Seth Roberts Shangri-La Diet
*Update: Now the Shangri-La Diet is now available from Amazon.
The same week the web’s diet clique became abuzz over the preposterous sounding “The Diet Code” based on Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code and the relevance of the Fibonacci Series to weight loss, a far more interesting school of thought on obesity has moved onto our collective radar- the Shangri-La Diet.
Don’t look for a book - there isn’t one (yet)* - but self-researcher/subject Seth Roberts has sprung his test findings on the world through a recent NYT article, as well as by guest-blogging last week at the Freakonomics Blog (mentioned here a few days ago).
Roberts spent the last 25-or-so years (since college) experimenting on himself to find the diet that would work best for him- not by trying different commercial diets, but by testing the effects of different foods on his metabolism. The results have led him to the theory that the desire to eat more food than one needs is actually stimulated by an abundance of flavorful foods. He views this as a hangover from the abundance/famine cycles early man lived through prior to the development of agriculture.
The plan he developed around this theory has had the result that by eating a certain amount of bland foods (both caloric like olive oil or a weak solution of sucrose water each day and non-caloric, like water) in addition to whatever else he wants to eat, he has lost 40 pounds and maintained the loss.
Quote from Seth Roberts bio page at the UC Berkeley Dept of Psychology:
“… I am testing a theory of weight control that assumes that the setpoint of the system that regulates a person’s body fat is sensitive to how strongly the tastes in that person’s diet are associated with calories. These associations are due to Pavlovian conditioning. The stronger the associations, the higher the setpoint; the higher the setpoint, the more body fat the brain tries to maintain. This theory explains a diverse set of facts, including why people in rich countries are generally much fatter than people in poor countries; why smoking, water, and bland food cause weight loss; why the fat content of your diet actually has only a small effect on your weight, contrary to what you may have been told; why popular foods such as hamburgers, soft drinks, and pizza always combine strong tastes and “quick calories” (sources of calories that are quickly digested).
Quote from the NYT:
“During an era of scarcity - an era when the next meal depended on a successful hunt, not a successful phone call to Hunan Garden - this set-point system was vital. It allowed you to spend down your fat savings when food was scarce and make deposits when food was plentiful. Roberts was convinced that this system was accompanied by a powerful signaling mechanism: whenever you ate a food that was flavorful (which correlated with a time of abundance) and familiar (which indicated that you had eaten this food before and benefited from it), your body demanded that you bank as many of those calories as possible.
Roberts understood that these signals were learned associations - as dependable as Pavlov’s bell - that once upon a time served humankind well. Today, however, at least in places with constant opportunities to eat, these signals can lead to a big, fat problem: rampant overeating.”
Quote from Freakonomics Blog (discussing the Shangri-La Diet):
“…I used to drink carefully measured amounts of fructose water or extra-light olive oil — amounts containing about 100-300 calories per day. Now I measure nothing. I am sure however that my total caloric intake from what I will call unusual foods has not changed. The unusual foods currently consist of canola oil, sucrose water (much more convenient than fructose water), and most days a raw egg, swallowed quickly, as the Italians do. Ah, food taboos. I repeat: I am not recommending this (or anything else). I got the idea from a friend of mine; a raw egg swallowed quickly is a relatively diverse source of calories without taste. Perhaps she got the idea from the Italian custom. I have only been swallowing raw eggs for a few months and overall am beginning to think they are more trouble than they are worth. The child in me wishes there were more opportunities to bring it up in conversation…”
Read More:
Does the Truth Lie Within? [New York Times- free registration or BugMeNot required"
Seth Roberts|Associate Professor|Research Interests [UC Berkely Psych dept.]
Dietary Non-Advice [Freakonomics Blog]
Freakonomics
Technorati Tags: diet, seth roberts, shangri-la, canola oil, olive oil, sugar water
20 Comments so far
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I would like more detail on the non-diet. How often do you take the oil or sweet-water and at what intervals?
I like the reader above would like more info. How do I know how much fructose to put in the water or how much oil to take and when. Thanks
LIKE THE ABOVE READERS I TOO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE AMOUNTS AND HOW OFTEN TO TAKE THE OIL & WATER. I HAVE LOST 50 POUNDS ON WEIGHT WATCHERS AND HAVE ABOUT 10- 15 MORE AND AM STRUGGLING. THANK YOU
While Seth Roberts’ book is not yet available, from his writings we can glean that he takes canola or extra light olive oil once a day, I’m guessing 150 calories worth, and a dilute solution of sucrose water once a day, worth another 150 calories (I’d say 150 cals worth of sucrose dissolved in at least a cup of water, if not more - probably as much as you can drink in a sitting).
I base this on his statement that he gets around 300 calories a day from these sources, and the assumption that he has given up on raw eggs, as he seemed to leaning that way in his last published writing on the topic.
I hope to have a link to order the book available soon.
Thanks for all your interest!
-Kevin
Here we go:
Preorder Seth Roberts’ Shangri-La Diet from Amazon.com.
Trying the oil first thing in the AM, puts a curb on the appetite. Brain seems satisfied. Still eating moderate portions. Feel sated earlier on. Find I don’t have to re-take the oil at any other time during the day. Have not added the sugar water just yet. May in a few days. Good luck to others.
Awesome, Kate! Please keep us all posted as to your progress!
Has the moderate portion thing been easier with the oil?
Does the oil make you gag?
Are you using Canola or extra light olive oil (or something else)?
What got you to try the diet? Was it the mention on Good Morning America?
If the anorexics get their hands on this they will disappear altogether, that’s how effective it is.
Try drinking oil and water with a sraw. Less mess on lips. How soon will i see results? Have not added sugared water yet.
Just started this after seeing segment on Good Morning America. I am also wondering about how often to take the oil and when? I am also a pre-diabetic, do I still take the sugar water?
Laurel: I would advise againt the sucrose water at least until you consult with a doctor. I assume the doctor will say No, though. Try the oil in the AM.
Patricia: When will you see results? Well the thing is to understand what result you will be seeing.
My understanding is that the Shangri-La diet works (Just like the Atkins diet does) by giving you a sense of satiety (fullness) that lasts throughout the day. Whether this works for you or not all hangs on one fact- modern americans are accustomed to such screwed up food habits that many of us are no longer able to really tell when we are full. We tend to eat until we are stuffed or even feeling slightly ill. This gets into the “scarcity mentality” Seth talks about. We need to eat just enough to keep us lightly satisfied until our next meal. We have a programmed in fear that there may not be a next meal.
Any kind of diet that relies on you knowing when to stop eating as opposed to counting calories runs into this obstacle. That’s why low-carb works so well for some and poorly for others. That’s why I suspect people will have the same diversity of results with the Shangri-La diet.
If you can tune into when you are and are not actually hungry, you should notice a difference on the first day.
I still do not understand how much, at what intervals, and how often should the oil or sugar water be taken on the diet?
OK, my best understanding (given that the book is not out, and I’m going off things Roberts has said over time in different places) is that when all the numbers are crunched it comes down to this:
Morning: take 1 tbs +1 tsp (ie 1&1/3 tablespoons) canola oil.
Afternoon: take 2tbs +1 tsp (ie 2&1/3 tablespoons) sucrose dissolved in as much warm to hot water as you can tolerate.
I suppose we’ll all find out for sure when the book is released, but knowing Seth, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gives amounts very roughly with the instruction to “see what works for you”.
I am willing to give this a try… i am curious…those of you who were writing about this in November…have you tried it, in what quantities and times of day…Oil only or both…and is there less of you to tell me about?
My mother just called me to tell me about this diet. My grandfather, who has a sedentary lifestyle and who’s body has given in to the ramifications of old age, has tried every trick diet in the book with no results. Until now. He started Seth Roberts Shangri-la diet and has lost 30 pounds since The new year! I would say it’s definately worth a shot.
it works. I’ve lost 20 lbs in just 40 days by drinking tablespoon or two of olive oil for breakfast and/or lunch. some days I just eat normally.
Seth Roberts’ Shangri-La Diet
A speculative look at psychology professor Seth Roberts’ as yet unreleased Shangri-La diet, which is said to promote weight loss through the consumption of Canola oil and a dilute sugar water solution.
[...] Although I myself am primarily a Low-Carb dieter, the plan I’ve written the most on of late has been the Shangri-La Diet. One of the most interesting things about this diet is its inherent simplicity. I came across another plan which is a part of the geek-friendly Everyday Systems program of self improvement. Everyday Systems is a fascinating idea, and I’ll discuss the E.S. fitness plan in the future. [...]
[...] The off-the-cuff article I wrote on the diet last year really took off after Google listed it as the #2 search result on the topic (not anymore, sadly). It is the most commented article in our history, and the one we’ve had to revise the most times as well. [...]
I have tried this diet for the week now, i feel like im not as hungry all day as i used to be…, i dont wolfe down my food like i used to, but just seem to take my time to eat, also i dont get that afternon craving for something quick to satisfy my sugar need, ive been drinking 3 tbs. of sugar in half a liter of water, one arround 10-11am and one round 4pm, i can only advice to try it, normally if i eat something sweet i want more, but when i drink this sugar water i seem to just keep running, shunting the craving… the reason i wrote this is to see if this disscusion was real or made up.