....what you wrote expresses how I feel exactly!

Welcome to this thread....I am glad you found us!

I'm still figuring it all out, especially the recipes in the Sonoma books, but I did have a great week....enjoyed my food, feel good, not hungry at all and even enjoyed cooking.


I am looking for good recipes....I am not a "cookbook" person....need a person to point the way!


But I am finding that this is a fun way to think out healthy eating plans....no DIE-its! rather have a LIVE-it!

thinkerbell

Today, I got an email from Dr. Sonoma (oops....don't remember her name) about drinking green tea. I think I'll try it. A night tea time ritual has been part of my success.....as I was a night eater.

So I have done 3 things to help change the night-eating.....I take my vitamin, fish oil tab and a big glass of water at night and then a cup of tea. I do save a snack for about 9 pm. Also, I put a handful of bazooka joe bubble gum in the fruit bowl....for those times when I feel like "munching"....it works plus you get a joke and a fortune....takes my mind off whatever I was thinking.

thinkerbell

Tammay I'm with you on the healthy eating thing. I tried this once before and did have some problems with the lack of restrictions but after going back to trying some things I had done before and they just weren't working for me anymore I came back to this and this just feels more comfortable this time. I've been at it again for a little over 2 months. I'm not losing weight at any incredible speed but it is coming off slowly. My blood pressure and cholesterol did come down enough to avoid having to go on medication.

I'm trying a couple new recipes off the site this week thinkerbell. The oven basked cassoulet and chicken, hummus on pita with salad or something like that. I'll tell you what I think of them. For those of you who have sugar issues (which I definately have) I will tell you something I have found to be true. Once you get to Wave 2, try drinking the wine unless there is a reason why you can't. I buy mine in the little individual serving bottles since I live alone. I have found that amazingly that seems to have prevented my sugar cravings almost completely. YMMV. I am curious if other people have this same experience. It makes sense scientifically.

Once you get to Wave 2, try drinking the wine unless there is a reason why you can't. I buy mine in the little individual serving bottles since I live alone. I have found that amazingly that seems to have prevented my sugar cravings almost completely. YMMV. I am curious if other people have this same experience. It makes sense scientifically.

What is the science behind wine preventing sugar cravings?

Petra,

I made the Roasted Rataoulle (again with the spelling?) and it is delish! I plan on using it thru out the week as a side veggie....still have that WW thing that veggies are free!

I also made a "free" WW cabbage soup.....the veggies fill me up and thankfully I love 'em.

Speaking of other plans, I was lurking on the Beck Solution thread....very interesting but I swore off buying anymore DIET books....I felt guilty even buying the Sonoma books....I pretended they were just cookbooks! .....anyway, one idea I got from the thread was about "giving yourself credit" for all you do right...so, my dear Petra, I see your ticker and you have lost....that ticker is going DOWN!...woo-hoo.....that's super! Steady progress is a realistic goal!....oh, that was another tip from the Beck thread...set realistic goals!

Julie,

I am curious too about the wine....and looking forward to including it in my plan.....I promised myself I would wait until Day 10, as my blood sugar feels so steady and I lost 3 lbs this week!

thinkerbell

I'll have to look up the exact metabolism of alcohol but I think there are sugars in there.

I made the mango turkey melt for lunch today. It's in the cookbook. It is very good as well. Mangoes are in season right now (at least where I live).

Thanks for the tip Petra....I don't usually buy mangos...I'll check them out next time I'm at the maket.

Yesterday, I made a delish dessert....actually from the South Beach diet.

Ricotta cheese with a bit of vanilla extract and a bit of splenda and blueberries...wow! it is heavenly....and winds up being a protein and fruit!

I know, I know, I know....this is the sonoma diet thread! But I am taking a little bit of everything I have learned from all my dieting attempts! What I love about the sonoma plan is that it is about enjoying food, enjoying cooking and enjoying delish and nutritious foods.....so this ricotta parfait was very, very satisfying!

I did try the green tea over the week-end and I enjoyed it....was it my imagination or did I get a little "charge" from it.....for some reason, I felt really "perky" after I drank it!?

Need to go food shopping today....I did plan my week's worth of dinners....that is always a major accomplishment! Credit moi! (stolen from the Beck Diet Solution thread!)

Best wishes,
thinkerbell

Advice please...
So, I'm on Wave1 and had a really, really bad day yesterday. What should I do, start wave 1 again or just continue?
Thanks!

I'm no expert.....do you have the book or are you working with it on-line?

If on-line, I say keep going!

If by the book, I say begin again as the 1st ten days are really a sugar and whilte flour cleanse.....that's why no fruit or wine for the 1st ten days.

I am doing a modified program and am on day 8 of no sugar no white flour....I lost 3 lbs this week (and I'm pre-menstrual!) and my blood sugar feels amazingly steady.....so I think the whole grains instead of the white stuff is an imprtant piece! Honestly though, I did not cut out the fruit....but it is not white sugar. Perhaps I would have lost more if I did but I like how I feel...not hungry, satisfied, not bloated or lethargic! woo-hoo

Hope it helped....and welcome nina!

thinkerbell

As thinkerbell said, wave 1 is really about a sugar/white flour detox so you are going to have to make that call for yourself. If you feel like you really need to start over, then that is what you should do. If you think it was not a big deal and you'll be okay if you keep going-go for it. I came to Sonoma this time from low carbing so since I was already sugar and white flour free, I just went straight to wave 2 and have not found that to be problematic.

Many thanks tinkerbell and petra!!! You both really helped. I am going to start over because it was a sugar problem. I really want to do this right, but also try not to kick myself for messing up!

I have the book, which I lent out to a friend, and the cook book. The website seem a little costly, but maybe in the future!
:)
Thanks again & have a great day.
Ninfa

ninfa,

What attracted me to the Sonoma Diet is that I have known for a looooooooong time that white flour wreaks havoc on my body and blood sugar.....bloating, lethargic, sluggishness, and did I mention swelling.....I felt like I no longer had fingers but 10 sausages! Yet, it is the very thing my body craved......slowly, very slowly I began the switch to some whole grain products, like bread and cereals.

Why I am excited about this plan is that it doesn't feel like a diet at all....but a very healthy way to eat. One of the things I discovered and love is the Bertilli Plus pasta.....I actually made spaghetti sauce and poured it ovr the Bertilli plus rotini and the roasted ratatoulli (sp?) that I made from the cook book. Now a pasta dish like that would always have me cravin' more and swollen the next day.....but not this time! woo-hoo!

I joined the on-line support.....and plan to cancel after 5 weeks, which is the minimum commitment....so it will cost $20....so far, I am enjoying her daily emails and little tips....it helps to feel supported as I learn about her plan. I just need to cancel when 5 weeks are up....last year I spent a small fortune because I failed to cancel my biggest loser account...what a rip-off!


I must confess that I am devising my own eating plan.....a little bit of calorie counting, a lttle bit of an old WW blueprint....I like to think of it as a customized eating plan.

For instance, I like my fruits as snacks, not as part of a meal...so I divide my plate 50% veggies.....25% protein and %25 starch/whole grain carbs.


Well, just wanted to share a bit of what is working for me, for now. Today is my Day 10....woo-hoo....onto the next wave, but as I wrote, I am sticking with the wave 1 plate diagram.


Looking forward to some wine.....but may save it for Thanksgiving...as I am feeling good!

best wishes,
thinkerbell

Thanks so much for sharing tinkerbell.

I honestly don't mind the lack of white flour. I do find it difficult changing my family. They are fighting me pretty hard with the bread and pasta. I finally purchased my own bread and pasta! I love it, but it's becoming a huge drag cooking two pots of pasta. I slip in whole grain anything whenever I can.

I know what you mean about it not being a diet. I really like the plate separation. So easy! Although, my doctor wants me to keep track of my calories -about 1200/day- which is coming out just perfectly! It's amazing! (Well, maybe not!)

Great idea about signing up for the 5 weeks minimum I may just do that.:)

Congrats on getting to Wave 2 and enjoy your wine!
Ninfa

I like the little food journal and the meal planner on the web site. I use both of those quite a bit but you can certainly do all of that on your own for free. I just like the convenience of it. Also, this forum has not been very active and they have some support there as well. A group of us have a Christmas challenge going on over there. I am participating in that. If this forum were more active, I might be inclined to give it up.

Ninfa, you should try cooking the Barilla plus pasta for the whole family. I have a hard time believing your family would actually be able to tell the difference.

Petra,

I got lost on the forum over there......what's the name name on the Christmas challenge thread? Maybe I can join?

BTW, can I make a confession? I had a huge slip last night.....and night-eating is my problem. I was taken over by a bowlful of shells and sauce that I had made for my DD.....I thought I could resist! My excuse is that I got my period..and I have noticed that carb carvings usually go up then....oh well!....I am back on plan today.

Ninfa,
I know what you mean about the 2 pots of pasta....and 2 pots to clean! But I think we are worth it! and maybe one day, our families we be on board....until then, I'll keep on making the 2 pastas.

best wishes,

petra,

I keep getting an error message when I try to find a pal or go to the mbs...did you have any problems with this?

thanks,
thinkerbell

yes, they did some kind of maintenance on the sonoma website last weekend and it hasn't worked right since then. The Christmas challenge thread is on Wave 2 I think you can visit wave 2 message board even if you are still in wave 1-at least other people have figured out how to do that.

Thinkerbell-wanted to give you an update on the recipes I tried.
The chicken, hummus, pita sandwiches were good. I used rotisserie chicken to make it even easier. The oven baked cassoulet-not my style. I'll eat what I have but don't think I'll be making that again.

I have some pork chops in that curry marinade right now. Plan to have those for dinner tomorrow night.

sounds delish! Petra

I made some split pea soup with sweet potatoes and an awesome salad....I splurged and bought walnuts and sunflower seeds. I broke out my george foreman-like grill and grilled some chicken breasts.

Still have not had the wine though....I guess I'm saving it for Thanksgiving!

I so want to be in Onederland by the New Year....5 more lbs to go!

OMG....I read her note about green tea and found a very yummy green tea with mandarin orange pieces by Lipton....I just love it....I've even been making a cold tea out of it with lemon....lots of water and anti-oxidants!

woo-hoo!

thinkervell

I made my pork chops tonight (couldn't do it last night for some reason) with indian spiced couscous (a cooking light recipe) and green beans and a glass of wine. OMG! Unbelievable!

Sounds yummy.....how did you make the pork chops?

Did you use whole grain couscous? If it's not too difficult I would love the recipe or a link to the recipe.

I am stuggling big time today! I feel exhausted....I really have upped my exercise this past week and thought I should be feeling better....but I feel so bodily tired and I'm afraid that I start to think about eating as a way to feel better. This is one of those danger zones....just trying to be aware and making it OK to have a rest day.

thinkerbell

The pork chops are a Sonoma recipe so you can get that off the website. It might be in one of the books too. I cooked them on my George Foreman grill instead of outside because the weather wasn't good.

Yes, I used whole wheat couscous. I particularly like this recipe because it only makes 2 servings and I live alone.
1 cup water
1/2 cup dried fruit bits (such as Sunmaid)
2 tsp light butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp tsp cinnamon
dash of ground cardamom
1/2 cup whole wheat couscous
3 tbsp thinly sliced green onions

Combine first 8 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in couscous; return to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low; simmer 2 minutes or until water is absorbed. (I just turn the heat off and wait 5 minutes-that works just as well)

Remove from heat; add green onions. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff before serving. Yield 2 servings.
Calories 241, Fat 2.7 g, Prot. 6.5 g, Carb 50.3, Fiber 6.4 g. Sodium 186 mg.

Hope you feel better Thinkerbell and hope everyone has a happy, sonoma friendly Thanksgiving.

I have to tell you guys how excited I am this morning. Friday is weigh in day for the Christmas challenge on the sonoma board. I lost several lbs this week which I'm excited about but more importantly I'm below 220. I have not been able to get below that number no matter what I have done for nearly a year! It has just taken some consistency for going on 3 months now and slowly but surely it is coming off! I can actually feel my clothes getting looser.

woo-hoo for you! It is exciting when those numbers start to budge! and loose clothes too!

It does feel so good! Credit you!

I'm recovering from Thanksgiving...had a little too much wine! and too much stuffing and I feel it today. But I drank lots of water, went for a walk and had salmon for dinner....so I am getting back on track and I'm calling this Back Friday! LOL!

Really want to be in Onederland by the New Year....I downloaded that John Mayer song on my i-pod to keep me motivated....Your body is a wonderland!

thinkerbell

Hi, everybody! I'm new here but, sadly, not new to trying to lose weight! My 3rd child was born 2 1/2 years ago. I was down to what I weighed before I got pregnant with the first one, but not in the same shape. Also, I've been about 30 pounds overweight since I was in college.

Anyway, I'm just finishing day 7 of wave 1 on Sonoma. I'm getting a little burned out on the cooking, cooking, cooking so I'm looking forward to being on Wave 2, which is a little more flexible. I made it through T'giving by sticking to plan all day until dinner, when I had a little bit of everything but only filled a 9" plate once. I kind of figure that for this plan to work for me I'm just going to have to accept that sometimes life is a little more complicated (I also have one kid who does gymnastics and one who does hockey). My own challenge with this or any other plan is that I'm allergic to citrus fruits. I'm okay with strawberries and a little lemon juice, but I'm pretty sensitive to orange and grapefruit. Also, if I don't have a plan, I tend to snack too much and gravitate toward sugar.

Congrats on all the progress so far! I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Can I join; I got about 60 to lose...

The more the merrier. Please, join right in. Hasn't been my best weekend but I've been doing some meal planning and think it will get better.

Inafog-welcome. Congrats on just about completing wave 1. I don't think the citrus fruit thing should be much of an issue. Dr. G is pretty big on grapes and berries but not so much on citrus except to cook with. It is challenging to do this plan without doing some cooking. I don't have kids so typically I can cook a couple times a week and eat left overs for several days. Maybe you can find some recipes that work well in large quantities so that you can have left overs (slow cooker recipes work well for this). There are a lot of recipes at the top of this forum as well as the ones in the book and cookbook. Wraps and salads work well as things you can throw together quickly for a meal but probably don't work well for a whole family-might work well for your private lunch.

I'm also really big on one dish meals like stir fries or grain salads or soups so I only have to cook one dish and it is an entire meal for several days. I hope that gives you some ideas to work with and make this a little more manageable.

Tinkerbell, I took your advise and joined sonoma for the five weeks. It's a great help with recipes! And yes, I will make the 2 pots of pasta...for now.

I am shocked at Petra, though ;), saying that I should trick my family with the Barilla??? (Watch me! I'll let you know what happens!!) And congrats to you Petra! Awesome!

Also, welcome & good luck to inafog and snowbunny!