My book arrived today! I probably won't get a chance to start reading it till tomorrow, but I'm really excited to get started. I have a 45 min commute to my choir rehearsal tomorrow, so I'll start reading some of it then. I might post chapter summaries in this thread as I go along - would people find that useful?

I've already been trying to adjust what I eat a little based on what I've read online, and when I played Wii Fit at lunchtime today, it told me I've already lost 4 lbs! I realise the Wii isn't super-accurate, but I don't use scales - I don't feel like I need to be obsessively correct about this, and I find the Wii makes the weigh-ins that little bit more fun and less traumatic

(I also think I must have got the conversion from kg to lbs wrong when I created my profile, so I've adjusted that. I grew up with metric, so weights in lbs don't mean a great deal to me, except for small quantities in recipes etc.)

I would love to hear you chapter summaries! I will try to keep pace with you. Will you give me a heads up when you are reading the next chapter? This could be fun and very helpful!

Way to go losing 4 pounds!

It's a fairly quick read - I ended up reading introductory sections and the first two chapters before I went out to my meeting last night, and the next two-and-a-half chapters on my commute today. I'll start the summaries now and get a few done before I start making dinner.

Okay, so the new book starts with a "letter" from Connie Gutterson. She explains why she decided to write the new book:

• To incorporate some new nutritional info based on new research
• To introduce fruit into Wave 1 - she decided that eliminating it even for this short time was contrary to the spirit of Sonoma, as fruit is so full of nutrients
• To expand the section on exercise
• To address some of the reasons why certain people have difficulty with this diet, based on her experience of talking to them on her tours
• To expand the recipe collection for people with special dietary needs, e.g. people who have to eat gluten-free
• To add more recipes in general

She also says a little about her personal history and the problems that her father's dieting caused for the family. Nice to see a diet book author acknowledge that.

If anyone has questions, do fire away!

This is the first of the introductory chapters (chapters are not numbered.) The main points she covers are these:

• The Sonoma Diet is a lifestyle
• You don't have to buy any special "diet foods"
• You don't have to count calories or points or do a lot of measuring
• The Sonoma Diet isn't just about losing weight - it's about making you healthier and more energetic
• The Sonoma Diet is not intended to be either low-fat or low-carb
• The key to the diet is to rediscover the joy of eating

She also says a little about the Sonoma region itself.

Again, if anyone has questions, do ask!

This chapter continues the introduction to the diet, with some general guidelines:

• Eat slowly
• Eat with others
• Eat in a relaxed setting
• Eat with pleasure
• Eat mindfully
• Eat without distractions [our family is really bad at this]
• Eat wholesomely
• Eat seasonally
• Eat locally and sustainably [good to see this wider perspective in a diet book!]
• Eat with wine

(I'm allergic to alcohol, though, so I'm planning on substituting grape juice for the wine.)

She also says that because Sonoma is a healthy and enjoyable way of eating for life, it can be used even by people who are not aiming to lose weight - they can go straight to Wave 3. She reiterates that it is neither low-carb nor low-fat, saying that those kinds of diet are not satisfying and set up a contradiction between weight loss and health. Rather, it's about getting the right balance between different kinds of nutrients.

An interesting point I had not seen before is that apparently recent studies show that moderately high-protein diets aid weight loss by regulating hunger and blood sugar levels and enabling you to sustain muscle mass as you lose weight. I was pleased to read that, because one of the things I haven't liked about previous diets is that I lost strength in my arms.

She ends the chapter with a brief overview of the plate/bowl system and the three Waves.

Happy to answer any questions that anyone might have about the book so far!

Great idea...I have the older bk.but I'd like to follow along with the two of you as well...and any one else whose interested in this. Just let me know when you want to start. Choices~

I'm probably going to have finished it in a day or two, but I'm happy to go at your pace with the chapter summaries, Gina and Choices. Maybe you could let me know when you've got up to the chapter called "What is the (New) Sonoma Diet", and then I can post the summary for the next chapter?

I am ready, Pilgrim. I am not doing summaries--I plan on keeping up with you and throwing out my thoughts. I made the grilled tuna, quinoa, and minestrone front the book. The tuna was good (not great), the quinoa was different. I haven't had it before. I am going to have the leftovers so I will have a better idea then. The minestrone was great!

Choices, was the plate/bowl method in the first book? I don't remember it.

Happy 4th!

Okay, so here's the summary for the next chapter. The Sonoma Power Foods are:

• Almonds
• Grapes
• Beans
• Olive Oil
• Bell peppers
• Spinach
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Citrus
• Wholegrains

I believe citrus and beans are new additions compared to the old book, and the rest are the same. She goes through the benefits of each one. What was most interesting to me is that many of these foods have anti-inflammatory properties - always good for me because I have a chronic back condition - and several of them also have specific weight loss benefits, e.g. regulating blood sugar or the hormones that cause hunger.

She also says that grape juice provides many of the same benefits as wine, which makes me feel good about substituting it for the wine (I'm allergic).

Happy 4th!

You are right about the citrus and beans. The anti imflamitory foods are interesting to me also. I have a lot of sinus problems. My hope is to get a little help with the headaches.

I missed the info on grape juice. That is good to know.

I made another batch of soup for this weeks lunches. It was really good.

I am looking forward to your thoughts on the next section.

Hi, Gina! I also have sinus problems because of my allergies. Glad the info on grape juice was useful. I will try to post a new summary about once a day.

This chapter starts by again stressing the importance of enjoying what you eat. Then she specifically discusses the benefits of whole grains, vegetables, fats and proteins, with some tips as well. The main things covered by the tips are:

• How to read labels to make sure you're getting whole grains
• The Whole Grains Council symbols (this is US-specific, I think)
• Guidelines for bread (100% whole grain and at least 2g fibre per slice) and cereal (at least 8g of fibre per serving and less than 5g sugar)
• Different kinds of oats
• Varieties of rice to try
• Types of pasta to try (wholewheat, multigrain, soba, Barilla Plus - I don't think we get that one in the UK)
• Where to find sprouted grains (she lists six US brands)
• Substitutions to add wholegrain to your diet
• The best ways to prepare different kinds of veg
• Tips for flavouring your veg
• How to put together a satisfying salad
• Some specific tips for tomatoes
• Ways of adding flaxseed to your diet (I find it easier to take a supplement to take care of this, though)
• What to look for in chocolate (preferably 70%+ cacao) and baking cocoa (natural, unsweetened, not Dutch-processed which is treated with alkali)
• Types of fat to avoid
• How to make sure your meat is lean enough (not relevant to me as I'm vegetarian - can't digest meat)
• Getting enough vitamin D (you may need a supplement)
• How to use dairy on the diet (non-fat milk, naturally low-fat cheeses, low-fat versions of regular cheeses, or small amounts of strongly-flavoured cheeses for taste)

There's a lot of useful information in this chapter, although I think it will be difficult to remember what was in this chapter and what was in the previous one if I need to look things up, as they're quite similar in many ways. I have already used sticky labels to mark some pages I think I will need to refer to again. There's also an index, but I've found it isn't always obvious what word you need to look up to find what you're searching for. I wish there was a Kindle edition of this book so I could just search the text!

This is where Connie Guttersen really explains the detailed guidelines for Wave 1. She starts with a list of foods to eliminate from your kitchen (or put somewhere less accessible if you need to keep them on hand for other family members) and, on the positive side, things you should keep in your pantry. Then she sets out the nuts and bolts of Wave 1:

• Reduce salt - look for foots with no more than 140mg sodium per serving
• Eat slowly at least once a day
• Exercise regularly
• Breakfast should be a 7-inch plate with 75% protein/25% grains, or a 2-cup bowl with 50% dairy/50% grains
• Lunch should be a 9-inch plate with 60% vegetables/40% protein
• Dinner should be a 9-inch plate with 50% vegetables/30% protein/20% grains
• No more than one serving of artificial sweetener per day - avoid it altogether if you can
• No alcohol
• Only Tier 1 vegetables
• Drink water, coffee, tea, or sugar-free soda (no more than one per day)
• You can add three servings of fat per day to your meals (1 tsp EVOO, 11 almonds, 14 peanuts, 10 pecan halves or 7 walnut halves - the rationale here seems to be that those numbers of nuts will make up roughly 1 oz)
• If you are a large man and/or very active, you can have a snack between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner from the list on p.100 or from the menu plan (basically this seems to amount to a small serving of protein with a small serving of grain or vegetables). If you are a woman and not very active, you should keep your snacks to Tier 1 vegetables.
• You can eat a serving (1/2 cup or small handful) of Tier 1 fruit once a day - she doesn't explain this well, but from looking at the menu plans and snack lists, the idea seems to be that you can add it to any meal or snack in addition to whatever else is in the recipe.

I found it a bit frustrating that some of the explanations were not very clear, but if you study the chapter together with the menu plans it does become a bit clearer. I have a trial membership of the website at the moment, and I saw a comment from one of the dieticians that seemed to acknowledge they haven't really integrated fruit well enough yet. It's a shame they didn't sort that out before publishing the book, but perhaps their publisher was pushing for a tight deadline - the original US publication date was 4 January, so they may have been rushing to pick up sales from people making New Year resolutions.

Wave 2 is the main part of the Sonoma Diet - you stay on it until you reach your target weight. The differences from Wave 1 are:

• The lunch and dinner plate should now be 25% protein or dairy, 25% fruit, 25% vegetables, and 25% grains - so you will be eating fruit twice a day now.
• You can now eat one Tier 2 veg and one Tier 3 veg per day, or two Tier 2 veg, in addition to unlimited Tier 1 veg.
• One of your two servings of fruit can be from Tier 3 - the other one has to be from Tier 1/2 (these two tiers are actually identical in the new book). You can also have them both from Tier 1/2 if you want.
• Fat-free plain yogurt is now allowed.
• You can sweeten your Wave 2 recipes with honey.
• You can eat sugar-free sweets.
• You can eat one square of dark chocolate up to three times per week.
• You're encouraged to drink a glass of wine with dinner every day.
• There is a more varied list of snacks, although if you are active and have been eating the Wave 1 snacks, you will see less difference than if you have just been snacking on Tier 1 veg.

Everything else stays the same, including breakfast (i.e. either 75% protein/25% grains or 50% dairy/50% grains). Plate sizes also stay the same.