The Sonoma Diet is divided into three waves. Wave 1 of the diet is a 10-day period in which dieters are advised to dispose of foods in their pantries including refined flours, non-whole grains, hydrogenated and saturated fats, sugars, and any oil that isn't extra-virgin olive oil, nut oil, or canola oil. Fruits are also forbidden in this wave in order to wean the body from sugar.
On Wave 1, dieters can eat definite vegetables, lean meats, seafood, limited dairy, some grains, three daily servings of olive or canola oil, a small amount of nuts, black coffee, tea, and an unrestricted number of herbs and spices.
"The first wave is the most extreme, the most low-calorie," says Zied. She doesn't know how realistic it is for people to completely cleanse their cabinets from processed foods and sugars, especially if they have other people at home who are not on a diet. She begins to argue with Guttersen's advice about providing family members with only healthful foods such as whole-wheat bread and peanut butter in order to break them of unhealthy eating.
"It's too naive," says Zied. "I have cookies in my cabinet, but moderation is preached in my home. She sees the exclusion of fruit in any diet as a red flag, especially since fruits have a plenty of proven benefits. Clemens doesn't see this as much of a concern since fruit is only prohibited for 10 days.
Nevertheless, Clemens, Zied and Guttersen are of the same mind that Wave 1 of the Sonoma Diet will likely transformed into rapid weight loss. The amount of poundage lost will depend upon the certain person and how much weight he has to lose. On the whole, Guttersen says people can anticipate of being 2 to 5 pounds lighter around the waist in the first 10 days of the diet.
"I don't know anyone who's followed the program, but I'd be astonished if they didn't lose weight," says Zied. For most dieters, she would have preferred a few more calories on Wave 1, but she realizes that the fast weight loss may be a built-in psychological boost for the diet.
Zied gives a preference to Wave 2 of the Sonoma diet, which promotes more steady weight loss. In its turn Guttersen states that throughout this stage people can wait for loosing from 1/2 pound to 1.5 pounds in the course of one week.
"Wave 2 encourages a more sustainable amount of weight loss," says Zied. "I say, get rid of the gimmick, and just go to Wave 2, and that's giving you a basically healthy diet with some indulgences."
Wave 2 allows the same foods in Wave 1, but adds fruit, more vegetables, fat-free yogurt, some sugar-free sweets, an occasional piece of dark chocolate, honey, and some wine. Dieters are encouraged to stay on this phase of the diet until they reach their target weight.
On one occasion all the unwanted pounds are shed, a dieter can get going to Wave 3. This stage promotes the same principles of healthy eating in Waves 1 and 2 but recommends heightening servings of fruits and vegetables and indulging in an infrequent treat such as butter, dark chocolate, dessert, and soda. It also encourages more experimentation with different foods and different ways of enjoying meals.
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