Good morning everyone! It's a holiday here in the UK, and I'm still recovering from my cold, so I'm looking forward to a relaxing day with some gentle exercise. I thought I would be retaining water this week because of being ill, but I psyched myself up to check this morning, and I've actually lost 4lbs - go figure! How is everyone else doing?

WOOHOO!!! 4 POUNDS That is awesome! I'm still holding steady after my fondue adventure last night, which is sort of amazing to me. Definitely not what I expected. I'm going to buckle down this week...I would like to be under the 130 mark when I get to the beach this weekend for labor day.

B: Kashi Waffle w/ Sugar free syrup
L: PB&J on WW, w/ sunchips and hummus
D: Healthy Chicken Parm (baked chx breast, smothered in tomato sauce, and just a little low fat mozzarella) BROCCOLI and maybe some whole wheat pasta

Thanks, Sarah! Good luck this week.

Yesterday:

B: Boiled eggs, ww toast, grapefruit
S: Ww crackers, mini goat cheese babybel
L: Quorn "chicken" salad, ww crackers, strawberries
D: Ww vegetable pasta bake with quorn sausages

Exercise: 50 mins walking, 30 mins Wii Fit - mostly balance games because of the cold, but as you can see, I'm beginning to have more energy.

I'm doing well so far, I had a huge NSV over a Coolata from Dunkin' Donuts yesterday. I'm eating out tonight but we're going to a Greek/American restaurant, so I should manage fairly well.

B: Kashi Waffle w/ sugar free syrup
L: PB&J on WW, sunchips, hummus and a string cheese (i was feeling like i needed a little extra fat today for some reason)
D: Thinking a chicken pita maybe with grilled veggies or turnip greens instead of french fries

Well done, Sarah! I have a lunch with the management committee at work today, and I have no idea what the caterers will be serving, so I might not do too well. We'll see.

Yesterday:

B: Ww toast, almond butter, banana
L: Salad bar, nectarine
D: Scrambled eggs w/ mushrooms and peppers, ww toast, grape juice
S: 1 dark chocolate brazil nut, mini goat cheese babybel, ww crackers

Exercise: 1 hr 50 mins walking

Down a pound

B: Kashi Waffle
L: PB&J on WW, sunchips, hummus, string cheese
S: Almonds, kashi bar
D: Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, Wheat Roll and a glass of Pinot Grigio

I feel like I look skinnier, but my weight went back to 133 this morning. I know I shouldn't get too caught up in what the scale says. I used canned broth in my soup last night, so I'm hoping that its a sodium thing. The soup was delicious though, and could be turned vegetarian REALLY easily. I posted the recipe on my blog.

B: Kashi waffle w. sugar free syrup
L: Bowl of wild rice chicken soup
D: Healthy chicken parmesan, spinach and WW spirals.

A pound here and there can easily be a sodium thing or something else causing water retention - I wouldn't worry. Good to hear you liked the soup - I'm looking forward to doing some cooking from my brand-new Sonoma Cookbook myself.

Yesterday:

B: Ww toast, peanut butter, banana.
S: Ww crackers, mini goat cheese babybel.
L: Lunch with our Management Committee, catered in-house so limited options. I ate a ww roll, a large spoonful of giant couscous (white, unfortunately) w/zucchini in it, and some ratatouille. That seemed a bit light on protein, so when they served cheese and biscuits, I had some brie and two wholegrain crackers (looked like rye or buckwheat, not sure which.) I drank sparkling water. Overall, a bit heavy on the carbs and a little fatty, but not too bad.
S: Nectarine.
D: Peppers stuffed with quinoa and lentils; green salad; grape juice.

Exercise: 1 hr walking, 15 mins yoga.

Up 2 lbs today - don't think my two off-plan meals were bad enough to cause that much, so probably water retention caused by insomnia. Gahh. Oh well, if it really is water it will come off again eventually!

Yesterday:

B: at my friend's house, so slightly off-plan but not too bad: Weetabix, full-fat milk, lovely Cox apple from her own garden
L: Quinoa salad made with leftover stuffing from the night before, nectarine
D: Ww pasta with leftover vegetables and a little cheese, grape juice
S: 1 dark chocolate brazil nut

Exercise: 50 mins walking

Yeah, definitely water weight. I think mine was a sodium thing for sure, I made sure I drank plenty of water yesterday and I really watched the salt intake, and the number came back down. This weekend I'm going to the beach. I'm taking (homemade!) whole wheat blueberry muffins from http://www.skinnytaste.com/ and making sure to have my PB&J on WW for breakfast and lunch. I know we're going to be going out for seafood, so I have to be on guard. I know I can get the actual seafood prepared in a healthy way, but I'm a little worried about the sides, because they usually consist of a baked potato or french fries, and cole slaw. We'll see what happens. I think if I can keep lunch and breakfast on auto-pilot with things that I eat everyday I'll be alright, not that I'm planning on eating a potato!

B: Kashi waffle w/ sugar free syrup
L: PB&J on WW, sunchips, hummus
D: Going out with the in-laws, I'm thinking probably a steak salad

Have a great weekend! I may or may not be around until monday afternoon

Enjoy the beach! I must check out some more of the Skinny Taste recipes. They look awesome.

Yesterday:

B: Ww toast, peanut butter, banana.
L: Ww bagel with guacamole, red peppers and watercress (a bit too acidic for my taste, probably won't have it again); raspberries
D: Veggie "lasagne" made with ww tortillas (can't find ww lasagne sheets here, but this worked really welll as an alternative)

Exercise: 35 mins Wii Fit, 15 mins yoga

Yesterday:

B: Ww bagel, peanut butter, banana.
L: Greek Chicken Salad from the Sonoma diet book (but I replaced the chicken with quorn). Raspberries.
D: Tofu in black pepper sauce, brown rice, grape juice.

No exercise because I was feeling ill again :-(

Hello!

I am new to the Sonoma diet, just started today. I joined the Sonoma website but have found it lacking. I am waiting to receive my book. Any advice for a newbie?!

DeEnna

Welcome, DeEnna! Come and join us on this week's thread.

The main advice I would give is not to let the wealth of information in the book confuse you. Focus on the plate sizes and proportions of food you're advised to eat; the rest is useful, but less crucial. Even with the proportions, don't obsess - just try to get them approximately right and everything else will follow. And enjoy your food!