Heard about the Suzanne Somers diet but not sure what its all about?

This guide is for you.

Heres all youll ever need to know about the Somerize diet to get started, plus the four key dos and donts to keep you right on track.

What the Somerize is all about

Lets get some facts straight first.

The Suzanne Somers diet is a low carb, high fat and high protein diet. In general this means:

• No starchy carbs
• Most of your carbs will come from green things
• No sugar (e.g. processed sugar, maple syrup, agave sugar)

The Suzanne Somers diet is defined by specific combinations of foods.

For example, the diet focuses on Pro/Fats which is a protein/fat combination but also carbs, fruits, and vegetables.

These are eaten only in specific combinations, for example:

• Fruit is only eaten by itself
• Carbs are only combined with vegetables
• Pro/fats are only combined with vegetables

Whats the bottom line?

It helps you balance your meals without having to deal with counting calories or rigorously tracking portions and food types.

The second defining factor of the Suzanne Somers diet is the two-level system.

Level One is all about eliminating the high sugar foods from your diet. For example, you might cut out the extra sugar you put in your tea, or switch from orange juice in the morning to lemon water. This level is where you actually lose weight.

Level Two is where the Suzanne Somers diet is unique. Most diets focus only on losing weight.

Not the Suzanne Somers diet.

Level two is all about maintaining your new weight levels.

The same rules apply, but the focus shifts from cutting foods out to eating a healthy balance of foods. Level two also includes some indulgences like red wine and dark chocolate.

You might be wondering:

How do I do it?

Lets get on to the actual dos and donts of the Suzanne Somers diet.

Do eliminate Funky Foods

The Suzanne Somers diet includes a list of funky foods. Basically, foods youre not allowed to eat when youre on the level one of the diet.

Most of these foods are self-explanatory, but there are a few that could catch you out:

• Yogurt and most dairy
• High starch food
• Caffeine
• Alcohol

The goal with getting rid of these foods is that these are all things that cause your insulin to spike.

When your insulin spikes, it causes your body to convert glucose (sugar) into glycogen, which it then stores like fat. This process is called the glucose cycle.

In in order to reverse that, you need to convince your body that its ready to convert glycogen into glucose, which only happens when your blood sugar levels drop below a certain point.

Its a lot harder to go back once youve for glycogen in your body. Best to avoid putting it there in the first place.

You might be wondering:

How are you going to cut out all of that?

Its not actually so hard. The diet gives you plenty of tips and recipes you can use to keep your diet kosher and interesting.

Do eliminate alcohol

We know that we just mentioned it, but it bears repeating:

At level one, no-alcohol is an absolute must (unless youre using it in cooking).

Why?

Because alcohol is actually extremely sugary.

The fermentation process needs lots of sugar to feed the bacteria or yeast thats causing the fermentation to happen.

For example, beer has an extremely high level of sugar because the yeast thats used in the fermentation process needs lots of food in order to ferment enough to carbonate the beer.

As with most things, this process has intensified with the industrialization of the beer industry, which ferments at a much faster rate in order to maximize production.

Dont skimp on your pre-carb fruit

One of the easiest (and most tempting) rules to break on the Suzanne Somers diet is the fruit before a carb rule.

It works like this.

The Suzanne Somers diet argues that its best to eat fruit beforea meal rather than with it.

Why?

Because fruit is extremely acidic, it can interfere with your digestion.

However, if you eat fruit before you eat a carbo or pro/fat food, the additional hydrochloric acid will actually help digestion.

Dont forget to keep your portions in control at level two

After the Draconian restrictions demanded in level one to reach your target weight, its easy to get carried away with the freedom of level two.

(quick reminder: at level two you start to combine food groups like carbs and pro/fats and begin to eat controlled amounts of funky foods.)

This can be slippery slope.

Its easy to get carried away and assume that youre still in control, one of the most common mistakes of weight loss.

Not to sound paranoid

But you will have to continue to watch your diet even at level two, perhaps even more than at level one.

Because its a lot more tempting to cheat when youre allowed to cheat a little bit.

Heres the bottom line:

People under-estimate how much they cheat, and tend to remember the non-cheating days more.

This will lead inevitably to weight gain.

To avoid this trap, write down your cheats when you do them, so you have a good idea of what you ate and when.

Conclusion

The Suzanne Somers diet is among the most popular in the world. The simplicity of separating foods into different categories, the cornerstone principle of eating until youre full, and the progression to a maintaining stage all make it extremely appealing. It will help you get the body you want and a lifestyle you enjoy.

Have you got a great Suzanne Somers diet story? Wed love to hear it! Let us know in the comments below!