Suzanne Somers

Having cancer is a lonely experience. It is the one time in your life that you cannot ask those closest to you, 'What should I do?' It's too heavy a burden to place on another person. This is your life, your decision, and cancer kills.

I would like to do my own daily talk show. Wisdom is the gift of ageing; no young person can have or buy it. My success was and is self-evident. I'm alive. I've lived. I've thrived and have grown as a person. I'm now healthier than ever. Who can argue with that?

This year, when I turn 65, I thought, 'So weird;' when I was a kid, people who were 65 either retired or died. I'm so nowhere near that.

The biggest myth about aging is that we can't do anything about it. That it's a road to being decrepit, frail, and sick.

I have always loved food. I began cooking for my family as a young girl, and to this day, it's one of my greatest pleasures in life.

Around age 40 I put on twenty pounds. I had always had a perfect metabolism. But, my metabolism betrayed me as it does most people, except a very rare few who will always be thin.

Artificial sweeteners may trigger cravings for other sweet foods. When your body is not fed nutrients, it asks again and again for more food, triggering heavy-duty cravings for fattening, sugary foods. Artificial sweeteners also mess with your metabolism.

It's important to know the jam-packed power of certain foods that will not only protect you from a myriad of health issues, but also will help you with hormone balance. Ideally, your food choices should be organic and pesticide free.

I started dieting. I dieted, dieted, dieted and tried all the diets and I would lose and then I would go back to normal eating and would put it on and then some.

To successfully lose weight after 40, you need to understand that imbalanced hormones and chemicals have a huge impact on your health. It is possible, however, to live a clean, healthy, and long life - with a slim body, even after 40!

For a slim, sexy body, it's important to eat protein every day - preferably at every meal. Be sure to ask about the origins of your meat, poultry and seafood. If you can't afford organic, free-range meats, opt for natural poultry, pork, and beef that's raised without antibiotics or hormones.

I actually have never been to a gym. I haven't had time. I have been working for the last 25 years. I just don't have time to put on a little outfit and go to the gym and work out and clean up and come home.

I'm going to live to be 110 years old!

Based on eating everyday foods in specific combinations, Somersizing is a lifestyle that will change your way of thinking about how to lose weight and how to increase your energy. Eating the Somersize way is a pleasure. It is a program for life, a program I will happily live on for the rest of my life.

Then there are the people who know me from the lectures. What I am really trying to do, what I need to accomplish at this time, is to fill in the gaps.

I stopped dieting on plain, boring, unsatisfying food and started eating rich, delicious meals full of flavor and, yes... fat. I got skinny on fat and realized I would never have to diet again.

I have my hormones balanced. Most doctors are giving women synthetic hormones, which just eliminate the symptoms, but it's doing nothing to actually replace the hormones you have lost. Without our hormones we die.

When you receive a cancer diagnosis, you're more vulnerable than at any other time in your life. I've personally had the experience twice. My only hope for survival was alternatives. But that was my decision, what I thought was best for me.

When the brain perceives you are no longer reproductive because your hormones are out of balance, it tries to get rid of you, and it usually activates the cancers in perimenopause.

I was actually going to be a chef before I got sidetracked. I used to make deserts for restaurants as a young teenage mother to make money.

Sometimes, when you are in the public eye, you just really need to just be part of the crowd, and look at other people rather than other people look at you.

The reason I wrote 'I'm Too Young for This!' is to spare young women the suffering of hormonal loss - and it is true suffering. You can't sleep, you gain weight for no reason, you bloat for no reason, your moods are altered, and your sex drive is diminished.

I do yoga three times a week, and I walk for a half hour every day. In between, I get on the elliptical and my triple thigh trainer - I really do use the Thighmaster! - and do about 20 minutes on each of those. I also walk up and down the stairs a lot.

When you choose high-quality delicious foods, your body will reward you with a trim figure and a longer, healthier life. After all, what you put in your body is the best recipe for staying sexy forever.

That's what the gas is about, that's what the bloating is about and that's what the fat storage is about.

I appreciate health care that gets to the root cause of our symptoms and promotes wellness, rather than the one-size-fits-all drug-based approach to treating disease. I love maintaining an optimal quality of life - naturally.

I started reading and talking and interviewing nutritionists and a thread was starting to form for me which is - a protein digests in a different rate of speed than a carbohydrate.

Clean, tasty, real foods do not come processed in boxes or bags; they come from the earth, the sea, the field, or the farm.

I happen to have the benefit of having a son-in-law who was the former Mr. France and a trainer. I like being his benefactor and I like the way he works.

I always knew how to cook and at one point in my career where I had done nine television pilots before Three's Company and they all failed, I just got discouraged.

Our bodies are finely tuned machines, and if our hormone mixtures aren't 'just right', everything goes into disrepair.

All those spices and herbs in your spice rack can do more than provide calorie-free, natural flavorings to enhance and make food delicious. They're also an incredible source of antioxidants and help rev up your metabolism and improve your health at the same time.

Every chemical that makes it into your bloodstream - be it through your lungs, stomach, or skin - meets up with your liver at some point. Since your liver is your body's best defense when it comes to filtering out all those toxins, you need to treat it well.

Focus on eating real, whole, natural foods. As I love to say, if you can pick it, pluck it, milk it, or shoot it, you can eat it!

It's always good to leave a little space between eating and lying down in bed at the end of the day. The best thing to eat at night in general is protein, fat, and vegetables. For instance, if you're in an Italian restaurant, have chicken piccata with lemon-butter sauce, lots of vegetables, and a big salad. You'll sleep like a baby.

When your body absorbs toxins, it stores them in fat, which is why fiber and probiotics are strategic weapons for weight loss. Fiber keeps your colon healthy and reduces your body's absorption of toxins.

Socially, in most groups I tempered my conversations on my approach to health because those who entrusted their lives to allopathic, 'standard of care' Western doctors might not want to entertain the idea that they might have made the wrong choice or that their way wasn't the best way.

What I really need is for people to know that I don't just do this, I do this and this and this and this. We all have creativity in us and we all are multi-dimensional and we are all interested in a lot of things and that women are fabulous. We can handle a lot of things.

Our modern, deadline-a-day lifestyle overtaxes our adrenal glands, which end up overproducing cortisol, which in turn makes it nearly impossible to sleep and can put you at risk for a heart attack. Raised cortisol also boosts your insulin levels, which can cause you to pack on the pounds, especially around the midsection.

I eat a lot. I eat three times a day and I snack.

I balance my hormones with bioidentical hormones, I eat organic, I take supplements as determined by lab work, I sleep eight hours nightly, I use organic cosmetics and green household cleaners, and I avoid toxins as best I can.

For years I have been going to the South of France to cool out.

Many marriages break up over hormonal imbalance, which is truly sad because it comes from a lack of understanding. When hormones are put back in balance with natural bioidentical hormones, a woman or man resumes their normal life of feeling good and having days filled with quality.

I am in control of how I age, and I am in control of my health.

It is difficult to get organic food at most restaurants, so when possible, eat at home. When not, do your best.

It is a very brave choice to go against traditional medicine and embrace the alternative route. It's easier to try the traditional route and then, if it fails, go to the alternatives, but often it can be too late.

Now I know that that is just the phenomena of eating this way. Most all of my letters say I hit a plateau and then one morning I woke up and the melt had happened.

A simple rule of thumb is to shop the periphery of the grocery store - that's where you'll find meat, fish, dairy, and vegetables. Choose high-quality protein such as healthy, grass-fed beef and lamb and organic chicken and pork, and eat them in moderation.

'Get Skinny' is my sixth book. I look over the books that I've written, and my subject matters are varied, and I write books pertaining to that which I'm dealing with at the moment.

Its not the fat thats making you fat its not understanding separating carbohydrates from protein and fat.

When it comes to losing weight, balancing your hormones is absolutely crucial. Not only will it help you lose weight by correcting a sluggish metabolism, but you'll look more rested and vibrant, your mood will improve, and you'll get your libido back!

You know, as long as you do everything in moderation, you don't go overboard, you don't, you know, turn your lips into guppy lips - I mean, a little zip or a little zap, that is not a big deal.

It's not the fat that's making you fat: it's not understanding separating carbohydrates from protein and fat.

I believe in using fresh, high quality from-the-earth ingredients and cooking methods that protect the natural goodness and nutrients of foods, while always maximizing flavor and taste.

Browsing our local farmer's market is one of my family's favorite weekend activities. Make it a relaxing, healthful habit for your family, and you'll reap the nutritional rewards.

Beef should be organic and grass-fed; fish should be wild, not farm raised.

I understood something way back when I was on 'Three's Company.' When I got the part, I was flat broke. I was so happy to get the part, but I kept thinking, 'Ugh - dumb blondes are so irritating; how do I make her likable?' I think that I achieved that. It took a while for people to realize I was acting.

I sell my problems. I'm a woman with problems. I've had problems since the day I was born. And I have found a way to turn my problems into assets.

They are no longer going to serve you well. You have to commit. I think the biggest word is commit. I hear women say to me all the time, and men - I want to, I want to.

Throughout my life, I have tried to share my philosophy that getting and staying healthy doesn't have to feel like work. I don't diet or slave away in a gym - what I do is make excellent food choices.

After working with many nutritionists, reading books, and practicing trial and error on my own body, I have finally found a way to control my weight without deprivation. I call my program 'Somersizing,' and Somersizing is not a diet. Diet is a nasty four-letter word that conjures up negative thoughts of sacrifice and obsession and guilt.

There is a general knowledge that I am multi-dimensional, that when you are creative you do a lot of things.

Your liver is your vital detoxification organ, and if it becomes overloaded with toxins from the food, drink, or medications you're consuming, you'll have more toxins circulating throughout your body, damaging your organs and glands. Detoxing your liver will help it work more efficiently - and help you slim your waistline.

Diets - the ultimate empty promise perpetuating the same cycle over and over again. We've all been victims of yo-yo dieting. We stick to some diets longer than others, but c'mon, just how much cabbage soup can a person eat?

Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.

We stopped cleaning our houses with lemon water and vinegar like our mothers did, and we clean with chemicals. We're breathing chemicals, and then everyone wonders why cancer is the biggest killer.

You can manage cancer. You don't have to be degraded by humiliating treatments and protocols. And in some cases, you can be cured of cancer.

Sleep has been provided by nature to do the body's healing work, and it takes seven or eight hours for this process to happen. Commit to getting at least seven to eight hours of good quality sleep every night to keep your body and hormones in balance.

I started growing my own organic vegetables... and started a routine of generally going to bed at 9.30 to 10 o'clock every night and sleeping until 7 A.M. I take perfect care of my machine.

I made a lot of friends over the years and I would always look at what they were eating. All of them were skinny. I would think that I would like to eat like that.

Be sure to buy organic versions of the 'dirty dozen:' the fruits and vegetables that, when grown conventionally, are loaded with pesticides and chemicals: Grapes, apples, lettuce, bell peppers, carrots, nectarines, peaches, strawberries, pears, kale, and celery.

I am not a doctor or a scientist, but merely a passionate layperson, a filter, a messenger. I spoke with so many patients who are living normal, happy, fulfilled lives, and their enthusiasm and great quality of life convinced me that you can indeed live with cancer.

Fresh, organic, cage-free eggs that slip right out of the shell are a versatile gift of the food world and can be transformed into a variety of tasty meals.

Now I understand what was happening. I don't particularly gain water; I don't have water retention.

Reduce the stress levels in your life through relaxation techniques like meditation, deep breathing, and exercise. You'll look and feel way better for it.

Do not skip meals. Eat three meals a day and eat until you feel satisfied and comfortably full.

You should drink at least eight glasses of water a day in order to stay regular, lose weight, and detoxify. Our bodies are mostly made of water, and yet we lose two to three quarts of it every day through perspiration and other bodily functions.

If you can't afford organic food and are unable to grow your own, it's crucial to wash all inorganic produce very carefully to minimize the toxins you consume. Soak everything for 20 minutes in water with vinegar and salt or water with fresh lemon juice and salt.

Retirees who are on Medicare will suffer the consequences of 700 billions of Medicare dollars instead being used to cover the skyrocketing cost of Obamacare. In essence, less dollars for seniors means less service. Not fair. The Boomers are going to take the 'hit.' In Obamacare, 'too old' has limitations of service.