BOOK REVIEW FROM DIET-BLOG.COM

The California Wine Country Diet:
Honest Help

The California Wine Country Diet, by Haven Logan, is the real deal.

It's a book about weight loss and weight management that actually covers all the bases. It makes no false promises, no eye-catching claims. Indeed—the book's cover is more like a coffee-table wine book than a glitzy diet book. I suspect there has been a deliberate choice not to embellish the book with hype.

Despite its unassuming cover, the Wine Country Diet contains a wealth of material. In some ways it's a shame that the title has the word "diet" in it, as the contents are so much more. Obviously the name is there as a pointer—this book is about weight loss—but diet makes up only one part of a much larger puzzle.

"... this program is not a weight-loss program primarily, but a lifestyle program. So, as you read each example, be aware of how easy it is to slip back into the "old model" of dieting for a while and then returning to your old habits." (p. 61)

I read the Wine Country Diet after re-reading the South Beach Diet. Quite frankly the South Beach Diet (despite some of its sensible advice) seemed brief, shallow, and faddish compared to the Wine Country—where the advice is every bit as rich as the recipes are!

Five Aspects
Author Haven Logan addresses 5 primary aspects of weight management.

• Nutrition
• Physical Activity
• Practicality
• Pleasure
• Relationships
• Variety

Each of these aspects are addressed with depth, and a real understanding (that obviously comes from Logan's background in psychotherapy). Most books cover nutrition, pay some attention to exercise, and leave it at that. However for many, this is not enough—and therefore they will try diet after diet.

Conscious Indulgence
One concept that stood out to me is that of conscious indulgence. Rather than eliminating foods that you really enjoy—conscious indulgence is a responsible way of allowing these foods in moderation. I've seen this principle work—when my wife decided to eliminate her favorite evening snacks—it drove her back into obsession, and on the edge of disordered eating. Now she has learnt to eat these same ('unhealthy') foods (but in moderation) and to get enough physical activity during the week to balance the equation.

"When you wake up in the morning, wouldn't you rather have one piece of exceptionally tasty raisin-walnut whole-wheat bread made by a local bakery than suffer through two pieces of reduced calorie bread that taste like cardboard?" (p. 241)

Isn't this like the Sonoma Diet?
The Sonoma Diet was published a month after the Wine Country Diet and is backed with a significant amount of marketing dollars. The books bear similarities, but the Sonoma is very typical of many popular diet books—it has lots of padding. The Wine Country diet has real depth and attention to detail in comparison.

Recommendations
I highly recommend this book to those who have been "on" and "off" diets, and those who keep trying the next thing, in the hope of finding the answer. This is not a book for someone who is a little overweight and has decided (for the first time) to trim down - but rather for those who have been up and down the "yo-yo" a few times.

As in all self-help books—we must take the best advice, apply it, and leave the rest. There is no single prescriptive solution for every person. For example, the concept of weighing and measuring food is anathema to some - if this is you, then you must rapidly learn to be a good estimator of food portions. The Wine Country Diet talks a lot about practicality - which in some ways is more important than any magic macro-nutrient ratio. For example, if you eat out every day - then good nutrition is going to be a real challenge.

"What do I need to accept about my (home environment, work environment, lifestyle) in order to be successful at weight loss and weight management?" (p. 67)

The California Wine Country Diet by Haven Logan, Ph.D.

• A section with meal plans (based loosely on the 2005 USDA Dietary Guidelines, but with a lot creative Mediterranean flair—the foods are very similar to what I enjoy eating).
• A section with more practical recipes, and a section with chef-style recipes garnered from restaurants in the California wine region (for cooks only!).
• Extensive guidance regarding exercise (aerobic, anaerobic, and strength training), practicality (finding what works in your real life), relationships (support or sabotage?), pleasure (yes, it is okay to enjoy food!), variety (learning to pursue adventure).
• Learn about choosing and enjoying wines (although the book makes it quite clear that pure water is the best drink of all).
• All 368 pages are well-filled (making it difficult to provide a concise precis of the book!).

The book is available at Amazon.
The authors website can be found at:
CaliforniaWineCountryDiet.com