I admit it. I'm a foodie.

I love food. I don't just love eating in expensive restaurants either. I am a die-hard chef wannabe. I can spend hours preparing a meal and (gasp!) be in a fantastic mood when I sit down to eat.

I love wine. Oh my, wine and me go together like wine and chocolate.

So I'm going to give this plan a whirl. I'd love to hear some other people jump in on this and tell me their experiences. Or if you're just starting with this, join in on the conversation.

Glad to have you on board, Jessica. It will be fun coming up with new recipes to share with each other.

I've been on the Med diet for years and have been reaping the benefits, so the Sonoma diet is familiar territory. Jessica, I noticed you mentioning a family history of heart disease in another post and completely understand why you picked this to try. My father died nearly twenty years ago from heart troubles not related to his diet, but still it sensitized me to the importance of taking care of the heart. It has greatly improved my cholesterol numbers which is what my inital goal was.

One thing I really like that hasn't really been discussed yet is how the plan does stress the need for exercise!! In my life, exercise is not optional... I fit my life around my exercise.

Straight from the book:
"On the Sonoma Diet, you should do some exercise from the very beginning of Wave 1"

Dinner tonight- a chicken pesto (homemade tofu/spinach/broccoli/walnut pesto) with zucchini or spinach over whole wheat pasta. Now I need to go cook.

Yay, I'm glad you are joining us! I'm a foodie in training I'm looking forward to trying this, though I may not stick to it 100%. (long and boring story). But I love roasted vegetables, seafood, salads, and the flavors of the Mediterranean.

Jessica, LindaT knows good food. She's shared a lot of good recipes in the past

I'm like Suzanne, I want more veggies and fish in my diet. Now to learn about wave 1.

Teach me oh great ones

Looks good to me. Quantity would be my problem, especially with wine. I have a Christmas Gift card which I'll use to get the book once it's available here.

Happy new year!!

I am thinking of trying the Sonoma Diet and would like to join the group.

There are certain things that I just cannot give up, including chocolate and wine. I've been losing steadily (some pounds, more inches) over the past several months by exercising and eating better. I'd like to rev up my fat loss and think this could be a good plan for me.

Like Goddess Jessica, I love good food and wine; eating is truly a pleasure for me. Like LindaT, my initial motivation for eating better and exercising was to improve my blood pressure and cholesterol so I definitely plan to continue exercising and I am very interested in eating as healthy a diet as possible, meaning little to no processed foods.

I will probably start Wave 1 tomorrow or Tuesday; need to go out and find the book today!

Sherry

Hi- could you post your sample menus? I'm waiting for the book to be shipped by Amazon and want to try and understand it properly. I've been doing SB (not very well over the last 3 months) and need to kick start myself.

Sounds very exciting!

Hi Clareh,

I don't have my book either. I'm sure there's a ton of issues with posting things out of the book online as well. I can tell you what I had to eat today!

Breakfast:
Fiber One Honey Clusters w/skim milk

Lunch
Greek Salad with shrimp and feta

Dinner
Salmon with Dill Sauce and Asparagus

Snack
Yet another bowl of the cereal because I needed something sweet and they say no fruits in wave 1.

I also had two cups of decaf tea, a bunch of diet pepsi and a ton of water.

I walked two miles with the dogs and AB.

Sounds gorgeous! Sorry if I didn't make myself clear before- I wasn't asking anyone to post anything from the book. It's very rare that I ever follow menus exactly (as there are always substitutions etc..) so am interested to see what people actually eat.

Looking forward to my book arriving by the end of the week!

Hello everyone... I am also waiting for the book right now... That wont stop me from starting a weight loss plan but I plan to switch over when it comes..I am going to try the broccoli recipe tonite along with some Tilapia, which is a nice, mild white fish... I just cook it in the microwave with some herbs and white wine... yummy... maybe a sweet potato with it also...My biggest challenge is cooking for my grandkids who think you should order take out on a daily basis... yikes!! needless to say... I have lot of trouble with that kind of pizza and many other kinds of fast foods.... Good luck all..... India

I as well am eager to try the Sonoma diet. My husband IS a chef and we LOVE food...love love love it. I also may be German in heritage (along with the thighs to prove it) but I'm Greek at heart! I love everything about Greek food and living. So, after I had done my research about which plan I wanted to try (Zone...never been good at math! South Beach...love my breads too much!) and figured the Mediterranian diet would be awesome. Then, right before Christmas I saw the Sonoma book at the grocery store and was instantly hooked! I can't wait to go pick it up and really work it to it's fullest. Until then, any suggestions to get me jumpstarted? I know it says no refined white sugar in the first wave...for breakfast I had a half of a banana and 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt (full sugar, that's all I have at the moment unfortunately). But, that's more breakfast than what I normally have.

I am looking forward to menu ideas and recipies...I'm so excited to be able to eat on a plan that fun to live with!

India: I love Tilapia! That sounds so yummy for supper tonight, but my husband is home and we'll see what the CHEF cooks He is also going on a weight loss challenge through his job, but it doesn't start until the 16th, and so until then I think he plans to induldge as much as he wants. I understand about the fast food thing with the kids. My mother-in-law used to watch my girls, who my oldest is 2 and is highly impressionable even at her young age! My m-i-l would get McDonalds every morning for breakfast, and then she would get it for lunch as well! And then she wonders why her diabetes is out of control and why she needs insulin and why she is going blind...it's so sad. But I said from the start that I never wanted my children influenced that fast food is acceptable for everyday meals. I don't want to deprive them of the treat every once in awhile, I'm not that strict, but every day?!? Yikes!

Starting today.
I too have been on every diet. BUT...So tired of it!! I love food! The food that is offered in this book is FOOD! Wonderful and Glorious FOOD! Everything I like to feed my body. I'm so tired of the quick fix. I want to live and eat well to promote health. If weight loss is a fringe benefit than cool! My body and mind loves to exercise so that's going to be a welcome friend again. Been in a rut. Attempting to redefine myself. I guess it's that year away from 40 thing and/or that my oldest is graduating and my youngest will be entering school this year. Forever I was chasing this fitness quest that had a goal of being a babe. A babe in the eyes of society. Now I feel like..hey I am a babe. to **** with what other's think. Life is too short and I wanna live. I thought my Mom was peculiar at age 39 because she bought some leather pants and a porsche. Now I sorta understand that. Living life to the fullest seems to be at the top of my agenda for 2006. So eating well and exercising will only help me to be on top of my game. Not dieting. Plus dying to explore the gourmet in me. The Sonoma Diet and French Women Don't Get Fat are both appealing to me because the focus on quality over quanity. I'm looking forward to this cool journey!

I'm not an SB follower. I just wanted to say if you want to know what other people are eating, look around on posts and some people have their fitday journal as part of their signature. It takes some looking. I've also done a search on "my fitday." I look for eating ideas there as well. Also to compare calories, fat intake, etc.

Hello Everyone!

I have my Sonoma Book and have been following Wave One since Monday, 1/02. Am down 3 pounds today, and NO suffering!!

I lost 35 lbs with Suzanne Sommers about 3 years ago and all of it is back. I'm 55 this year and it gets harder with each yo-yo. The madness HAS to stop this time!!

I have followed the recipes in the book to a point, but like to mix and match ingredients too. I have fixed several meals "en papillote" (in parchment paper) and they have been easy and absolutely delish! HH (Handsome Husband ) has loved them as well! They mainly consist of whatever meat or fish you choose, drizzled with a little ex-vir olive oil & spices and veggies. The combination of canned artichokes, a few green onion slices, a couple of sliced black olives, whole fresh tomato slices, slices of yellow squash and zucchini make a fabulous meal with little clean up!