The Shangri La Diet
The Shangri La Diet is absurd, ridiculous, and remarkable. It is quite simply one of the most unusual weight loss books ever written. Author Seth Roberts presents his radical ideas without melodrama or hype, and comes up with a weight loss diet that is both controversial and intriguing.
The technique is simple:
- Consume 100-400 calories of sugar water and/or flavorless edible oil daily.
- Consume the sugar water and/or oil before or well after meals - at least an hour away.
The sugar water (a mix of white sugar and water) should be consumed slowly (over half an hour). Sugar water is flavorless despite being sweet (unlike soft drinks that have flavors added). For the oil - Extra-Light Olive oil is recommended due to its lack of flavor.
That's it.
No calorie counting, no recipes, no forbidden or restricted foods, no meal plans, and no deprivation.
Set Point
Roberts believes that weight is regulated by a system with a 'set point'. If your weight is below your set point, then you will feel hungrier - and it will take more food for you to feel full.
It is possible to change your set point, and the basis of the Shangri La Diet is that set point can be lowered by eating a food that has little or no flavor - but still has calories.
Right about now your jaw will be hanging open like a fish gasping for water. The Shangri-La seems so farcical that any straight-thinking nutritionist might even dismiss it as a hoax.
Science?
The book explains - in some detail - the science and reasoning behind the diet, the authors own experiments, and various testimonies. The whole diet does in fact have the feel of an unfinished experiment.
Weight loss occurs because appetites are lowered, and the dieter is eating less. This book isn't about building muscle and attaining 8% body fat - but simply about eating less and losing weight. What's different to other diets is that the eating less is incidental.
A Bizarre Fad?
It's bizarre, and it's strange... but... I have an inkling that Seth Roberts just might be onto something.
The Shangri-La Diet is most certainly a paradigm-shifter of epic proportions. When our paradigms are challenged, we all too often respond with our own familiar dogma. Roberts ideas deserve closer attention - but they must not be allowed to turn into a quick-fix mass-market fad diet. When this occurs uninformed people can embark on foolish dietary regimes without batting an eyelid. Roberts is an experimenter - and the diet must be viewed as such - one person's experiments and ideas.
This is not a recommendation. The diet leaves some questions unanswered - it focuses solely on weight loss. What about the effect on metabolism or other health issues such as triglycerides or LDL cholesterol? How about diabetes?
Power to the Blogs
The Shangri La Diet frequently refers to the power of the so-called blogosphere - even as far as quoting blog comments (from Mark Schrimsher's CalorieLab).
You are most welcome to add your thoughts and experiments to this post.
The Shangri-La Diet, by Seth Roberts PhD (available at Amazon - 194 pages Hardback)
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I just wanted to post and say that I am loving this. I haven't had to cut carbs out of my meals. I can eat whatever I want, and it is still working. I didn't weigh myself the day I started the SLD, but I did weigh myself on the first of November.
I am 29, 5'6 and I weigh in the morning:
November 1 : 300 lbs
November 28: 290 lbs
I am not really sure how my weight got so high, but I know that it is going to come way down. My final goal weight is 150 lbs, so you can see that I have a long journey ahead. Will post back probably once a week with my updated weight.
Replysharon how often do u take the oil or are u doing the sugar water? I am proud of you . I started last week and i lost 5lbs and now has of this morning i gained back a couple not good. I need some help please any ideas? Thanks Marcia
ReplyI am a hair stylist and recently was cutting one of my clients. I could see he had lost weight and when I asked what he was doing, he laughed and and said I'm drinking 2 tbls. of olive oil a day!!!! He has lost 25 pounds in just a few months. He said he has not changed one other thing in his diet or excersise routine. He simply said he is does not have the same appetite he used to. So today it's oil and sugar 4 me!!!!!!! I'll check in again in several days and pass on any results. Ciao
Replyshari keep us posted ok would love to hear how you are doing on it .
ReplyI must say,after trying many diets that the sugar/oil diet works!! I am a big man weighing about 290 lbs. I have an unending appetite. But for the last three days, my appetite has decreased dramatically!! Wow,unbelievable!
Replythe method sounds weird and don't make sense to me but all I know is it works, and that is ALL that MATTERS!!
Does anyone know what happens when you END this diet? Most of the commenters here seem to be still on the diet. Is it possible to keep the weight off afterwards? How do you control/suppress your appetite without the sugar/oil?
If you need to learn self-control when you end the diet in order to keep the weight off, then wouldn't it be more appropriate (i.e. healthier) to develop this skill in the beginning .... as a tool to lose the weight in the first place? It sounds like this diet may not be effective in the long-run (?).
ReplyJess,
I don't think you ever do end it really. You just get to cut back on your intake. For example if you are taking 1 tablespoon of oil today and tomorrow you find you have metabolized out, then you decrease to one tablespoon per day. Sucks that it never ends but it beats counting carbs your whole life.
ReplyThe only reason that I even tried this diet was because I heard about it from, Dennis Prager,a talk radio host whos opinion I respect very much..I began in late July 2006...I was not to optiomistic because even in his book there are not any instances of people losing as much weight as I need to lose. I have gone from 283 lbs to 220 lbs. I still have 110 lbs to go because I am only 5 ft tall. I don't know how it works and frankly I don't care. I just know that it is working for me. I take the canola oil 2x's daily and even when I missed a week or two because of lifes difficulties I did not gain any of the weight back. It comes of very slowly and it has taken me a whole month to lose the last 5 lbs but it is coming off. The cravings that I used to have are not there...even when they are in front of my face. I get full much sooner and still eat what the rest of my family eats. It is a plan that I can stick to for the rest of my life. My biggest worry now is all this extra skin...but as soon as I hit my goal weight I will have that removed. My reward for my efforts...I know this is longer than most opinions but if it has worked for me then it is bound to work for someone else. What do you have to lose? My health is better now than it has been in years and I still have a whole person to lose!
ReplyPLEASEEEE HELP!!! I've been on this diet for four days and nothing has changed. Yes I am a lazy undisciplined when it comes to food person. This diet is a dream come true for me but I need it to work. Does anyone have ideas to make this work? I know about the six ways to loose weight, I don't want to go there yet because I am already taking in between 400 and 500 calories of oil a day already and the book says that I will be seeing a low at some point and I will try the other things then. I am a waana be success story. Email me ideas (oil and sugar water only please) at marianoucm@yahoo.com If you need to ask questions please indicate why you are asking me the questions so I know where you're going with the question.
ReplyAs with any and all diets, the proper mindset first and discipline is necessary to be successful. In our society where instant gratification is expected most diets are doomed for failure.
Can water and oil work? Can you stick to it is more the question....and for longer than a week! ;P
A proper diet complemented with supplements is the best way to achieve your weight goals but who is to say that SLD won't work? What the mind can concieve can be achieved!
ReplyThis diet will eliminate snacking between meals and/or overeating. The Extra Light Olive Oil is tasteless, so there's nothing "yucky" about it, as others here have mentioned. This is a perfect weight loss method for those people who refuse to give up their favourite foods. Other diets are only temporary because people cannot turn down their favourite foods over a long period of time. With this diet, you don't have to. No changes or eating habits are necessary to make this system work. And if for some reason it doesn't work, so what? It doesn't cost much for a bottle of olive oil that you will probably end up using eventually anyway.
ReplyI am a US board certified internal medicine physician. I have always struggled with my weight (5"10 200lb). I first read about this diet on the freakonomics book. I was very skeptical, because I am a science man, and the theory behind this diet didn't quite make sense to me. But I am open-minded and I thought "what the hell, maybe for some reson this diet does work!" The notion of being able to control the amount of food intake without hunger is very tempting. So my fiancee and I tried it at the same time. We used the ELOO for 1 week, followed all the recommendations in this book, and of course my hunger or my girlfriend's never changed, and we didn't lose any weight. So we changed to the sugar water for 5 more days, and again, nothing. In retrospect, I think Dr. Seth Roberts is very smart. He manipulated the blogsphere to create buzz about his book. I am very dissapointed in the freakonomics guys too, who participated in this scam. Also, believe that most of the good reviews in amazon are fake and written by Dr. Robert's friend and family. It is impossible for the diet to work for everyone except for me and my fiancee. Furthermore, it is true that drinking small amounts of ELOO or sugar water are probably not very harmful, but they add unnecessary calories to people already struggling with their weight. What a scam! If you had a similar experience, it is important that you write about it to stop this absurd craziness..
ReplyI'm sorry it hasn't worked for you, but that doesn't mean it isn't working for the vast majority of people, which it is. I found it strangely freakish that I went from uncontrollable appetite of upwards of 3,000 calories of day and constant, uncontrollable thoughts of food, to not wanting to eat at all. Even when my body was obviously hungry, I just didn't want to eat, but did b/c I knew my body needed it. The posts on Amazon aren't fake. Most diets don't work for every single person. This is by far the most effective I've ever come across, and in some years down the line science probably will explain it. Also, it was S.Roberts' publisher's tactic to send free copies to bloggers, a smart and inexpensive marketing plan. Bloggers have no reason to lie and the plan seems to have worked for most of them too.
ReplyI'm glad to see your comments Dr. Kap. I, too, am very skeptical. The book was published in 2006. As I write this on November 1, 2008, I notice that all the buzz is gone. If Shangri-La worked as great as it seems herein, there would be no more obesity/overweight epidemic. Seth Roberts' program is so easy! Why wouldn't every overweight dieter do it?
[Remember that southern gal in the Nutri-System commercial? "It's so easy! If you can eat, you can lose weight!]
Dennis Prager swore that the olive oil worked to suppress his appetite. Last time I saw him on TV, he was still pretty chunky. But that's his business.
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Roberts one day admits Shangri-La was a hoax or a social psychology experiment.
That being said, I'm sure the program works for some people.
Any current comments from people who swore by the program in 2006? How does your weight compare now? Still drinking olive oil twice daily? Or is your weight set-point re-set?
ReplyI have been using this diet for about three weeks now. I have seen some weight loss (about 5lbs). I really feel that it does in fact lower hunger. I am in college, and so there is lots of "are you hungry, lets go get something," but now every time someones asks me that question, the answer is no b/c I am simply not hungry.
ReplyWho knows if it is okay to drink 100% Pure Canola Oil?...Is that too fatty or is it okay, I'm not concerned about the taste(Although I havent tryed it yet) but I wanted to know if there are too many calories in the 100% Pure Canola Oil rather than Extra light or light. Thank you!
ReplyThis is my 5th day on the SHD and my 5th day without junk food or coffee. I am totally satisfied. No hunger, no cravings. I don't wake up hungry or go to bed hungry. I eat normally. Large breakfast, lunch and a light evening meal. I hate taking the oil, but once I saw that it freed me from craving ice cream, potato chips, candy and cookies and thinking about what I was going to eat next... I was hooked.
ReplyHi all,
ReplyI spent last Sunday afternoon reading all your coments and decided to give it a try, it seems too good (and too easy) to be true!! I took 2 tablespoons of light and mild olive oil 1st thing in the morning and again mid-afternoon for the last 3 days and I weighed myself this morning to find I have 3lb lost already. I haven't felt hungry at all and def dont feel like I'm on a "diet", I'm converted! Thanks a mil to all of you because word of mouth is a much bigger seller than any advert.
Only 89lb to go!!!
Keep up the good work
Hi gang, been awhile .... bout time for a post too !!
I let myself way down and am paying for it now ... I weigh myself on Thursdays now, well at least for the last 4 weeks. I put off posting because I felt so bad ... all I feel now is out of control and FAT ... again. I don't even want to go out and am hiding in fat clothes again.
You may remember my updates from before ... I'm 45 and 5'5"
Here are the stats from before I let myself down
Oct 4th at 176
Nov 28th at 164.8
MOST weight so far Oct 4th at 176
LEAST weight so far Nov 9th at 162.2
OK that was then - this is now
Jan 11th at 174.2
Jan 18th at 173.6
Jan 25th at 173.8
Feb 1st at 174.2
I regret not keeping it up to get it off ... am not doing a happy dance right now but I hope to again soon.
I'm so glad that some of you have been posting and there's so many new "losers" posting.
From a soon to be happy loser again .....
Smile just cause ya can
Christine
ReplyChristine,
Why did you "fall off the wagon"? I've been taking the oil for a little over a week now, with minimal weight loss. I'm going to keep up with it for a month and then decide if I want to stick with it or not. Taking the oil still makes me a little queasy.
It seemed to work well for you the first time around, so I hope you have the same results this time and can do your "happy dance" once again.
Suzy
ReplyHello all,
ReplyI also learned of the diet from Dennis Prager. Although I didn't have a great deal to loose, 5'6" originally 138 pounds, I started the 'diet' last spring. I lost about 10 pounds within a month or two and then it stabilized by primarily only doing the oil in the morning. I always wake up and almost immediately chug about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil(I stopped measuring after I got sick of constantly washing the measuring spoon!) I then walk, shower or whatever for the next hour and then eat some cereal. I've been taking the oil almost every morning since last summer. It seems that if I focus on taking the oil or water in the afternoon I loose more weight but even with only taking it in the morning I no longer fixate on what I might or might not eat. And, like other people I used to HAVE to eat popcorn at the movies but now things like that don't seem desirable. Some of my friends say that it takes some joy out of their lives but although I enjoy eating it led to guilt, etc. I'd rather enjoy trying on clothing. I'm currently about 122 pounds.
Interesting idea, but I would rather just eat healthy.
ReplyI was very skeptical about this "diet" but it was so easy and harmless I decided to give it a try. I weighed about 189 and immediately lost 2 pounds so I kept going. Within about 2 months I was down to 177 1/2. Then my weight plateaued and I gradually regained about 3-4 pounds despite continuing the regimen. I've been in the 180-181 pound range now for 6 months.
I consider my weight loss on this diet to be miraculous. I loved the fact that the diet killed my hunger instead of making me more hungry and the fat just seemed to melt off. Would like to lose another five pounds or so but no amount of adjusting seems to make my weight budge at this point so I'm not sure what else to do.
My experience may be atypical since I've recommended the diet to some friends who have had minimal weight loss. I can only say that it worked incredibly well for me.
ReplyI have a question....I am taking the extra light TASTING olive oil. It has 120 calories per tablespoon. This amounts to 480 calories/daily from oil. Is the JUST extra light olive oil different in calorie content? Or are these two the same? I haven't seen much difference in my weight, but do see a change in my appetite. Perhaps because I am consuming so many calories in the oil, I am not going to actually see any weight change. Does anyone have this info? Thanks
ReplyDo you mix the sugar,water and oil together. If so? How much.
ReplyDifferent kind of foods can trigger headaches, it's quiet common if you have problems with vascular headaches.
ReplyI find it interesting the people with the strongest reservations about this diet are also the ones who don't seem to have read the description of the diet very well.
Some people seem to think you take sugar water *with* oil, some seem to think it's sugar water taken seperately from the oil calories, one person seems to have gotten the idea that you take the oil or sugar water *in place of* your food, and one other person seems to be under the impression that you chug-a-lug the oil or sugar water when you take it.
I personally thought the instructions were pretty straightforward. You eat what you want, and well between meals you take sips of oil *or* sugar water in order to add the 100 to 400 calories to your diet. As a result of consuming the extra colories in this form and in this way, your appetite lessens, and you don't feel as hungry. As a result, you lose weight.
Smiple, right? :)
ReplyHello everyone. I am 36, 5'4" and 183 lbs. Yikes! I just want to get myself down to 140 lbs. so I can be healthy and look good. This diet seems like a reasonable idea. I just bagan today, so I cannot comment on any results. I can say that drinking 2 tbs. of extra light olive oil is truly disgusting. Its probably the most disgusting thing I have ever done. Plugging my nose and chugging plain water to wash the oil down helps (also scrubbing the oil off my lips with a paper towel). I wish that I could go with the sugar water instead, but I had large babies and am being watched for the development of diabetes. Sugar water probably would be a bad idea for me. So oil it is then. If anyone out there is successfully doing the diet using the oil please give me any tips you might have about getting it down. The thought has occurred to me this morning that perhaps the oil could be taken on iceberg lettuce...lettuce is a flavorless food as far as I can tell. Good luck to all of you and I hope to be able to post back some day with good news! :)
ReplyJust read Seth Roberts book "The Shangri-La Diet" and really enjoyed it. I'm starting the diet on 3/3/07 in hopes of dropping some weight and just feeling better about myself. For those who say, they just can't stand drinking oil or suger water....hey let's try it before we say it's so bad. So does flavor -calorie associative learning really exist? I think so...wish me luck. Thanks for all the wonderful info you all are sharing and good luck to all.
ReplyStarted the diet today; sugar water before breakfast. I had 3 tablespoons to 3cups of hot water (like a hot tea) it took about 45 minutes to finish the three cups. I had little to no appetite but forced myself to eat a little something after an hour of drinking the sugar water. I have to say, I would have stopped eating only after one to two bites but pushed myself to eat a little more. Because I couldn’t believe that I was not hungry any more…my appetite was gone. I was so hungry when I woke up this morning. I believe some of it is mind control over what you want to eat, how much you need to eat and how much you’re use to eating. I was brought up in a family that said “eat all your food because your dad worked real hard to put it on the table.” I have to say that, there are times when I still feel a little guilty when I don’t finish my food. I know it sounds silly but its the truth.
It’s now been two hours since I had the sugar water and I still have this funny taste in my mouth. I plan on taking the oil after lunch (1tablespoone only)…..I’m hoping I have somewhat of an appetite come lunch time!!! I’ll be checking back within the week for an update… I was on a no junk food or anything white (white bread etc..) diet before starting this one and lost 16 pounds (started at 206) since January 4th, 2007. Today’s weight 190 -5’5
ReplyI just started a blog on livejournal (beatbeatgirl). You can look at my progress as I go (today is my first day)!
ReplyMelissa (and others): I can't answer your ? about difference in cals between extra light TASTING and extra lite oliver oil. But, I'm having the same problem of not seeing any weight loss. This is my 10th day following the sugar and/or flavorless oil regimen. I AM noticing that all food cravings are gone, gone, gone. I AM noticing that I have no interest in food until I feel hunger. I AM noticing that the urge to snack is gone, gone, gone, too. This is quite a relief for me but I'm wondering if I'll ever lose weight. Anyone else been in this spot??
ReplyHelp! Just ordered the book but want to start NOW LOL
I will use the oil twice a day. I have an odd schedule so need to take it at different times. Will Noon & 4pm work?? Could one take it at say 3pm & 9pm?? Will try 2 Tbsp as each dose right??
Thank you!
Cherie
ReplyBeginning of day four, and I am amazed! Day 1 and 2 I didn't notice a whole lot of change in appetite. In fact, I binged out of control on day 2 (3,008 calories!!!). Yesterday, though, I took one tablespoon oil FIRST THING in the morning, and two tablespoons later in the afternoon. Whereas the first two days I only took one tablespoon at a time. This made a HUUUUGE difference! I had to force myself to eat. I'm 5'5" female (24 yrs old) and weigh 135. I want to get back down to my best weight which was 110. I hope I stick with this, and it continues to control my INSANE appetite!!
ReplyIt's been five days on the diet and I’ve noticed a strange change in my appetite. It seems like I feel ill after eating a little something. I also I feel fuller faster when eating??? I had a small meal this morning and then took the oil after an hour of eating. I plan to do the sugar water after lunch (if I'm hungry) and have no dinner tonight. Some may call this diet crazy but I think something is happening to my body for sure. Weight today: 194 but that's ok since I had mix-drinks this weekend, darn I hate going to parties..lol I will not weigh myself for one week from today but I have to say that I have another party to attend this weekend...grrrrr :)
Replyhas anybody tried using fish oil capsules instead of olive oil? how did it go and do you know how many calories are in a cap? ie how many caps do you take at one time? thanksl
ReplyI get up @ 8am & drink coffee til 9. Do I wait an HOUR after the last cup of coffee to do the oil? Then an HOUR after that til I can eat??? Never have gone an hour without food or drink of some kind.....so just waiting an hour should make me lose weight LOL
Please let me know!! :0)
Cherie
ReplyI have been on this diet for over 6 months. It works really well for me. I use the ELOO and I take it at 10am and 3pm. It took about a week for the appetite to diminish. I don't snack at work anymore. I eat a normal bowl of cereal, glass of juice, and maybe toast with butter for breakfast. Lunch is a 5oz can of chicken or tuna with a medium sized apple. Dinner is whatever the wife cooked. I don't care about the calories or carbs because I'm just not that hungry. I eat at least 1/2 the amount for dinner now that I used to eat before. I hardly exercise, although I am starting to take the dogs for a walk at night.
ReplyIn addition to the reduced appetite, I no longer crave the super sweet carbs, sodas, and candy bars. I just cut out the junk foods, and let the lower appetite take over. I lost about 2lbs a week at 4tbls a day. Then went to 2 tbls a day to maintain. I went from a steady
225lbs to a maintainable 200 over this period and I feel much better healthwise. I hope you have the similar results. To anyone that may have doubts about this diet. I did too. Just try it for a month. By the second week you'll see the loss in appetite. Then let it take it;s course so you can see how little effort and willpower is actually required on your end.
ReplyThe diet has been working well for me. Like Jay, I’m also taking 4 tablespoons a day of ELOO and now have very little appetite. I have not weighed myself in the last week but I’ve dropped two dress sizes since March 2, 2007. I use to get headaches when dieting in the past but not with this diet. I have two light meals a day and drink lots of water; as well as walking each day for at least 30 minutes. It really does take two weeks or more for the ELOO to do its job. I feel better, look better and friends are asking “what’s going on”….I love it. Ps. I’m now reading the New York Times 4# bestseller “YOU: ON A DIET” …it also talks about taking in good fats/oils like ELOO. Good luck all and don’t give up…it really does work.
Please keep in mind that I started dieting on Jan. 4, 2007 and started taking ELOO on March 2, 2007. That's how I've dropped two dress sizes up to now. I think using the ELOO helped me lose the weight easier and faster. :)
Reply