Shangri-La Diet by Seth Roberts

[bzar]

his theory is so wacky, it might actually work. just started reading this book. i am wondering....would a person lose muscle doing this method?

about me - in my mid-40s, female, i work out 6 days/week using strength & cardio. been working out for about 10 years now. i'd like to lose 8# to get to 115#.

[ladybugnessa]

you mean this:
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.

i promise you if you do this diet it will not work in the long run.

[Kimboroni]

Okay, that's just bizarre.

[bzar]

yes, that is the basis of the technique.

i am about two-thirds of the way through the book, and he actually discusses SBD and weight watchers - that his technique can be used in conjunction with a nutritious eating plan. he also described how Agatston's method actually confirms one of Roberts' theories behind the SLD approach. he even discusses how his theory is in line with the Flavor Point diet and Suzanne Somers' method.

the book is a really fast read - very interesting. he's not arrogant at all - very "out of the box" thinking.

Roberts is a psychologist (professor at UC Berkeley), not a nutritionist or biochemist. he admits he does not know why his method works so well, but bases his theories on research done by other people.

for long term use, his clients have gone from daily sugar water or ELOO (extra light olive oil) to every other day.

try reading it with an open mind - very intrigueing. i found my copy in the library.

p.s., i am not a member of his club/board and don't get compensated in any way.

[feedyoureye]

Hi all, I have been using the Shangri-la diet for 7 days. I have lost 5 1/2 lbs, and find the appetite suppression very strong. I followed the SBD methods for 5 months 1 1/2 years ago and did very well. I built a house and fell off the wagon going to restaurants during the stressfull build. I gained some of the weight back, and went back onto SBD two more times, getting through phase one, but not loosing like the first time, and not really having the same great appetite suppression I had the first time I did it. I joined WW to see if I could follow the SBD while having the strict weigh ins and group support, to help me get through the tough time I was experiencing. I saw the Shangri-la book at the store, picked it up and decided to give it a try. It is not a diet, you can choose to use any eating plan with it or none, but I love the SBD and believe it to be really healthy. The Shangri-la methods work to get my set point down enough to make the rest easy. I would not use the sugar water myself, although you can use fructose if you choose, I use light flavor olive oil and sometimes flax or walnut oil. So far so good. Very easy to implement. If someone out there is thinking about leaving SBD because of a long plateau, or problems with craving, check it out.

[bzar]

feed,

thanks for your note of confidence. do you post on seth's board?

ever since using the extra light olive oil (ELOO) method, my body fat % has gone down to 19%. i continue to exercise, but have scaled back my workouts.

i continue to lurk on seth's board for more ideas. i am learning that if you work out, you'll need to scale back your workouts a lot, otherwise, appetite suppression becomes a bit hard to achieve. i continue to eat SBD-ish and Zone-ish.

interestingly, if you get headaches, using ELOO is a surefire way to get rid of them if you feel "starved" on the SBD.

[SUGARDUDE]

It worked short term for me. There's something to the theory, but probabl;y the most effective idea produced from SLD is the nose clipping........but that's a pain in the ass.

[Opal]

I think know that guy--is he a psychologist from UC Berkeley? I had a personals date with hIm. Then I was going to be part of a depression study about how you need to see big images of faces in the morning lol (like tv or real life) as if they are close-up like babies do or we did as social beings early on in homo sapiens development.

[Kathryn84]

So let me see if I got this right...It looks to me that the Shangri-La Diet isn´t actually a diet itself but it can be used and seen like a complement for another diet type, is that right? And does it really work Because my first impression is that it may colide with the principles of weight loss. I mean taking sugar isn not going to make me thiner or healthier, although I understand that if it is controlles then it won´t hurt, at least to some extent.