CathyM Weight Loss & Health Blog

I love the food. I LOVE the food! It’s healthy, lots of produce, good protein too. The only negative is that it takes a long time to prepare. The lunch menu required as much preparation as I normally put into a dinner. It was good though, black bean chili and spinach salad. Dinner was steak salsa, brown rice, and broccoli with lemon and dill. Breakfast was steel cut oatmeal, the kind you cook for half an hour. The snack was celery with peanut butter.

Yesterday I tried to prepare by purchasing most of the food for the week. I am on Wave 1. This portion of the diet is the most restrictive and does not include fruits. They are added in Wave 2. It does include lots of produce, lean meats or fish, nonfat dairy, and high fiber whole grain breads and cereal. The online site lists the menu for the upcoming week and has the ability to change meals or add or delete (if you’re eating out or other reason). The flexibility is great. It automatically generates a shopping list and from it you can check off the items that you already have and then shop for the rest. I wanted to get a jump start last night and wanted to find a recipe to use the lean pork chops that I had. It was easy to search for pork and select from a great list of recipes.

Another part of the program is the online community. I introduced myself and saw that there were a few others starting today as I am. It seems like a nice group.

Tomorrow is New Years and I do plan to modify the diet for the evening. That will take some planning.

Time to get a jump start on the New Year’s resolution! I decided to give the Sonoma Diet a go. I like the idea that it encompasses healthy food that you prepare yourself and allows for some wine! Just the ticket for me. I shop at the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays, so I will join the program this morning and after I understand the food plan, head to the market. I have to say that The Sonoma Diet website is beautiful and gives a quick overview but really not too many details of either the diet or the cost (at least I found it hard to find them) without joining. I searched the web a bit to find more details. For that reason, I think it is useful if I start by giving some information about the sign up process.

We start with an entry of weight and target weight along with gender, height, and age. Should I give my short term target or a longer goal? Hmm, I think I’ll go for the longer goal which is a 20 pound loss. The next page is some more history about dieting. I like their slogan, “Food, Wine, and Weight Loss!”. There are a number of free newsletters to subscribe to. I will try several of them, I am sure that there will be an unsubscribe option if they turn out to be too much. Now we have a quick calculation of Body Mass Index (BMI). Yes, mine is high. Now it’s time for “Sign Up Now!” and we find out that the cost is $5 a week. That really isn’t bad, in some ways, it might be too low, not enough to say “I paid so much money I better stick with it.” But money isn’t my motivation, I need to loose the weight and I love to eat healthy food and drink wine so let’s go. I am told that for my $5 I will receive a customized daily plan, recipes, meal planner, registered dieticians online and onlinecommunity and support. There is a note that there is a 5 week minimum, that seems fair to me. After joining, there are now 3 more special offers. The first is an upgrade for a very minimal amount of $ for personalized diet coaching and a recipe book. I decide to take it. The next option is for customized vitamins, I decide to pass on that one. The next offer is for the Sonoma Diet Cookbook, although it’s a good price, I can get a great price on Amazon as well so I pass on it.

Finally, “Welcome to The Sonoma Diet online program, where meals are meant to be celebrated.” Yes! The diet author, Connie Guttersen, has great credentials and a welcoming introduction! The next step is to set up my profile. Most of the information is already filled in from the original weight and height entered. I get the option to enjoy a glass of wine with meals on Wave 2 (guess that means I can’t have any to start).

Now we get to the tools. There is a checklist and pledge. There’s a hint about the food here: whole grains, fresh produce, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products. That’s all good to me! There is a meal planner and yes it allows changes, that’s good! My meals start tomorrow and they look fabulous! There is a shopping list, I can uncheck everything that I have and print the list. I am very excited!

Gotta go now and pick up my produce – cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, eggplant, green beans and lots of herbs!

P.S. To find out more about The Sonoma Diet, visit their website:

Or, if you’re not interested in joining a program, find The Sonoma Diet book at Amazon for a great price:

The Sonoma Diet: Trimmer Waist, Better Health in Just 10 Days!

An update on my experience with the PureVision Multifocal contact lenses. Even though they were originally uncomfortable to wear, I chose to stick with them because the silicone hydrogel lenses allow more oxygen to get to the eye. My eye doctor had observed blood vessel growth in my eyes and the growth went to trace after wearing these lenses for 6 months. The health of my eye is worth the price of the lenses and taking the time to overcome the discomfort. I have setttled into using Opti-Free Daily Cleaner to clean my lenses. This is a daily cleaner that requires rubbing. It seems to be helping to remove the lipid and protein deposits that were causing my discomfort. I am not sleeping in them regularly but think that I will be able to do so when the contacts are new and clean.

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