Suzanne Somers - Sexy Forever: How to Fight Fat After Forty

The information in this work is in no way intended as medical advice or as a substitute for medical counseling. The information should be used in conjunction with the guidance and care of your physician. Consult your physician before beginning this program as you would any weight loss or weight maintenance program. Your physician should be aware of all medical conditions that you may have, as well as the medications and supplements you are taking. As with any weight loss plan, the information here should not be used by patients on dialysis or by pregnant or nursing mothers.

Copyright 2010 by Suzanne Somers

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Archetype,
an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

Crown Archetype with colophon is a trademark of
Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

eISBN: 978-0-307-58853-1

v3.1

For Alan, always

Illnesses do not come upon us out of the blue. They are developed from small daily sins against nature. When enough sins have accumulated, illnesses will suddenly appear.

Hippocrates

There are three women, so valuable to the completion of this book, its difficult to know in what order to give them their due praise: Caroline Somers, Heather Jackson, and Marsha Yanchuck.

Caroline Somers is my daughter-in-law, my business partner, protector of the brand, and mother of my granddaughters. When Caroline takes on an assignment, she approaches it with an excellence and tenacity that boggles the mind. She labored over the program sections, testing recipes in her personal kitchen, and was sending me e-mails after completion often at three a.m. She cares, she does her job perfectly, and without her I would not have made my deadline. I love her and am extremely grateful to have her in my life for every reason I can think of.

Heather Jackson, editor extraordinaire; this is our third book together and each project becomes easier and silkier under her steady but firm guidance. She has a wonderful soul, a kind heart, and a great brain. Her organizational skills are extraordinary, and I depend on her to pull each book out of me.

Marsha Yanchuck, who I have worked with for over three decades to whom I literally turn over the resource section of my books, as I did with this one. Because of Marsha, the reader can access information, whether it be from the back of the book or from references on my website. Marsha has set it up so that doctors in many cities, states, and countries are easily found, a service I know is appreciated by not only myself but my readers. And that she is my grammar and spelling police is no small thing. Thank you.

Brenda Watson, the foremost authority on gut health in America and possibly the world, was invaluable in teaching me and coaching me on the complexities of the gut as it pertains to weight loss. Spending so much time learning with her was akin to getting my masters. In the process, she uncovered food intolerances and allergies plaguing not only myself but members of my family.

Dr. Jonathan Wright, the father of bioidentical hormone treatment in America, who once again so generously gave me his time and knowledge to connect the dots regarding hormonal imbalance and weight gain. His downhome way of explaining and breaking down the hormonal system and its effects is endlessly fascinating to me. He is a national treasure and deeply appreciated.

Dr. Nick Gonzalez, who is always there on the other end of the telephone or on e-mail with his profound command and knowledge of what makes the body sick and how to bring it back to balance.

Bill Faloon, editor of Life Extension magazine, along with Dr. Scott Fogle and Peter Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., all part of the extraordinary LE scientific advisory board, who once again took on the tedious task of going over this book, page by page, to correct it for accuracy and integrity. When readers take learning so seriously from my books, knowing that I am scientifically and factually correct, due to obtaining the stamp of approval from these informed men, gives me great peace of mind.

T. S. Wiley, another of my teachers, the creator of the rhythmic method of taking bioidentical hormones, a method that has worked so well for me for more than a decade.

A big thank-you to my nutritionist, Cristiana Paul, M.S., who always brings so much to my books.

The girls in my office, my dear and valuable assistants Julie Turkel and Jordyn Goodman; they keep my life running and make it possible by taking care of everything, allowing for room in my head to put out these books. They are joyous girls and totally professional. I love working with both of them and appreciate them deeply.

Thank you to Linda Chae for her expertise on toxicity and the skin, and thank you to all the authors listed at the back of this book for the information I garnered while doing research for this book.

My team at Crown; I have lost count of how many books we have done together, all I know is this is my twentieth book, most of them done with Crown and most of them bestsellers. What an incredible ride weve been on together. Thanks to dear Tina Constable, Maya Mavjee, Philip Patrick, Jill Flaxman, Annsley Rosner, and Patty Berg. Thanks to the production team: production editor Christine Tanigawa, production manager Luisa Francavilla, in-house designer Songhee Kim, and freelance designer Diane Hobbing of Snap-Haus Graphics.

And big thanks to my new friends at Everyday Health: Mike Keriakos who has been after me to use the word sexy in combination with weight loss in a book for the past five years; darling Steven Petrow; Vince Errico, Sarah Hutter, Debbie Strong, Hilary Hayward, Maureen MacDonald, and Alice Calista Cronin.

Many thanks to the design team for the beautiful jacket. Under the creative direction of Caroline Somers, Danielle Shapero has been the graphic designer for my brand for the past decade. Danielle, I can always count on you to keep it fresh, clean, and beautiful. And special thanks to Mark Wilkinson for the ominous back jacket panel of toxins. And to Laura Duffy, the designer at Crown, for helping us stay in the margins and get it all just right! Special thanks to my amazing photographer, Cindy Gold, and her ace team, Paul Craig, John Guarente, and Bonnie Holland, for another great cover shot.

Thank you to my friend and doctor Michael Galitzer, for his beautiful foreword and for always reminding me its mind, body, and spirit.

Thank you to my attorney Marc Chamlin for another book together.

Thank you to Shirani and Farook, who make my life so comfortable, for Shiranis great soup every afternoon giving me sustenance followed by the bowl of fresh fruit cut into bite-size pieces.

And last but not least, my husband, Alan Hamel, whom I love deeply and who makes it all happen.