Hi there!
I have been lowcarbing for 3 weeks. I lost 5 lbs initially. Gained a bit back and then lost a bit each week at a slow slow but steady pace.
My stomach felt great and I enjoyed the food with no psychological cravings at all.
Unfortunately, I did experience one side effect the first week that went away for awhile and then got steadily worse to the point where I have decided to come and do SS. I became incredibly irritable and depressed. I was short tempered and feeling very despondent. These are not feelings that I have ever had except without external provocation. And then never like this! And I awoke every morning with a vague migraine type headache and a feeling of anxiety and dread. Again, not my normal state all. And my hot flashes returned this last week, something that I have not experienced for years.
I read and thought and finally after reading SS latest book came to the conlusion the my seratonin level had probably dropped too low.
So I am following SS plan. A light carb meal in the morining and then pro/fats lunch dinner and snack and then later at night at least 3 hours later a fruit snack. I don't eat grains cause they don't agree with me (except for real occassionally some brown rice or buckwheat)
And I am veg and love dairy. I have food combined before but more a la Marylou Henner (veggie fats go either way)
SS recipes look delicious and I tried some and loved 'em.
So, I guess my question is will this work? It seems to good to be true! So much variety!
I just can't believe that I won't gain weight instead of lose it! What results has everyone been having? and so few restrictions?!!!
oh just one more question.... I drink a whey protein drink everyday. 22g protein and 2 g carbs. I drink it at lunch with a pro/fats meal. Does this sound acceptable?

thanks for you help!

Nice to meet you and congratulations on your loss! I'm sorry it's been such a bumpy ride for you thus far.

Yes, SS definitely works, even though the food tastes good. but SS also tends to be slower than Atkins. My first two or three weeks I went with nothing but pro/fats, which is pretty much an Atkins plan with the exception of the fruit snacks I had. I lost very fast (about a pound a day for two weeks) but noticed that I was extremely tired and irritable, I began spotting, which I have never done before, and all my female hormone related "side effects" were magnified. The fewer carbs I eat the worse it gets, so I have to be sure to keep those two or three carb breakfasts and lunches in there each week or I start having problems. Oh... and both my DH and I have had muscle cramps when we go strictly pro/fats, so we have to be absolutely sure to take our multivitamin and mineral supplement every day and we are careful to drink lots of water to stay hydrated.

I have read that areas where you may need to supplement are Calcium/Magnesium, Potassium, and the B vitamins (Defficiencies in B vitamins are often related to depression) in particular. You can learn more about that in the Nutrition and Supplements forum here. If you have any special health problems, kidney problems in particular, you should consult with your doctor about both your eating habits and taking supplements.

Did you say you were a vegetarian? Wasn't sure if that's what you meant when you said "I am veg" but if so then there is a forum for Somersizing Vegetarians on the SS site Http://www.suzannesommers.com Just look in the discussion section.

I have lost more than 20 pounds since I began Somersizing in January and my DH has lost 15 since he started at Easter. We stick pretty close to the plan, though we do "cheat" a little bit in terms of combining and the foods that are "funky" because of combining no nos. For example, we do snack on nuts sometimes and I will occasionally put them in my salads, and we like very low carb breads you can make from mixes or scratch where we're getting just 2 or 3 carbs per slice. We'll eat those with our bacon and eggs or some sugar free berry jam for a special Sunday breakfast. We eat berries with chocolate sauce and in LC ice cream too, because Suzanne has said that berries are an "almost" free food thanks to their low sugar content and becaues they are not very acidic.

Your shakes would be "funky" according to Suzanne because they are a combining no no. You are eating carbs with proteins, but this is a very small cheat and if you do well with it, I wouldn't worry too much. The trick is to keep track of the things you are doing that are not strictly adhering to her plan and then if you find you are not losing, remove them one by one until you are. I do find that sticking to her Level one plan meticulously gives me the best results, so when I stall or start gaining it's usually pretty easy to find the problem and fix it. I get into trouble just pigging out on high fat stuff too, so when I find something just too yummy for words I still have to be careful even when it's legal.

If you haven't already, get one of Suzanne's books and read through her whole plan. It's worth getting all of them for the recipes. I got most of mine used, for half price through Amazon.com. The recipes are absolutely wonderful and I just keep losing!

Good luck and welcome to the club!

MB

Oh MB thank you so much for your response! 20 pounds since January is fabulous! Your suggestion about keeping track of my "cheats" ie. the Whey Protein drink (22g protein and 2g carbs) is a great idea. Yes, I am vegetarian and that is why I am drinking the whey to make sure I get enough protein and also it makes me feel great cause of all the amino acids in it! My only other "cheat" is avocados. I just love them and the potaasium in them is a real energy boost! I read in "SS Fast and Easy" that some people eat them on level 1 with no problem so I am hoping that I am one of those people. But if not then I can forgo them for awhile! Nuts and olives will come later on "almost level 1" cause I realy like them too!
I have 2 of SS books and am going to get the other two as well as her deserts cookbook! You are so right, the recipes are unbelievable! SS ice cream OMG! And I love the way she writes, just as if she is talking right to me!
It was so validating to read that you had issues similiar to mine when going completely lc/nc. My husband did as well. Since I started SS all those symptoms are gone gone gone and I feel great!
I love the food and the fact that I can have a some fruit everyday as well as a carb meal (usually breakfast) I find that I am not as hungry and do not go foraging in the firdge iso "snacks." I even like the wait time between meals!
thanks again for your help!
Slow weight reduction is fine with me!

kjc, you sound as though you are doing fine but I thought I might make one suggestion for you. You mentioned eating a fruit snack at least 3 hours after your dinner. You don't need to wait 3 hours to eat fruit after a meal, just 2 hours. I'm not sure what kind of fruit you are eating for that snack but Suzanne has mentioned in her books that fruit is best eaten earlier in the day, something to do with giving your system more time to recover from the insulin rush, I think. Just a thought for you!

Oh yes, I forgot to add that I have lost 36 lbs so far on this plan and I have a carb breakfast 5 days a week.

p.s. as a vegetarian, you can have tofu for a source of protein

I am on Atkins but I am thinking of switching to SS once I reach my goal weight. It is great to read some of your posts. For awhile I was visiting and nobody was posting anything. I am glad to know that you all are loosing on this plan. I will be joining you soon.

You will love it! There is so much variety and everything just tastes so good!
I just ordered the othered her other two books! Then I am gonna get the deserts book!
You are so right...this is a great plan as a woe for life!

Anyone have examples of what you are eating on this plan?? I've been doing Atkins/Lo Carb since January and when I was SERIOUSLY on it, I lost 14 lbs. That is where I am now, I haven't been so serious about it because I am becoming bored and have to choke down the food! LOL!!

I am interested in this diet because it allows a bit of change, I have yet to buy the book (no $) but can someone give a sample of what you eat during the day? I have a list of what is to be done but like to get ideas from this board, makes it more fun!!

Thanks!!

You can eat lots of stuff! Here's some examples of Level One!

Cheeseburger smothered with grilled mushrooms and onions
Huge salad with everything in it and parmesan ceasar dressing
Chicken baked in garlic butter sauce with fried squash
Broccoli with cheese, fried okra
Bacon, eggs scrambled with cheese, bellpeppers, onions and garlic, sausage....It's endless!
Hot dogs, pork chops, deviled eggs, chicken salad, tuna salad, chicken strips, chili w/ no beans, brunsiwck stew w/ no corn, ww bread with tomato slices and s&p



This is what you can't eat: corn, potatoes, beets, sweet potatoes
No white flour, white rice, popcorn, pasta from white flour, bananas, carrots, sugar in any form, avacodos, coconuts, nuts, olives, tofu, no alcohol, caffeinated coffee, tea, soda, cocoa

You can get the book for cheap (used) from Amazon.com...Someone may let you borrow theirs....

Thanks diamondlil for the reminder about waiting 2 hours after meal to eat fruit...even more freedom!
I remember reading in her latest book about eating fruit and carbs in the morning. I find that if I eat fruit first thing then I am hungry all day and sometimes even get a little headachy. Eathing it first thing I think give me a bit to much of an insulin rush. Also, ten do have IBD and fruit in the morning sometimes just can't fit in w/ the plan if ya know what I mean. lol I really enjoy fruit and look forward to it as a treat.
I seem to have a similiar reaction sometimes to a carb breakfast but not always. So sometimes I eat the carbs for lunch.
I know this may slow down my progress (although I hope not too much) I am active all and I hope that this helps defuse this but if I find that it is costing be too much time in losing then I will have to regroup meals.

thanks again!

Hi there,

what do you eat for breakfast??

Hi Christy! Here's a typical day for me:

8 am: ww toast with salsa
10 am: apple
noon: roast chicken with steamed broccoli (leftover dinner)
6 pm: ground beef casserole topped with 3 cheeses

I also drink 70 oz of water and a mug of decaf tea taken plain.

For my Monday to Friday breakfast, I have 2 slices of toast, either with salsa, ff cream cheese or mustard, alfalfa sprouts and tomato slices. On the weekends, I will have bacon and eggs.

Hi all,

This is a great discussin board and I hope you all can help me out. I started working out hardcore March 3rd 2003 with a start weight of almost 140lbs (at 5'6''). I would do almost an hour of cardio and and weight lifting religiously practially everyday and by the end of May, I lost 7 lbs. I wasn't dissapointed at all because I figured my gain in muscle weight didnt give me the best 'numerical indication. and besides, my clothes were fitting a bit better and I lost 2% body fat (I am at 19% now). I was making good progress. But through those three months I had put myself on such a strict diet; I tried not going over 1300 cal a day, almost less than 300 fat cals a day and by the end of the night I would be falling asleep hungry.

I just recently saw Suzanne Somers on this show called 'The other Half' baking this seemingly high-fat breakfast meal and couldn't figure out how that could help one lose weight. Well I got some of her books from the library and have been reading them trying to understand what is what with her idea on losing weight. But I am SOO scared that eating ALL this fat is going to make me gain back ALL the weight I worked so long and hard at losing. I decided to go for it starting today with fruit for breakfast then a while later, chicken and cheese out of my chicken taco (that i saved from dinner the night before) then for lunch i had eggs (three eggs, two of them white, othe other with the yolk...for the lack of being creative) and a slice of turkey and whole cheese. Then a few hours later I had an orange. Of course I am not hungry right now like I usually am cuase I usually never eat this much food, but am I definitly going to lose the last few pounds dieting and exercising is NOT getting rid of??

I guess my question is, since I really don't have that much to lose anyway, is this going to backfire on me? Am I going to end up gaining back everything that I lost?? Does this 'diet' only work with peole that are techinically overweight/obese and not those trying to lose just five or ten pounds?? And in her books, I rarely see her talking about exercising. How can people lose SO much weight without exercising?? Or is that an understood part of losing weight??

Help!!! Thanks for all your insight...hopefully someone has been in my shoes or knows someone that is...

Hi there, khan! Actually, Suzanne talks about exercising while on this program quite a bit in her books and on the website. She probably doesn't talk about quite as much when she is promoting the WOE itself because she is trying to sell her books and food products. She does, after all, sell her Thighmaster and Buttmaster or whatever else equipment as well. In her books, she mentions the many health benefits of exercising and what it can do for you with regards to losing weight and so forth. On the Somersizing boards, most people do exercise while Somersizing, I appear to be in a very small minority of people who don't exercise regularly.

As for what the WOE can do for those who are 10 lbs overweight or less, I think that depends. Judging by what I've seen on the SS boards, some people find it very difficult to eat this WOE when they have only a small amount of weight to lose. One of my coworkers had 10 lbs to lose and found that SS worked very well for her, she steadily lost about a lb a week and it only took her about 2 months. One thing you should note is that some people don't show any weight loss for the first 2 months and then suddenly experience the "melt", when the weight suddenly drops off. Suzanne herself was like this and had 20 lbs to lose. How quickly you lose can also depend on whether your metabolism needs to be repaired. Someone whose metabolism has been through years of low-fat diets and yo-yoing weight is not going to experience quick weight loss.

And as far as the how can you lose weight while eating fat concept is concerned, you should really check out her books and read the explanation for yourself. To summarize quickly: dietary fat is not the same as excess fat in your body. The whole reason people gain weight is not because they eat foods with dietary fat in them, it's because they eat foods that cause an insulin response.

You should keep in mind that just because you are permitted to eat butter, cream and cheese, it doesn't mean that you should be eating them 24-7. It's that you don't need to avoid them anymore.

I was not obese when I started this diet (142lbs and 5' 3.5") and it was WAY more fat than I was accustomed to eating. I wondered the same thing, but I dropped like a rock when I started and then slowed down to about a pound a week after that if I stay strict with myself. I don't pound the fat the way the last two books would make it seem she wants you to. I still eat the leanest cuts of meat I can find and go for low fat cheeses as long as the carb count is the same (like the Philidelphia 1/3 less fat cream cheese has the same carb count as full fat so I cook with it). Pigging out on high fat foods will probably make you sick and will also reduce or prevent your weight loss, but if you eat a balanced menu, with plenty of fruits and veggies, you should lose just as others have.

As Diamondlil points out, the whole idea behind low carb/sugar diets is controlling insulin levels. Suzanne's version uses food combining and LC together to acheive the same effects but offer a more balanced diet. It's definitely slower than a straight LC diet, but there are thousands of people finding it gets them to the same place. You can indeed eat fat and cholesterol and not CREATE fat if your insulin levels steady. And despite fat being quite calorific, remember that refined sugars and carbs are often even higher calorie, so in the end you may eat way more fat and actually end up with fewer calories consumed at the end of the day.

The nice thing about Somersizing is that you can lose the weight without all the exercise if you want. Not that this is the best idea, just that it is a WOE where you can lose weight and maintain your goal weight in a realistic fashion. I have lost weight by reducing portions and fat and working my arse off just as you have, but it was an unrealistic way to live and when I got where I wanted to be I always slipped back into my old habits again.

I've lost 22 pounds so far and have 6 to go and I have no reason to think I won't get where I'm going. Stick to her level one as strictly as you can, eat reasonable portions and eat plenty of veggies in addition to the fats and I think you should be fine.

Give it a couple of months and see how it goes! It might take a little while for your body to recover from the deprivation diet you've been on, so be patient. Remember when your body thinks it is being starved your metabolism adjusts to make the most of every calorie it can, so you may have to allow some time for your body to adjust to having all it wants. And yes, you can go up a little during this time but that does not mean the WOE is not working, it just means your body is adjusting. I believe Diana Schwarzbein warns about this in her book. It's a really good WOE, I think you'll like it!

MB