Cheri Sicard: Hi Suzanne. It's great to talk to you, and I especially wanted to talk to you because I want to bring your books to our readers' attention. Your plan has unfairly been lumped in with a lot of low carb plans that are so much more radical. When in fact, your program is a lot more balanced and sane.

Suzanne Somers: Yes, it is. A lot more fun too.

Cheri Sicard: That's true. I have been on it, and you really get a wide variety of foods. We've all seen you on lots of talk shows talking about your books or doing cooking demonstrations, but I think one of the first questions our audience would ask is, "Do you really do your own cooking at home?"

Suzanne Somers: Oh yes. You know, when I was a little girl I had a storybook called Suzy's Cookbook. I thought it was written about me. I also had been given a little electric stove with little pots and muffin mixes and things. So, I was always cooking. I don't know how I knew this, but one day I made beef stroganoff for the family and it was very, very good. Shortly after that I made a spice cake and it was very, very good. I remember making up a tomato sauce and it was very good. Pretty soon I was the family cook.

Cheri Sicard: Almost by instinct.

Suzanne Somers: Yes. What's that about? I don't know. 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. I thought this obviously is not going work for me. I had made the decision to reconfigure my kitchen and take in students and teach cooking. Right before I was going to do that, and I mean right before, I got a call from a show called Three's Company and that sort of interfered with my becoming a cooking teacher.

Cheri Sicard: The rest is history.

Suzanne Somers: The rest is history. I guess the powers that be said, well "I had better interfere right now."

I walked into another whole area.

Cheri Sicard: Now it seems like it's come full circle. Today you are very influential when it comes to food and cooking.

Suzanne Somers: Yes and it's authentic. Everything about the weight loss books is very authentic. I did do them as a result of my gaining twenty pounds. I had never gained any weight in my life before that, and I was really trying to find a way to not have to spend a lifetime dieting. It's been the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I eat a lot. I eat three times a day and I snack.

Cheri Sicard: So how exactly did you develop Somercising, your eating plan.

Suzanne Somers: I told you about the little cookbook and cooking for my family and thinking I would teach cooking when I thought my career wasn't going to take off. Then Three's Company came along. 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. Everybody seems to get hit at middle age with the metabolism slowing down. So what I was eating before, now was putting weight on.

Before I gained weight, my son used to call me Mr. Ed. He said, it's embarrassing Ma, you out-eat all my friends. I always had a huge appetite, but all of a sudden this huge appetite was really working against me.

Cheri Sicard: So you started dieting?

NEXT: Suzanne explains the principles of "Somercizing" and how low fat foods can actually make you fat!