Can you imagine yourself basking in the sun while enjoying a plate full of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats? In between each portion of food or meal you are sipping a glass of fine wine, aware of your location surrounded by hikers, bikers, and small slopes scattered with olive trees?

Well, whether you can or not this is the scenario offered by one of the latest diet programs available. The Sonoma Diet by Dr. Connie Gutterson is a Weight Loss Plan that promotes the healthy flavourful eating style of the Mediterranean and Sonoma Valley, California. However is all this self-promotion, self-marketing illusions to attract customers, or will does it actually work?

This article answers this question by detailing the Pro's & Con's within the Sonoma Diet to help prospective dieters determine whether the program will suit them.

-SIMPLE:

The Sonoma Diet is extremely simple for dieters to use. There are no formulas to calculate as with the Weight Watchers Program, and no counting grams or calories daily. Rather plate and bowl sizes are used for portion control.

-EMPHASISE THE POSITIVE:

The emphasis of the Sonoma Diet Program is on what you do eat rather than what you cannot eat. Although the program does still have a list of forbidden foods that dieters are supposed to avoid.

-SAVOR THE FOOD:

There is focus within the Sonoma Diet on eating slower and savouring food. This is punctuated by healthy use of fine wines with meals after the initial 10-day period. By using tasteful recipes meals are enjoyed, and by slowing down dieters prevent over-eating.

-NUTRITION:

The Sonoma Diet has a strong nutritional component, promoting dieters eating a number of phytonutrients and antioxidants. This is key for the diet as it is based on nutrition not starvation. The dieter remains healthy and keeps their metabolism rate at an effective level.

-WHOLE FOOD EMPHASIS:

Emphasising wholefoods in the diet and very few processed foods helps dieters with health gains as well as weight loss.

-STRUCTURED DIET

There are definitely several weight loss programs and diets out there that lack a prescribed structure for their participants to follow. One of the Sonoma Diet's strong points is their step-by-step guidance, however this is obviously a personal choice of each individual.

-LACKS FLEXIBILITY

An analysis of the diet proves that majority of Wave 1 menus only offer around 950-1100 calories for women, and 1050-1300 for the men. Once you get to Wave 2 diets are only given an extra 200-300 calories. Now while this is going to be effective in weight loss, it is difficult for people to live by. People will be starving within the first week and over a long term this isn't sustainable for most dieters.

-LACK OF GUIDANCE WHEN HUNGRY

Given the hunger levels that some may experience during the Sonoma Diet there is a lack of instruction on what to do and what to eat when hungry.

-LIMITED SIZES, PARTICULARLY VEGETABLES

Compared to most other diets, the Sonoma Diet has a extremely controlled volume of food, particularly when it comes to vegetables. The lack of vegetables available may be unintended but people will generally experience a shock when it comes to the amount of food they can consume when sticking with the portion sizes of the Sonoma Diet.

-FORBIDDEN FOODS

By emphasising wholefoods the Sonoma Diet is doing a great job at providing dieters with nutrients. However the number of forbidden foods doesn't leave dieters with that many alternatives or substitutes in terms of sugars, fats, etc. This may be difficult for dieters to handle.

-LACK OF CARBS IN WAVE 1

In many diets the risk of carb crash exists. However the Sonoma Diet is designed as a low carb diet and has no means for managing this risk, which may occur in the diets first phase, Wave 1.

In concluding it is clear that the Sonoma Diet offers both positives and negatives for potential dieters. It is important for each individual dieter to way up these issues in terms of their own personality and make a decision that suits them personally. If you like a structured diet with a focus on flavours, health and well being then the Sonoma Diet is for you. However if you need a greater level of flexibility and food consumption an alternative might be recommended.