The Shangri-La Diet
If you are interested in losing weight, you may have already heard of the “no hunger, eat anything weight loss plan”. Well, if in case you still haven’t heard of it, it is Shangri-La Diet’s basic approach to weight loss.
According to Seth Roberts, PhD, author of the Shangri-La Diet and at the same time a professor of psychology, it is strongly advisable that you control your appetite to eventually lower your body’s “set point” and from there lose some pounds.
The “set point” being referred here is the weight at which your body naturally wants to settle.
The Basic Theory Behind
The basic theory behind why according to Roberts the Shangri-La Diet works is the idea about the science of flavors, the premise of taste. For many years, because of this, it is at times compared to another diet plan, the Flavor Point Diet.
According to the theory, “if you eat a variety of familiar foods that are rich in flavor, the brain stimulates hunger, raising the set point and causing weight gain, but if you consume foods with little taste, or that taste unfamiliar, the brain thinks the body must be starving thus lowering the set point and causing weight loss”. Similarly for Roberts, “the better food tastes, the more fattening it is”.
Recommendations, Limitations, and Restrictions
What’s inviting about the Shangri-La Diet is that you can eat whatever you like. You basically can eat whatever you crave for as long as they belong to the category of whole grains, high-fiber foods, fruits, and vegetables and are not processed and high-fructose corn syrup.
However, for a more positive result, when under the plan, you have to take 1-3 tablespoons of fructose water and/or 1-2 tablespoons of extra-light olive oil twice daily between meals. At the same time, you are obliged to have foods with unfamiliar flavors to eventually lower your body’s set point.
The Shangri-La Diet Works
Particularly for Roberts, the Shangri-La Diet works mainly because of its science of flavor and taste approach. In fact, according to Roberts, by drinking a couple hundred flavorless calories for some time, you will almost immediately feel less hungry having only one meal every other day. What more if you regularly exercise according to Roberts, you may lose 35 pounds in 3 months which is not already bad.
Insights of Some Experts
Like many diet plans, the Shangri-La Diet is also not as perfect as it seems at first instance.
For David Grotto, RD, spokesperson of American Dietetic Association, “it sounds sexy and easy, but it is riddled with holes”. Added by him, “what I like is that you can eat whatever you want, but choosing unfamiliar foods and drinking olive oil or sugar water between meals is not practical, nor is it likely to be something most people will do for a long time.”
For Ellie Krieger, RD, a nutritionist and at the same time host of Food Network’s Healthy Appetite, “it is ludicrous to make a statement that the better a food tastes, the more fattening it is.”
Why Try the Shangri-La Diet
Because of its distinct premises about flavors being associated to “set point” and eventually to weight gain or loss, the Shangri-La Diet became popular to some dieters. Some of its theories were also backed up with studies and even personal experiences, therefore dieters feel rest assured of a safe weight loss program.
However, these of course should not be considered as sufficient proofs for any theory of Roberts at hand. Extra precaution and further studies are still vital.