They already have a website up like South Beach. Its at http://www.sonomadiet.com. The cost of the program is $5.00 per week. I'm not sure about that one yet. I'm already on Ediets and may use their meditteranean diet to start.

I've not picked up the book yet, just read the article in BHG Diet magazine I picked up yesterday. I love the mediterranean foods anyway and have Mediterranean diet cookbook. It has some really good food in it.

I also like the idea that on Wave 2 I can have a glass of wine with dinner. This is important since I'll be opening a wine bar/gourmet food store in 2006 in Charlotte.

Amy

I signed up for the online service to see what it was like. It's owned by the same company that operates the South Beach online service. When you register, you have to prepay, so it's $65. The menu generator is nice, but there's no more info on the site than what is in the book, for a fraction of the cost. I agree, the eDiets med diet may provide all you need with their menu system, and it would be easy to tweak if necessary.

I went to sign up for the one week free usage that is advertised in the book, but you cannot get that unless you enter a credit card, which they won't change until the free period is over. That just makes me nervous, so I didn't do it.

One interesting thing.. their site shows a healthy BMI range is 20-27, rather than the normal 20-25 I've seen in most places. Yes I agree that the BMI is not a completely accurate measure of health, but I find it interesting that their range was slightly different.

Wish for $5.00 a week someone would come cook my meals. THAT I could go for!

I didn't get the week free, they dinged my cc right away I went to the url in the book, but who knows what happened. I signed up the day the online site opened.

Linda, one of my dreams (maybe a pipedream, lol) is to start a service where we will actually cook your diet meals and deliver them to you There are several sucessful companies around the country that do just that, but not in my area.

Back to the online service, I don't see anything there that isn't in the book, other than the meal planner. At a glance, it even looks like they offer the same recipes as are in the book. There is a forum, but we have that here for free

This just looks like another of the endless clones of Sugar Busters, South Beach, etc., to me ... sorry, but I just don't see anything that new.

The basis is the Mediterranean diet, which isn't new. It's been around for many centuries. But the way it's laid out is very similar to South Beach, etc. I guess there are only so many ways you can teach people to pay attention to what you're eating, and many diets do seem repetitive in that way. I think it offers more food choices, which may help some people stick to it better. If you don't enjoy your meals, and you walk away feeling deprived, then you won't stick to it long. There are several small differences between each of the diets, but sometimes it's just something small that makes a person dislike a particular diet. If someone tried South Beach (etc) and couldn't stick with it, then they may have better luck with this diet. We all have to keep trying until we find what fits us best.

I appreciated the review on your site home page and I love Med. food. One question for anyone who has read the book: Were there any studies cited in the book suggesting this plan offers success under "controlled" conditions? Did it compare to other plans or to doing nothing?

Thanks!

Hi... Just my two cents worth.. .My doc is greek and he always touts the benefits of a mediterrian diet.... I have several forms of arthritis and is always after me to change my diet .... This diet helps people with many different health issues to get better... I have several books on the med diet also but I think I will get the sonoma book too.. I use fitday to enter my calories and foods for the day.. I f ind that keeps me accountable too... Happy New Years all.... India

I've been looking at the mediterranean diet for the new year. The Cute Boyfriend has high blood pressure and my family has a ton of heart disease. The mediterranean diet sounds like an excellent choice. Only problem is that I haven't been able to find a lot of guidelines for it. So, this might become a good second choice.

I'm a huge fan of Dr. Weil, here's his thoughts on the mediterranean diet:
http://www.drweil.com/u/QA/QA342569/

Well, I agree this looks like a good plan ... didn't mean to sound negative, just meant that I think there's no magic bullet in this weight loss journey, but having a plan helps. I'm a believer in the benefits of wine ... it's my family's business, actually, though I personally don't drink alcohol.

In my humble opinion the book is great but the website leaves a lot to be desired.

The upsides of the diet are: very healthy and deliecious if you like Mediterranean cuisine.

Downsides are: A LOT of cooking. I cook as both a neccessity AND a hobby so that doesn't bother me. Another downside is the website. While the plan itself as outlined in the book is very simple, the website is not easy to navigate and there are some glitches which have not been worked out yet. Another downside is that many of the foods allowed are expensive.

Actually, all anyone really needs to know is the simple diet as outlined in the magazine article (I think it was Family Circle--can't remember right off hand) and the list of foods for Wave I and Wav II. There is a little laminated tear out tri-fold page in the very back of The Sonoma Diet book that summarizes the entire program and that is all you really need to do the diet.

I plan to cancel my online account at Sonoma Diet and try to get my money back.

Oh, by the way, I did lose 5 lbs. so far since I started the day the book came out--Dec. 27th.

Hi Everyone,

I post on the Jorge Cruise board, but I've decided to try the Sonoma Diet. With JC, you can eat just about anything - it's more about portion size and timing. I ordered the book from the place recommended on the 3 chicks homepage article. However, I just saw it at Sam's for $13 something.

Even though the Sugar-Buster clones are all mostly the same, I sometimes need something "new" to get me back on track.

Lynn

I agree, Lynn, sometimes it just takes a little something new to get us interested again. At least that's how I am. There are a lot of wacky new diets coming out, but this one seems more balanced and should be easy to stick to.

Buffybear, congratulations on the great start! I have to agree, the official site isn't offering a whole lot for the money. Everything can be found in the book for a fraction of the cost, except for the meal planner. However, I've noticed that several people on their forum are complaining about the meal planner and recipes, apparently there are some technical glitches with it. I normally would understand that sort of problem on a brand new website, but their site is owned by the same company that runs the official South Beach site and several other similar sites and it uses the same type of system. They should already have the kinks worked out.

Suzanne-don't hold your breath. You're going to like what I have to say about this book. I've read a ridiculous number of diet books. I think somewhere around 16 at last count and this is a good one. The science/nutrition is impeccable. What I think this diet offers that the other books don't is STRUCTURE. That is a real problem with both Southbeach and Sugar Busters. Sugar Busters has to be one of the most unstructured programs I've ever read. I believe the forum here can compensate for the lack of structure in the South Beach book but if you didn't have that you might have trouble figuring things out on your own (how much of what to add back when.) My criticisms of the Sonoma diet book are very minor and really not about the plan per se.

There are only 2 diets that have real scientific proof of benefit to health BEYOND weight loss--particularly to heart health. Those are the Dean Ornish plan and the Mediterranean Diet. The Dean Ornish plan has been shown to actually reverse coronary artery disease but only if you follow the entire program (leading to some question about whether or not it is the diet that is responsible for this effect. There is some speculation that it is actually the meditation portion of the program that is responsible. Ponder that for a minute.)

The people who live in the Mediterranean region of the world and eat this diet as part of their culture have some of the lowest rates of coronary disease in the world which is what caused interest in the Med diet in the first place. There are numerous studies which show it reduces the incidence of coronary disease and reduces the risk of a second heart attack in people who already have coronary disease. Sorry if I'm telling you things you already know, but for those who don't know why this might be a good plan to consider, these are some good reasons. And all this is coming from someone who doesn't follow either of these plans--just knows her science.

I agree with you and I appreciate your opinion I tried Ornish, because I do have heart disease, but it was to difficult to stick to. So I tried Ornish'ish and did well for a while, but still couldn't live with it. I've always been intrigued by the Mediterranean diet and was disappointed when our Med diet forum didn't take off. But I think the Sonoma Diet will more than make up for it.