Customer Reviews

Suzanne Somers' Get Skinny on Fabulous Food

5 star:		(191)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

This book had a lot of the same information as Suzanne Somer's other book on Somersizing "Eat Great, Lose Weight", however, this book has some updates to the original book as well as many more wonderful recipes. I originally started the Somersizing program after hearing that it could level out hormones. Having had two diseases that related to an imbalance in hormones, the idea that this program could balance out my hormones was the big draw. I did have some weight to lose, but that was not the major incentive for starting this program. After 10 weeks on the program, I never felt better in my life. I'm menopausal, but my hot flashes and night sweats have diminished to almost non-existent. I'm eating well and plenty and have so much energy. Oh, and I've lost 19 pounds to date. Some of my friends also started the program when I told them how well I was doing. All have had good results so far. One friend, who is diabetic, is amazed that her blood levels are the same all day. There are no more drastic spikes. Food combining can be a little tough to understand in the beginning, but once you master it, it is not that difficult to maintain. The main problem is the way that we have been conditioned here in the United States to eat over the years (pizza, white pasta with meat sauce, hamburgers, meat and potatoes and chemically altered foods that sit on the shelf for years). I highly recommend this way of eating to anyone who wants to feel healthy and slim down.

I learned about this diet in the proverbial check-out line in the supermarket. Having tried several "high protein-based" diets, I thought this one might be on the right track. I literally drove straight from the supermarket to the bookstore and bought the book. And I have been enjoying weight management while eating fantastically ever since. (And I DO love to cook and eat! Why not! ) I was "Somersizing" and maintaining 125-130 lbs. (I'm 5'6") before having two beautiful children in the last two years. After our first baby's birth, I lost 40 lbs. in 4 months, and I've lost 50 lbs. in about 5 months following our second baby's birth, all the while confident and relaxed that it would work and it has. All of her delicious recipes work, they're simple but tasty, and I cannot think of one food I can't eat on the diet, except that you must avoid high-glycemic carbs (potatoes, white flour, a few other foods) and substitute whole grains, etc. You also must avoid sugar especially at first. Later, on Level II she shows you how to modify your desserts to fit the diet and use a little sugar. I've written Suzanne myself to thank her for the first diet that ever really worked for me! And I've tried Atkins, Protein Power, Carbohydrate Addicts, Scarsdale, G-Index, and low-calorie/low-fat (yuk). I urge you to try it if you are the least bit interested. It really works, and has taught me how to stay fit and trim with confidence, and without counting any calories or working out like a madwoman.

Just started somersizing two weeks ago but already have lost 9 pounds. I purchased Suzanne's Eat Great, Lose Weight and was so impressed with it I was tempted to rush right out and buy the second book Get Skinny on Fabulous Food. However, I decided to give the food combining a try first. Well, not only do I love it but it truly works. This method defies traditional thinking and seems miraculous. The thing I dislike most about other "diets" is the work involved. Counting grams, calories, points, always having to keep track of something! But this is bliss, so easy to follow. I only developed a weight problem while going through an early menopause but have not been successful in losing and keeping the added pounds off. I'm 49 and am now 30 pounds over my desired weight. I'm hopeful this is the key.

The recipes are healthy and delicious and I LOVE the fact I do not have to restrict oils and butter, especially in salad dressings and sauces. The Blue Cheese Vinaigrette is to die for.

So a huge thank you to Suzanne for sharing her research and knowledge with the rest of us.

This was my first diet. It's my last one. It's not a diet, but a lifestyle.

The concept of food combining has helped me get back to a healthy weight. I started at the beginning of July. It's been eight weeks and I have lost 23 pounds. It's still falling off. The principle is this: starch, sugar & caffeine give you false energy. If you eliminate them, your body finds alternate sources of energy: your fat!

The energy source, being consistent (at least in my body) provides continual power to your body, so you don't EVER feel tired. In fact, I'm never "wiped-out" anymore, and I'm rarely tired enough to sleep. And I rarely exercise, though I stand and walk all day in my teaching job. I lost weight quickest on this diet when I walked twice a week.

The second principle has to do with food-combining. No proteins with carbohydrates. See the book for details, but I'll just say this. I feel like this diet is a "healthy" diet. My sister in law was on the Atkins diet, lost so much weight. But I never wanted to go on that diet, since it seemed *WRONG* to not have grains in your diet and to pork-out on meat.

Suzanne's diet also allows fruit, where the others say you cannot have fruit. The book is written so personally that when you've finished reading it, you feel like you KNOW Suzanne personally. At least I do. It's chock-full of photographs of her family, her grandbaby, her daughter, etc.

Someone reviewing above said it's good for the short-term. I disagree. When you reach a plateau, trick your body by eating just fruits and veggies for a week. You'll begin to lose weight again, then go back to somercising.

You'll enjoy reading the book. And I'm sure you'll lose weight.

I started Suzanne's plan Thanksgiving 1999. The first week or two was a little bumpy because I had to keep going back and reviewing food combos because my thinking was so low-fat program oriented. Once I got how the combining worked, the weight started coming off quickly. Before getting on the program, my weight heading toward the 380 pound mark and getting to the point of needing a cane to get around. The pain from arthritis and a ripped knee was excruciating. 83 pounds have come off and still going. No more arthritis pains. I am able to walk up and down stairs now. In the beginning, I could only go up one step at a time with both feet. I plan to lose 140 more pounds and with this program, can do it. But just to be pain-free was worth following the plan. There was a 4 week point in February when only 3 pounds came off, but stuck with it and the weight started coming off again after the plateau. Don't give up! You can do it! I am 50 years old, and have been on countless diets. A few years ago, I lost 92 pounds,on a low fat program, but it took a year and a half to lose it, and was hungry all the time. With Suzanne's program, I am not hungry. (I call it a food program, not a diet because I don't feel like I am on a diet). After a while you won't miss breads and sweets. Now I look at those foods and realize all the chemical junk made me so miserably obese. Now I see sugar and white flour as being something I am allergic to like an alcoholic would be to alcohol. Try the program, if you really follow the combinations this program will absolutely work. 83 pounds in 7 months has made me have a positive outlook again.

On June 1, 1999 my husband (47) and I (46) started somersizing. Although a bit skeptical at the beginning, we felt the only thing we had to lose was pounds. In 4 months time I lost 33 lbs. (reaching my goal) and my husband lost 30. (My husband is one who works out regularly, but I never seem to find the time to, so I have not). We both became instant walking advertisements with everyone wanting to know how we did it. Even more important than losing the weight, I was overwhelmed by the way I felt. I slept better, I had more energy, but more importantly for the first time in my life I WAS ABLE TO CONTROL WHAT I ATE INSTEAD OF IT CONTROLLING ME! I have never been able to do that before. The best part of all is when I went for my annual checkup in November, my blood work had improved tremendously from the year before. The lab technician wanted to know what I was doing! My cholesterol dropped to 189 and my triglycerides to 61. My good cholesterol was high(good) and my bad cholesterol was low. They told me I had an excellent blood report! Suzanne does and excellent job not only explaining how to eat to lose weight but also HOW it works. I re-read the book several times. Once I fully understood HOW it worked, I was able to read labels and find other things I could eat, as well as modify my own recipes. So many of my friends now are doing it and we are constantly sharing ideas of new things to eat. Eating this way has changed my life for the better. Thank you Suzanne Somers.

Friend at work was raving how she was losing weight, feeling good, etc. I bought the book (she told me to go to Amazon.com) and started new way of eating on 8/28/99. Only had 10 lbs i wanted to lose, but when you are short waisted and over 60, that represents a big roll around the waist. Took it slow and easy and before the end of the year I had lost 14 lbs, went from elastic waist size 12 to nice size 10 clothes, tucked in blouses. Stay away from funky foods most of the time, except Sat nite eating out is my Treat Night. Usually sour dough bread.My cholesteral went from 220 (while eating tons of "low fat" food) to 204 fr the first time ever. Even though I eat real butter, etc. My husband lost 20 lbs and looks great. The book is easy to understand -- P.S. Did not start the bread or funky foods until i reached my goal. it is easy to stay on level one when you watch the pounds melt off and the roll of fat disappear!

As a cardiac nurse,I am appalled by the saturated fat overload of the Atkins diet, so I was skeptical of Suzanne's plan. I was pleasantly surprised by the reasonableness of the plan which does incorporate carbs - complex and fiber rich, as well as plenty of fruits and vegetables. I was impressed enough to buy the book and found that by skipping my normal half bagel and coffee breakfast for wholegrain cereal and skim milk, I didn't fade by mid morning. Likewise, tuna or chicken on lettuce and spinach with caesar dressing at lunch rather than just yogurt - left me feeling better and less deprived. While I still cringe at butter and bacon, I find her use of olive oil and moderate dairy use to work well. I'd compare this diet to the ADA in many aspects and it certainly teaches better habits than the other fad diets out there.

Started the program in September and was shocked when I stepped on the scale the day after Thanksgiving. The program works. But ladies I warn you, your breast size will shrink along with the rest of you. I'm not hungry at all. No more bloating after meals. I have replaced Nutra Sweet with Stevia (liquid)just as Suzanne suggested. they now can be found at GNC, and switched to decaff espresso (no more heart palpitations).I have rediscovered my love for vegetables and eat more in variety than most vegetarians do. I eat better now than ever before. Started cooking more at home with those fabulous recipes. I have 5 more pounds to go before I'll consider level two. For those of you who aren't losing with this program make sure: that you are cooking with the right oil (corn oil is a big no no), make sure sauces and salad dressings are on the side just in case some sneaky sugar found it's way in. An alternative to gravy and salad dressings for vegetables and salads are salsas (without sugar or corn starch/syrup) and hot chili oils. Also what to snack on in between meals? A quart of bottled water. Two quarts a day meets the minimum daily requirements. Excercise 2-3 times a week (remember you want to be fit not fanatic) and the weight will melt off. A sugar free chocolate is made by the Belgian company Guylian It's like 80% dark chocolate (comes in milk chocolate also).

Can someone answer this question: Is the green plantain (starchy not sweet) considered a fruit or vegetable? I had fried green plantains with roasted chicken and green salad last night, and did not get bloated. E-mail me.

A great diet for the way people really live. I had lost weight on the high carb diets (50 lbs) years ago, but the weight slowly crept back as I slowed my exercise and ate whatever I wanted. This book which basically preaches eat your carbs and protiens seperately, (but is very restrictive on the kinds of carbs you can eat)is overall very simple to follow. I started Nov 1 and now have lost 22 pounds. I sometimes go off it a little bit on the weekends, but if you adopt this as the way you usually eat, it will work for you. I also do the treadmill walking 45 minutes daily, which will make the big difference for the long term.. Bottom line: all diets work, but not all diets are easy to do long term..this I believe is the easiest diet for people who realize unless a diet works with the way people really live, it will eventually fail. The recipes are great, but you can pretty much prepare food the way you always have till now and do fine.