Diet Digest.net

The Shangri La diet plan is a potion based diet designed by psychologist, Seth Roberts, PhD to help people lose weight and get their body at a lower “set point” by reducing food cravings. The set point is, according to Roberts, the optimal weight or where a person’s body weight plateaus. These potions or concoctions are made up of sugar water or light vegetable oil such as extra virgin olive oil, and they are intended to be consumed between meals to keep dieters from overeating. The “set point” is Roberts’ theory that the brain associates flavor with perceived calorie needs, which increases a person’s appetite. Dieters are recommended to eat bland foods and one or two tablespoons of sugar water or olive oil twice daily (between meals), and this routine should lower appetite and ultimately the dieter’s set point. Additionally, it is suggested to eat unfamiliar foods or combine seasoning with food in unusual ways because unfamiliar flavors do not elicit the hunger reactions as familiar and flavorful foods.

Alter your appetite with an alternative approach

This diet is not based on exercise or nutrition, but it is a rather unorthodox approach to modifying eating behavior to alter appetite. Diet suppression is the main technique in the SLD plan and there does not seem to be any specifics about calorie consumption which is concerning because if this method is successful, it could lead to under-eating or promote eating disorders like anorexia. However, some compulsive overeaters rave about their success in overcoming their insatiable appetites on this diet. Dieting on the Shangri La plan is not particularly healthy since there are no long-term lifestyle changes recommended regarding exercise and maintaining a nutritious, balanced diet. Yet, in spite of medical doctors and dietician’s best efforts to dissuade people from using this diet, it seems to have a strong following and large grass roots presence online. Many bloggers brag about losing weight without exercising, and this is likely one of the more compelling elements of this diet, but it is not practical to expect to remain thin without living an active lifestyle. In addition, few people would be able to give up flavorful foods indefinitely.

Pitfalls for the SLD weight loss plan

If swallowing vegetable oil isn’t enough to deter one from this diet, then perhaps the giving up food with flavor is. Many people dieting can sympathize with the concept that if food tastes good, then it is probably fattening, but this diet takes this idea to the extreme. Dieters could possibly damage their digestive system if they fast too long, and it also has counterproductive effects on the metabolism, since fasting tends to slow the metabolism. This is not a diet plan, it is a starvation experiment plan that will likely produce binge eating and/or multiplied weight gain in the long run due to a slowed metabolism. Despite the concerns, the author claims he lost over 35 pounds in three months and has kept it off for over five years. There is no scientific evidence or clinical trials to support this psychologist’s theories.