The Shangri La Diet

Wow, a lot of these comments are really negative!

I tried this and it worked really really well!
I didn't eat anything an hour before or after and that includes gum and brushing my teeth.
I poured a big glass of cold water and just put the tablespoon of extra light olive oil in it. It was fine, just a little slippery at first. You can't taste it at all.
Its easy to try and it works really well, especially if you need a little push off a diet plateau.

The only thing else i did was not eat anything after six pm.
Which I have read places that say that is a myth and it does not work but that is WRONG!
Its simple biology, your body needs to burn food for energy. It gets that energy from the food in your stomach. If there is not food left to burn in your stomach it needs to burn something else to keep your heart going so it burns fat into energy.
Simple biology through and through. Try it, its like a little extra diet push while you are sleeping.

Thats a totally new diet I never heard of, could work, not sure it would be a good idea for type 2 diabetics. Im one and keeping my sugar levels down is important so I tend to stay away from sugar. I wrote my own weight loss program to keep me in line. Take a look, its all free.

Incidently, I find one of the best ways of keeping hunger at bay is large amounts of green veg, cant go wrong, Yes sometimes it can be a bit bland but a bit of salt or butter or olive oil and your on track.

I just ordered the book but have been using the olive oil for 2 days. It has decreased my appetite and I can feel a difference in my clothes although have not weighed in yet.
I was using 2 tbsp ELOO at 10 am and 5 pm....is this too much? I am 5'5" and weigh 135...just want to get down to my usual 120.
Question: Is there a problem with the oil if you have gallbladder or other gasto problems?

Hi Jodi, I am doing Weight Watchers too and recently started taking the olive oil also. Do you count the olive oil into your daily points? I am so worried that I will wind up gaining weight if I don't add it to my daily points. Cara

Hi Jodi, I was wondering if you counted the olive oil into your points for the day? I am doing Weight Watchers too and am concerned that I should be counting the oil. Thanks!! Cara blockquote>Jodi said:
I started weight - watchers in March of this year and quickly lost 13 lbs in the first 3 weeks. Then the weight loss slowed down and I started feeling more and more hungry, but stuck to the plan. My weight loss slowed to 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6lbs/week in weeks 3 to 6. In my 7th week, I learned of Shangri-La and tried the sugar water. I lost 1.6 lbs the f[...]

I have to admit.

It seems quite explanatory...
I know in poverty areas, mothers will give their children sugar to chase away hunger pains. So this is...not really GROUND BREAKING. It's simple...logical. Now I don't see anything wrong with...consuming two table spoons of sugar a day...but yeah. I don't think it's as bad as going to the health store and buying diet pills...

hey, why not give it a whirl? can't hurt.

Hello All,

This diet does work, I was instructed by my surgeon to go on this diet after a back surgery. The iol has no tastem and the sugar water is a pain, but you can adjust as the diet starts to work. By work I mean your appatiete for snacks and extra junk goes away. My wife and I were used to having a night snack while watching the night shows after teh kids went to bed. After on this diet for a week, all the snacking went away also. I was no longer hungry at all.

I hope all that are thinking or trying this diet do give it a try, at least for one solid week. Good luck to all.

Randy Smith said:
Another BS diet book – desperate lazy people will buy anything that gives them the hope of weight loss without effort.[...]

I have been on the diet for 5 days and have lost 3 lbs. Very excited. Want to make sure that it is safe for my heart and would like to make sure that the oil doesn't go staight to my middle. I would like to lose 20lb.The first 3 days that I was on it , I was sick to my stomach , but the last the last two days have been fine.Are you sure that I don't have to watch what I eat. I do find that I am full faster and am not eating as much.

Is there really such a thing? Is it effective for say someone over 200lbs heavier than normal.

It is proven that High Fructose Corn Syrup - HFC actually turns off your body's ability to feel less hungry. In other words consuming it actually prevents the body from knowing that it is full. It is the perfect ingredient for food companies to get you to eat more. It's the perfect ingredient to get our nation fatter.

I'd say, no matter how weird the concept is. If it works for you go for it. Science is so far behind the ball when it comes to diet. that even the experts really don't know what they are talking about.

See YOU on a Diet for more on HFC

i am not able to find any etra light olive oil - i have got mild and light olive oil - delicate flavour. Can i use this one? or can i use walnut oil??

can someone please guide me?

thanks

The oil satiates my appetite way more than food of the same calories does. When I ate light snacks of the same calorie count, I would get hungry by the next meal time. With the oil, I'm barely hungry by then. Those of you who are saying it doesn't sound right are right. It doesn't sound like anything we've dealt with before. But it is new. And it is surprisingly easy. I put the oil in some water in a small bottle and shake it up. It doesn't taste oily at all. It's not as bad as some of the diets that are out there, really.

I would like to know can I use the olive oil and
wulong tea together for diet loss?

I'm just starting this, and I'm going with the sugar and water alone as flavourless or extra light oil is hard to find where I live (I've checked four major supermarkets and eight other stores of varying sizes nearby to no avail).

There's a three week wait on my book order, so, to get started in the meantime and have more chance of getting my weight and size down to one I'm comfortable at before quite a big event in my life (can't go into details without miles of explanatory background story) which would give me a lot of help with confidence problems over my weight, could anyone tell me how much sugar with how much water? I've read somewhere that 6 tablespoons with 1 litre water is right, but I'm not sure, and any confirmation or disagreement would be great.

Thanks

This really works! The olive oil is super gross, I hold my nose and still gasp everytime when it goes down. I drink a crazy amount of water afterwards. After 4-5 days though it really does control hunger and when you do eat food you actually taste it. Combining this with cardio and strength will give you results. If you've tried increasing cardio and you always feel hungry or have the late night munchies I really recommend this. I'll workout crazy and then that night or a few days later get so hungry and totally binge. I've tried everything and this is the only thing that has curbed my appetite naturally and gives me energy.

My questions is, how do you know how much oil to take, and if for any reasons I am taking oil, but I don't having it handly, will be ok to take the sugar, or should you just stay in one of both at the time?

I'd really like to surpress my apetite because I find no matter what I do I'm always hungry... but I've got IBS. Has anyone tried this diet with IBS? Just wondering if the oil upsets your digestion?

I am just starting the diet, but I'm wondering if plain carbonated water with sugar added can be substituted for drinking water with sugar added.

I have read through all of the comments and want to thank everyone for their insight. I am 25, 5"7 and weigh 155. When I started college I weighed 130, then 2 years later, pow...155. I am not over weight, but I am not exactly trim any more. I just made my first bottle of sugar water and am crossing my fingers that this may help. I am a little scared as I am a food lover and eat when I am bored and have nothing better to do. I am looking forward to hopefully loosing a little weight and reading more inspirational comments!

My husband and I have both been on this diet for about 4 months. It took almost a month for the appetite suppression to actually kick in, but once it did it has been great. I've lost 24.5lbs and he's lost almost 35lbs. We both take 4 tablespoons of extra light tasting oil each morning (no sugar water at all, and no more oil throughout the day). I start to gag a little by the third tablespoon but it's worth it.

We both felt the decreased hunger was great but we also decided to eat healthier as well. As the book says, you can eat what you want but if you're eating crap, you're still eating crap, and that's not good for you. We haven't had chips/doritos in 4 months and haven't missed it. No more desserts, smaller portions of healthier foods, etc. I'm exercising when I can fit it into my schedule. I believe exercise is important but I don't have the time to stress about that right now.

The hardest part for us has been to "retrain" our minds to be OK with not cleaning our plates, to actually STOP eating when your not hungry anymore. Or to not start eating just because it's lunchtime. If you're not hungry, why eat just because it's 12:30? And to stop eating foods you really like and then over stuff yourself.

The only side affect I've got is a little heartburn/indigestion around 8pm each night. I had my gall bladder removed last year and the book actually mentions this as a possible side affect. To me, it's a small inconvenience to deal with if I can lose the weight now and avoid all sorts of health problems later due to obesity.

It's not a miracle cure for those "desperately lazy people" (thanks melanie, you read my mind). It's one tool to help with an overall change in habits.

Tony: I don't know if it's good or bad for someone who needs to lose more than 200lbs, but my long term goal is to lose 95lbs and I'm well on my way and have not gotten discouraged yet. Give it a try, the only thing you've got to lose is weight, right?

I think I would start the diet, but im a big boredom eater. I hope I can get on with it, can someone encourage me during this process, I have tried so many diets but never lost the weight I wanted. My objective is to loose 100 pounds in a year.
Please help me !!!!!

Now I know that diet is extremely easy and cheap.Just heard about this diet... can someone tell me the directions.. I keep reading different things.Thank!

www.braintumorsign.blogspot.com

I heard from it today sound weird. happen that I was so full in my intestine 2 days ago I could not eat so I did drink 2 table spoons of extra virgin oil by itself Sunday night god in the morning I was glad that my intestine evacuate and found I was not hungry and had energy. Also this year from April to September I gain 32 pounds after a accident eating unhealthy and a lot of chocolate (the chocolate alleviate my back pain mmmm) I need to quit that because last year 2007 a lost a total of 78 pounds from 240 to 162 eating well and exercising since the accident I’m dealing with moderate to high back and knee pain it’s hard to exercise the same way as before.

Only things I’m worried is the sugar because I had a case of Candida last year and starting 2008 before now I’m kind of ok. Will the sugar go through your system and cause diabetes or Candida overgrow?, will the oil cause cholesterol?. How many calories is in the sugar and oil lest' say I’m 194 now and want to reach 140 by having breakfast, lunch, and dinner but replace my snack with the oil/sugar.Can I take my supplement.

Can you use stevia instead of the white sugar and how many times a day do you drink the water with sugar and when?
Please Reply!

Also, if you swallow fish oil pills can that substitute for the olive oil because I'm afraid that with the olive oil i would gain weight

I just read the book last night. I have been eating coconut oil for about four years now and have gone from 160 lbs to 120 lbs (I'm a 5'7'' female). I eat on average, about 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil per day. However, I have been using it in my cooking (not eating it by itself) so I disagree with Seth Roberts assertion that it is necessary the fat be eaten one hour before or one hour after other foods. I'm not entirely convinced of the whole flavor-association theory. The ONE example he provides is a woman who had fish oil tablets between meals didn't gain weight and when she took them with meals she did- um, that falls just a weency-bit short of a scientific study (and yes I'm being entirely sarcastic, it falls incredibly short.)

So the bottom line is this and I absolutely agree: Trying to eat a low-fat/fat-free diet is probably the worst thing you could do if you are not a body-builder and are just an every day person who wants to drop a few pounds. YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED FAT TO BURN FAT. And what fats you choose is very important- I'm a little disgusted by the fact that in 2008 somebody is RECOMMENDING canola oil- please people, do your research...but Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Flaxseed oil are all great bets. Also- do not cook with flaxseed oil (just in case you know nothing about it). Coconut oil can tolerate medium heat, and olive oil should be cooked at max low heat, but preferably you should eat that uncooked too.

Before I started eating coconut oil on a daily basis I used to be so ravenously hungry what literally felt like all the time. I CONSTANTLY thought about food and just wanted to eat all day. I attributed it to depression/anxiety but of course eating too much makes you fat which just adds to depression/anxiety and it is a horrible cycle. I had tried so many different diets since MIDDLE SCHOOL always feeling a little chubby (I think especially because my face gets particular puffy when I'm overweight and my body frame just doesn't hold excess body weight vry nicely). I really did feel addicted to food, and -trapped-. I felt like for the rest of my life I would either weigh more than I wanted or be my ideal weight but feel totally useless/tired/anxious/starved. When I started incorporating coconut oil into my diet, everything changed. I do eat pretty healthy but I am by no means a health freak. I literally do eat whatever I want and this is the big thing- I NEVER let myself get ravenously hungry- this is KEY PEOPLE. KEY!! if you are vry vry hungry, your body goes in starvation mode and your metabolism plummets. These oils keep your metabolism up and they keep you full so you eat less. That's the science behind adding fat to lose fat and this diet- the whole set point yada yada in the book is totally unnecessary.

I've been doing the Shangri-La Diet for a about three weeks and have been blogging my thoughts/progress.

I welcome any comments and insight that can be offered.

My blog can be found at http://lightalan.blogspot.com

Well, I am very sceptical about this program. I am convinced it might work, for various reasons:
-Placebo-effect.
You focus on your saturation while you eat. Is it 'working' yet? Do i feel full already? Just asking yourself this while you eat could be very helpful in picking up signals that you miss when you just eat what's on your plate and don't give it a thought at all.
-You don't just feel fuller, you ARE fuller. You had oil!
-The 2 hour window of not eating makes you very aware of your meal planning and eating patterns. Always a good thing!
- Everybody who is very conscious about timing, eating etc will lose weight. Keeping a journal of what you eat usually makes people lose weight.

That's how I feel about this, but I am trying this anyway to see how it works for me. I can afford to lose weight (5''6', 200.6lbs, 31 yrs, 1 hour of cycling each day) and it seems healthy to eat some vegetable oil twice a day. If it fails, I may have gained a few pounds and lost a few dollars worth of oil, so what?
I am also being sceptical because i don't want the disappointment to be too big if it does not work as well for me as it did for so many of you guys here.
I am afraid to fail at a diet or eating program AGAIN but on the other hand, I am not ready to give up on ever controlling my binging and yo-yo-ing.

So, I'm now in my third day, I do the oil only because the sugar just seems too unhealthy. I keep some oil in my desk drawer in an empty syrup bottle, my co-worker saw me pour a shot-glass and thought I was drinking on the job, lot of explaining to do about that :)
-'omg, are you DRINKING?'
-'er, no, it's oil..'
-..OMG, you're drinking OIL?! Why aren't you drinking tequila? Makes more sense to me at 11 AM on a monday morning..
-well, it's for my diet..
-So you're drinking shots from a small bottle, you say it's for a DIET and it it's OIL?
-umm..yeah..

Well, anyway, I do feel very full now after 3 slices of bread with cucumberspread and cheese, normally I have about twice as much. I'll have some oil at 2 and after 3 a handful of salted nuts. then dinner, and we'll see how tonight goes. I am a nighteater, i always have lots of energy at night and no matter how tired I am, i never sleep before 1 am. So i easily make it through the after dinner oil no-eating window.

happy losing to y'all, please keep posting because i am curious about your progress!

Oh, and also:
i feel dizzy since day 2 (now day 3). Not nasty, but still, dizzy.
I hope that will go away....

Sooo..
Made it through last night without snacking after dinner!!!
Wasn't I hungry? Yes, I was. But no food seemed appealing to me, AT ALL.

As all people with eating issues probably know, most of us compulsive eaters have certain 'safe foods' that they will allow themselves to eat at any given time. Fruit, non-fat yogurt, crackers, ect. Usually, I eat those things whenever I crave something, I give myself permission to eat that. And then after, I go ahead and eat chocolate and cheese and nuts anyway and feel miserable about myself.

So, last night.
Had a nice dinner, no restrictions, little bit of beef, oven baked potatoes with belgian mayonaise and brussels sprouts.
I didn't eat considerably less than normal.

Then, I sat down and read a book for quite some time. There were chocolate, nuts, cheese and various other snackfoods IN THE HOUSE. I told myself I could have some tangerines or some bread if i wanted to. I even felt HUNGRY after 11 pm. But I just...did not eat. Went to bed, read some more. Usually, going to sleep hungry is difficult and i keep thinking about food.
Not this time!
Fell asleep easily and the chocolate and other snacks safely made it through the night.

So, come morning, I figured I would need a big breakfast. Figure again: three tablespoons of high fibre cereal in half a cup of banana-flavored soy milk were left over for about 1/3. I gave it to my parrot.
And I could have done without the 2/3 I did eat, too, but i still do not dare to skip meals because I'm afraid of binging. Even the large mug of coffee seemed too much.

Just had two kiwi's for vitamins, not because i was hungry.

I am still afraid to fully listen to my body and not eat, but I kinda have to force myself to eat now which is, well, amazing. Really, truly amazing. I thought that this thing only worked if you 'believe' in it, and since I still do not believe the theory of the 'set point', I thought this would not work for me.

And, on the morning of day 4, the scale indicated 198.4 lbs. Lost 2.2 lbs!! How? When? Why? Where'd they go, anybody seen 2.2 lbs of me anywhere?

it's not about replacing meals or starving your self. You are welcome to eat what you want but the funny thing is that you loose interest. Without the hunger and the cravings you can make sensible healthy food choices.

The only problem for me is the alcohol. When I'm on the diet - the nice glass of read wine with a meal no longer tastes good. and if i do persist in drinking (beer) it eliminates the effects of the diet hunger + craving comes back. So over all the diet works great for me, unless I drink. so when ever I want to apply the diet I got to stop drinking first.

i did the diet for a couple of months and it worked great - I lost 16 pounds. Then I stopped the oil because I went on vacation and my day had no routine so it was difficult to stick to the 2 hour no eating gaps with out annoying fellow travelers. The oil was difficult to transport discretely and it addition we were in a famous wine region - where sampling was a big part of the day.

another side effect when i first started using oil - was that my skin got a bit oilier in the beginning. But it seamed to get better when I eliminated chocolate.

In the end the main theme is that you have to spend time experimenting what works best for you - know your body and how it reacts.

I will have to try this diet, sounds interesting

As absurd as many of you think the criteria of this way loss method may be, just as absurd is to dismiss it based on un- substantiated OPINION. Thank you for for sharing how you "feel" about this method but the truth of the matter is that unless you can collaborate those feelings with some personal experience using the method, scientific trial, or scientific observation then I really can't see how your opinion is an accurate representation of the value of this method as a weight loss option. I'm sorry many of you find oil to be "yucky," but maybe you should consider a deeper investigation of the mechanisms behind this mehtod before you grace the rest of us with your "opinions."

I would like to thank you and appreciate you for the efforts you have made in writing this blog.

I went back on this diet June/2008. By the 2nd week in Sept I had lost 22 lbs. I used the oil. I think it is hilarious that some people make a big deal about how difficult it is to drink olive oil. You show me any other diet where there isn't some type of inconvenience or distaste and allows the person to actually keep the lbs off. What I found was that I lost my appetite and just started eating less. Of course, I exercise (walk between 2 & 4 miles/day)and each foods that are good for me. However, I still find a bit of room for some deserts.

I went off the diet on 9/17 because of a near death experience due to an unknown allergy to amoxicillian. I gain some of the weight back, but went back on the diet on the first. The hardest part of the diet is making sure I don't eat anything 1 hour before or after I take the oil. A small price to pay for a little discipline. Good luck.

I've been doing the Shrangri-La diet for 4 days now, taking between 3 and 4 tablepsoons of Extra Light Olive Oil. I don't have any trouble swallowing the oil, it doesn't taste of anything! Some people might not like the greasy texture but I'm British; we eat grease for breakfast in fried eggs, bacon etc.!

I started the diet while on a business trip which involved a lot of dinners and lunches out. Today is my first full day at home and I have 11 days before my next trip to see if it has any effect. So far I have noticed a slight diminution of appetite.

My starting weight was probably 92Kg. Now that I am home I can weigh myself every day and this morning was 91.4Kg.

can I drink sugar water and oil at the same time ?
I mean I drink oil then 1/less minute after that i drink the sugar water. is that okay ?

thanks .