If you have not traveled to Sonoma Valley (in the state of California) yet, make sure that you go there and spend at least a week. It is a great vacation destination for couples if you enjoy good food and wine and want to take a break from the hustle and bustle of a large city.

And so it was no surprise that someone would come up with the Sonoma Diet. And that someone is Connie Guttersen. This diet is balanced and takes a common sense approach to eating and living. In the book that provides most of the details of the diet, the author promises that if you follow this diet as recommended, you must lose several inches from the waist in mere 10 days.

I find that several key elements of the Sonoma Diet are somewhat already known, for instance, the elimination of processed foods, refined flours, and sugars. The Sonoma Diet actually has a lot of similarities with South Beach Diet but it offers more choices when it comes to carbohydrates. So if you have not tried the South Beach Diet yet, you must definitely look at this dieting program as an option.

It is also a good weight loss program if you have not been on any diet for some time. The book also has some excellent cooking recipes and generally good advice for a healthier lifestyle, even if you do not follow the program religiously.

We had reported earlier that if you want to lose weight and stay healthy, one simple thing to do is to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Now there is additional evidence that a vegetable-rich diet can help to reduce blood pressure. In an article published in the medical journal Archives of Internal Medicine, the researchers from Imperial College in London do not fully understand the reasons but the speculate that amino acids or magnesium may be the key factors.

So should you give up your meat? Not yet. There is no strong evidence in this study that meat consumption does any harm. In other words, it is best to eat a balanced meal that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. While some of our readers have found that raw diet does wonders for them but I know that as long as you do not overcook the veggies, you should be able to get most of the nutrients.

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Oprah's diet and weight loss secrets

We have already talked about Oprah's boot camp diet and in this article let me share some more secrets of her dramatic weight loss (and great looks). At 50, she looks great, and some of you think that she may be looking better than ever. Oprah has shared her story with her viewers and O magazine readers many times. Based on my research, these are the main points of Oprah’s weight loss program:

• No white stuff. She calls "white stuff" refined flours, potatoes, and sugar. These are very common ingredients in processed food, especially in breads. However, Oprah is not saying that she does not eat grains; she has said that she does eat whole grains.
• No alcohol. While a glass of wine does not hurt but Naomi Campbell recently said that she too attributes her beauty to not drinking alcohol.
• Portion control. She has said that she used to eat a whole box of croissants, but now she is more careful with the size of her portions.
• Stop eating after a set time. Oprah does not eat after a certain time. Doctors also recommend that three to four hours before sleeping, we should stop eating. According to famous trainer, Bob Greene, people who eat after dinner most of time do it for emotional reasons. If there is a lot of food in the body that just sits there when you are sleeping, it results in weight gain.
• Water. Drink lots of it.
• Fitness routine. She has become very athletic in recent year. She had run the Marathon before the weight loss, and even now her routine is very strict and rigorous and includes strength training, cardio, and Pilates. Bob Greene created her fitness program and it is a straightforward, no-nonsense program. This program does not include the Pilates routine, which Oprah seems to take in another place.

Will this weight loss program work for you?

Probably! It is a faily simple and common sense program. The key here is discipline and motivation. If you can find the strong motivation inside, you will find the will power too.

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