Sonja Bakker diet
based on 4 reviews
Be aware: this is only the goal of this diet, not necessarily its outcome. Results vary from person to person. Consult your doctor or dietician before starting this (or any other) diet.
Sonja Bakker has written quite a few books. Most of them are diet books, but there are also some recipe books. The first book (‘Reach your ideal weight’) is from 2005 and the most recent book ‘Streetfood with Sonja’ is from 2020.
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If you follow the Sonja Bakker diet you stick to weekly menus. Any day in the weekly menu consists of 3 meals with a (limited) number of snacks. The menus are low in fat and calories.
On the homepage you can compare this diet with other diets.
Because the weekly menus are low in calories, the diet (or method) is considered to be a crash diet. A crash diet is a diet with a (very) low intake of calories with the goal is to lose weight in a short time period.
In the first book the menus contained about 800-1000 calories a day. In later books, this is increased to between 1000 and 1400 calories a day. You can read more on daily caloric intake here.
The book 'Achieve and maintain your ideal weight' states that women can lose about 500-800 grams and men about 1-2 kg per week with this method. In the later books, such as Bella Italia, the goal is to lose 1 kg per week.
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Consult your doctor or dietician before starting this (or any) diet.
Below an overview of the published books by Sonja Bakker.
The first book from 2005 contains 9 weekly menus for men and for women. The 1st weekly menu in the book can be found here.
Besides the weekly menus, a number of basic rules are mentioned for following the menus. For example, you should drink enough water and you should have no more than 4 light soft drinks a day.
The second part of the book contains 8 weekly menus and focuses on oriental cuisine and vegetarian recipes. The book also contains self-help assignments.
In 2006, a variant of the first book was published for children aged 4 to 18: Reach your ideal weight for children and teenagers. The book contains weekly menus and recipes for different age categories.
The third book by Sonja, ‘Achieve and maintain your ideal weight’, contains a 12-week programme. The first 8 weeks are aimed at losing weight, again on the basis of weekly menus. The last 4 weeks focus on maintaining the right weight.
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Summer slim with Sonja, the fourth book, contains 4 weekly menus and 25 recipes. The book is aimed at losing weight in the run-up to the summer. In this book the prices of the products are taken into account so that the recipes are not (too) expensive.
This book by Sonja contains 8 weekly menus and recipes for special occasions, such as festive 3-course meals, brunch or high tea. This edition also contains recipes for vegetarians.
The first book in the series ‘Achieve your ideal weight for the whole family’ from 2012 contains 8 weekly menus for the whole family: for men, women, teenagers and children.
The second part contains, just like the first part, 8 weekly menus for women, men, teenagers and children. The menus focus on losing weight, but also on healthy eating.
The third part also contains 8 weekly menus. The theme of the book is 'Losing weight is having fun’. The recipes focus on responsible eating and tasty meals.
Volume 4 has a 'Step by Step' theme and contains 8 weekly menus.
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The most recent part of the series, ‘Slimming Together with Sonja's World Recipes’, contains 8 weekly menus with recipes from Mediterranean countries, North America and Asia.
The book ‘Winter slim’ is a collection of 41 individual recipes to use during winter.
Bikini proof with Sonja came out in May 2017 and contains a 4-week programme to lose weight quickly before the (summer) holidays. The goal of the programme is to lose 1 kg per week. Please note that this is the goal, not necessarily the result.
At the end of 2017 the book ‘Bella Italia’ came out with Italian recipes and 8 weekly menus for men and women. The goal is to lose 1 kg per week. Note: this is the goal, not necessarily the result.
Slim Smarter with Sonja came out in 2018. This book again contains 8 weekly menus and focuses on budget menus.
Summer proof with Sonja was written in 2019. The book contains 16 recipes.
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The most recent book by Sonja is ‘Street foods with Sonja’. This book contains 8 weekly menus with oriental dishes and stir-fry dishes.
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As you see fit
Sonja Bakker can help you lose weight reasonably fast. In terms of calories, I think the books are more suitable for women than for men; as a man I would rather go around 1800 kcal to lose weight sustainably. If your energy intake is too low, there is a risk of losing muscle mass, among other things, and that does not make you fitter and makes it difficult to maintain your weight. The books are useful to teach regularity in eating patterns because of the prescribed weekly menus and meal times. Not all products are equally healthy, snacks like egg cake mainly provide empty calories, while some nuts, raw vegetables, high-fibre cracker with cheese spread provide vitamins and minerals and contribute to overall health.
At 800-1000 kcal, this is a strict diet. With an intake below 1200 kcal, it is difficult to get all the necessary vitamins and minerals. It is recommended to use a multivitamin tablet with this diet if you want to follow this diet for a longer period of time. This diet is useful for the people who find it difficult to make healthy choices, as everything is literally listed in the weekly menus. The disadvantage is that not all the products used are equally healthy. Think of egg cake and gingerbread. These contain quite a lot of sugars and little dietary fibre.
Method helps lose the weight especially in the beginning. Latest books in collaboration with Lidl, also based on products sold by this supermarket. Can make you feel hungry, due to the low calorie content. Over time, more difficult to maintain. Also, not all products listed in the weekly menus are healthy. Mainly the snacks like egg cakes.
I personally find Sonja Bakker's advice very strict. You eat less than 1500 kcal and this makes you really hungry and at risk of nutritional deficiencies. The weekly menus are very handy and the SAS day is also a real plus point.
With the professional help of a dietitian it should be easier to reach your goals. Please contact a dietician in your area or talk to a doctor before starting any diet.
Please take note that most diets do not have a scientific basis.
Consult your doctor or dietician before starting a diet, especially if you have a chronic condition like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, lung disease or kidney disease.
If you think you might have an eating disorder (like anorexia or bulimia), it is important to look for professional help. Contact your (house) doctor or find help elsewhere. Here you can find a list of several websites that can provide (online) help. These sites also provide information for people that know someone with an eating disorder.