The Shangri-La Diet by Seth Roberts

I'll tell you a secret: for the last 5 weeks, I've been drinking a few tablespoons of straight oil every day.

Why, you may ask? Because I read Seth Roberts's The Shangri-La Diet a little over 5 weeks ago, and he convinced me that his theories were reliable-- at least enough to give the diet a 5-week trial.

Now, of all of the genres and categories of books out there, I must confess that the "Diet/Nutrition" category is one that I have not spend much time with. I think this is actually the first book of the sort that I have read any substantial part of. So my take on this book, and the theories therein, is not based on a broad knowledge of the subject.

But hey-- when the Freakonomics guys endorse the book, how much expertise do I need, really?

Roberts, who holds a Ph.D. in Psychology, has done a fair amount of substantial work on nutrition and behavioral science as it relates to diet and nutrition. And in The Shangri-La Diet, he demonstrates that he is also a master of synthesis.

This is because Roberts brings together no less than six distinct concepts into one new theory. For a number of years, Roberts has been gathering data on associative learning, physiological homeostasis and self-regulation, and how these overlap-- data including the research and findings of others, as well as experiments that Roberts conducts on himself (a practice that, he readily admits, is not commonly accepted in his field). He has also taught classes on the psychology of diet and nutrition, with all of the information-gathering required for such an endeavor.

He shares the insights and ideas that he has derived from his work in The Shangri-La Diet. The result is both interesting and hope-giving, especially for those who have found the discipline of dieting insurmountable, or who have struggled with wanting to lose weight and finding little or no success.

Here's the gist of Roberts's idea: your body, through reaction to the environments around it and the food you eat, establishes an ideal weight-- a "set point"-- that it uses as the target weight to attain. Your hunger, appetites, and sense of fullness are determined by this set point. If you can lower the set point, you will (eventually) lose weight by simply eating less.

The trick is, how do you lower the set point? Roberts explains this also. Set point is determined, to a degree, by food flavor associations. Thus, if you can ingest a certain amount of calories in a flavorless form, your set point will drop by a pound or so. Doing this regularly will cause your set point to continue to drop, and you will begin eating less-- therefore losing weight.

With me so far? If you're skeptical at this point, understand that Roberts has a fair amount of detail on the science behind the theories in The Shangri-La Diet. And, for the record, I was skeptical too. After all, it seems ludicrous at first-- lose weight by increasing caloric intake? But the long view must be kept in mind: eventually these calories will replace calories that you are eating in other forms now, and over the long-term your caloric intake will balance out. Roberts also has some discussion about the health issues surrounding consumption of sugar water (e.g., avoiding increased risk of Diabetes by preventing blood-sugar spikes) and oil (e.g., the benefits of consuming Olive oil for improving cholesterol levels).

The key comes in the flavorless food. Roberts found that two forms work: sugar water and certain kinds of oil. And they have to be consumed in isolation: nothing else (but water) for an hour before or an hour after. (There's a good bit of detail about what kinds of sugar or oil, how much, and when to drink it. Definitely read the book if you plan to give it a try.)

So, does it work? Five weeks in, I offer a qualified "yes". There is no denying that my appetite has reduced substantially, and I simply consume a lot less food than I did before. Most work days, for example, I don't eat any lunch-- instead, I have a small snack and a Coke. I'm also content with smaller portions at supper. And because I drink my oil before bed, there is the benefit of not snacking late in the evening-- I have to stop eating or drinking anything at least an hour before bed now.

But I haven't yet begun to see the pounds drop, even though others who have done the diet have found that 1-2 pounds per week in weight reduction is typical. I don't fault the diet for this, though. My set point was probably high enough at the outset that it is not yet low enough for the weight reduction to really kick in. And, even though my appetite is reduced, I still eat a lot of food-- more than I'm hungry for-- and much of it is in the categories of food that Roberts says raise the set point. So there is room for progress yet.
Nevertheless, I think anyone looking to lose weight would do well to give The Shangri-La Diet a try. You might find, as some have, that you notice the effects on your appetite in just a few days-- and therefore begin to lose weight within a week of starting the diet.
By the way, The Shangri-La Diet has a helpful "Frequently Asked Questions" section in the book, as well as a chapter on other things to do to make your weight-loss efforts more effective. And the real genius of the book and its diet ideas is none of them require a substantial change in what you eat-- they just result in a difference in how much you eat. In this way, The Shangri-La Diet offers a "better" system than most other diets-- better in that you don't have to make huge changes in cost, type, or choice of food.