'Sonoma Diet' Captures A Lifestyle

Author Connie Guttersen On Weight Loss Plan Detailed In Her Book

(CBS)  "The Sonoma Diet" promises to help you lose weight and stay healthy while eating plenty of satisfying and flavorful foods.

What's more, asserts Connie Guttersen, the Ph.D. and dietician who wrote the book of the same name, "The Sonoma Diet captures the lifestyle of Sonoma (Calif.). It's about a healthy way of eating where you're enjoying meals, often with a glass of wine.

"But it adds a weight loss component," Guttersen told co-anchor Julie Chen on The Early Show Wednesday. "You know, flavor is part of health, and it's actually part of losing weight successfully. … And when you're eating nutrient-rich foods that are flavorful, you're more satisfied and you're not going to be hungry.

Guttersen calls her diet "a celebration of food. There are no foods that you're not going to be able to have on this diet. It's a lifestyle. The Sonoma Diet isn't about deprivation. It's a celebration of foods that becomes a way of eating for life. You don't want to go back to what you were doing before."

Guttersen names ten "power foods" that pack a nutritious, flavorful punch.

Among them, whole grains: Not only do they contain fiber and nutrients that are going to sustain you with energy and keep you satisfied, but they are very important during weight loss.

Another power food? Almonds, which Guttersen describes as "a healthy type of fat for your heart that also keep you from getting hungry in between meals.

Yet another? Olive oil, a "heart-healthy fat."

Not to mention fruits and vegetables loaded with antioxidants and flavor, specifically, grapes, tomatoes, blueberries.