Available as a series of books, the Suzanne Somers Diet is created by television celebrity Suazanne Somers and involves a reduced carbohydrate diet with focus on food combining.
Basics of Suzanne Somers Diet
This diet is categorized into two main phases.
Phase I
This involves aiming for weight loss by eliminating funky foods” like sugar, white flour, honey, maple syrup, carrot, avocado, banana, sweet potatoes and more. Other foods to be avoided include nuts, whole milk and yogurt.
By avoiding these high glycemic index foods, you can maintain stability of blood glucose levels and burn fat easily. Also, food combining is to be done by dividing food into 4 groups – proteins/fats, carbohydrates, vegetables and fruit.
Food combining is undertaken as follows:
• Always eat fruit alone and on an empty stomach.
• Combine vegetables with fats and proteins (no carbohydrates).
• Combine carbohydrates with vegetables (no fats).
• Wait 3 hours between meals of different combinations.
Under this program, dieters are encouraged to have frequent small meals and at least three meals a day. Phase I recommends avoiding alcohol and caffeine intake.
Phase II
This phase emphasizes weight management. Moderate intake of red wine and chocolate is allowed in the diet. Occasionally, dieters can deviate from perfect food combining like adding olive oil or cheese to pasta.
Regular Exercise
Somers advocates aerobic exercises thrice a week but does not lay emphasis on regular exercise.
Pros of Suzanne Somers Diet
- There is no need for calorie counting or portion control.
- The risk of dietary boredom is reduced by the variety of foods allowed.
- Healthy fruits and vegetables consumption is emphasized.
- High quality protein is recommended for muscle building and metabolism.
- The official website has an online community with free access.
Cons of Suzanne Somers Diet
- This diet is very strict in terms of meal timing and food combining.
- Meal planning guidance is not available.
- The concept of food combining is not supported by clinical studies for proving its effectiveness in weight loss.
- Some highly nutritious foods like nuts, banana, yogurt, pumpkin, carrot, avocado and sweet potato are eliminated from this diet plan.
- The program does not lay emphasis on exercise and the psychological factors involved in weight loss.
- Dieters may gain back the lost pounds once they go back to their old lifestyle and take high carb foods.
Suzanne Somers Diet Conclusion
With an overly simplistic approach, this diet program fails to recognize the impact of an entire meal on glycemic load. However, the Suzanne Somers diet will certainly help dieters in losing weight and improving digestive function as it reduces the tendency to overeat.
