Hi!

My name is Jenn and I am getting ready to start the Sonoma diet next week. I have been on Weight Watchers since Nov and finally got tired of counting points and all that! It worked I lost almost 30lbs on it but I got bored. I wanted to try something new and will be doing this with hubby and MIL.

Has anyone had alot of succes on the diet? How easy is it to follow?

Thanks so much!

I've had a lot of success so far on this diet...I wrote a post a little ways down but I've already lost 13.2 lbs. in just under 2 weeks! The diet is really easy to follow because you're eating a ton of delicious foods and once you go through sugar detox (which is easy if you're super-motivated!) you won't even want sugar. I went through the detox then got a cold last week, and I even went so far as to buy sugar-free medicine to make myself feel better!!

I would suggest buying the book. The stickies at the top of the forum provide a good starting place to get you through the first couple days, but the book is really wonderful, for recipes and for tips in almost any situation.

Good Luck to you and your hubby and MIL!

I'm also a whole-hearted supporter. I've been on the diet for almost 2 weeks, and I've lost about 7 pounds, and about an inch and a half. I find it verey easy to follow, but thats because I love to cook and I love the foods on this diet. I've found on this diet, though its not a whole lot different from how i eat normally, I feel much better, I'm not just motivated to stay on the diet - I'm actually disgusted by the old foods I used to eat! I have no desire to eat lots of sugary things, no desire for potatoes, or white rice, or white flour things. I sort of find it fun to make my old favorites into Sonoma Friendly recipes. I am definately not the same person I used to be as far as eating habits go. I feel like this diet was made for me. Good luck, check out the stickies and see if you think you'd like it, and definately ask questions!

Thanks so much!! I am looking forward to it!! I have the book and haven't had alot of time to read through alot of it. I will thought I am sure!

I am new here and to the Sonoma Diet. I have been trying to follow the diet as closely as possible, but am struggling with the cooking part...I leave the house very early in the morning and don't get home until late. Does anyone have any ideas for QUICK Sonoma friendly meals?
Thanks!

Although I just started Wave 1 today KCMayrie, I am a busy person too, with a 32 hr/week job and being a full time student. So for todays lunch I made it the night before and put it into a tupperware container to heat up at school. (Diced tomatoes, sliced mushrooms and a small chicken breast with plain hotsauce)

I hope this helped!!

-Lesya

Many people cut up vegetables and pre-cook chicken breasts or some other lean meat on weekends to save time during the week. I try to cook a little extra at dinner and have the leftovers for lunch. There are some very quick recipes in the book, and some of the salads and the wraps can be thrown together fast if you have veggies and meat ready.

Good luck!

Hi all, I've been on the diet for about 2wks. I have had a loss of 11lbs so far. I'm very excited about this diet. I do exercise at least 30min 4-5x a wk and every other day about 10-15min of weight training. I have also lost inches too.
I have made some awesome meals. I know it's hard when you go to the store regarding buying fresh vegs, sometimes it's cheaper to buy more. I have par cooked many different vegs and froze them in individual containers. I always keep sliced up green/red peppers,celery,cukes and zuchinni sticks in my fridge. Also strawberries. I work at night so I take vegs w/ hummus or 1% cottage cheese.
I highly reccomend(sp) the Roasted eggplant w/ roasted red pepper salad, it is awesome! Schezwan shrimp,great meal! the Marinated flank steak (I used London broil it was cheaper and just as lean,just marinate longer) I then used the left overs for the steak and blue cheese wrap.
last night I made the Beef and mushroom kabobs w/ grilled zuchinni and summer squash w/ a small spinach salad and strawberries. I was stuffed! And the greatest of all is my family ate it too!
I'm glad I found this forum
Carrie

Some suggestions you can try: I make a lot of brown rice at once, and then freeze the bigger portion and leave enough in the fridge for meals each night for a few days. I also cut up all my onions garlic and peppers the first day I get them, then freeze any that will last me more than a week. I'm a big fan of frozen veggies (and fruits) especially brocolli and cauliflower mx - i just bring some in a bowl and zap it in the microwave. I try to make enough meat each night for dinner for my leftovers for 1 or 2 more days (sometimes more, depending on what I cook). Then I'll either have leftovers, or I'll make a quick wrap the night before, for my lunch. Cutting up all your veggies at once saves a lot of time in the long run!

I do 95% of my cooking on weekends, so everything either has to freeze or keep well in the fridge during the week. I make my work lunches for the week, put in containers, stick in the freezer. My breakfasts for the whole week are made, and in the freezer/fridge. Yup. I've even frozen my oatmeal. My dinners are the same way. The only thing I may not make "all the way" are things like stir frys, but with those I'll stir fry the meat and get the veggie chopped so all I have to do is toss it in the wok with the veggies and boil some udon or something.

Ziploc bags, individual containers are a really good investment IMHO

Planning and preparation si the key to success with any plan!

I've found that for really quick meals, fish and shrimp are definitely my friends. I've posted a few recipes in the recipe section, and if you've got your veggies pre-chopped, they really take no time at all to make. Also, the Mediterranean Chicken Couscous recipe I posted is really fast if you have some pre-cooked chicken on hand. I often make that with deli roasted chicken to save time. And as I mentioned in another thread, I make huge pots of soup so I can freeze at least half of it.

At work, I make a lot of wraps. I buy spring mix and pre-cooked chicken strips. Throw that in a whole wheat tortilla along with some other chopped veggies (if desired), shredded low-fat cheese, and salsa or dressing. Very quick and easy.

Jeri

It helps me a LOT to decide what I'm cooking and get the chopping done. With this kind of eating, that's 80% of the work. It's also helpful to get the sauce mixed up or whatever. First off it helps me get through the afternoon without snacking to know that lovely meal awaits me when I get home and then you can cook quickly when you arrive and be done in time to get some exercise in later.

I don't like to fix too much ahead - I find about 3 servings is right, one for now and one for lunch tomorrow, maybe one for dinner 2 days from now. Any more than that and I get bored with things.

I would like to try making up several servings of oatmeal and reheating them in the mornings - not that it's hard to do or even takes that long but it's a pan to wash an it seems like it would work well. Going to try that next week.

And then berries - I like to buy a mix, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries - clean them up and mix them and have enough for a few days. They are such a treat and nice when you can just dish them out. I slice the strawberries vertically into pretty slices and in a crystal goblet, they are wonderful.

Also having good luck with the yogurt creme, or yogurt cheese or whatever where you take plain nonfat yogurt and strain it over a sieve and a coffee filter. Add vanilla and a bit of sweetener and it's fab layored with the berries and a sprinkle of toasted almonds. Also great with dill and cucumbers mixed for a quick salad.