The Shangri-La Diet: The No Hunger Eat Anything Weight-Loss Plan

by Seth Roberts

Book Overview

As seen in the "New York Times" and on "Good Morning America"-now updated by the author. Imagine a diet that's as easy as "a spoonful of sugar" (or extra-light olive oil) twice a day. A diet that actually reduces appetite and cravings. A diet that's based on a wealth of scientific findings but is simple enough for anyone to stick to. A diet with results that amaze almost everyone who tries it. Psychology professor Seth Roberts asks a simple question...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399153640
• ISBN13: 9780399153648
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Length: 194 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Make sense

I am a certified weight consultant & the author of Asian Slim Secrets. I totally agree with the author that our bodies have a set point and that's why it's hard for people to lose weight. His recommendation for dealing with the set point does make sense and may indeed work for some people. However, I think there are more factors that influence the "set point theory" than the ones discussed in the book.

Controversial, but Helpful

In his well-written and easy-to-understand book Mr. Roberts sets forth a controversial weight-loss idea. With much fear and trembling I decided to try his method. Because of my being a borderline diabetic, the sugar water was not an option, and I chose Refined Walnut Oil. True to what Mr. Roberts stated, my strong cravings stopped and I felt full much quicker. Also true to what he said, this won't work if a person eats when they are not hungry (emotional eating). Although I have to deal with this on my own, it is easier now that the cravings have abated. After 2 1/2 months I have lost 26 pounds. My cholesterol dropped from 290 to 217; my HDL (the good kind) went up 9 points; my LDL (the bad kind) dropped over 100 points; and my triglycerides plummeted 100 points. I truly was amazed. If you purchase this book, keep in mind that there are many diets available. This particular one works for me. If it works for you, great! If it doesn't, keep looking.

When it doesn't work...

I'm yet another person who is happy with the results from following the guidance in this book. I think that it's clearly true that this "diet" (it is not really a diet per se) is working for a whole lot of people, and also that there are some people for whom it is not working. It's unlikely that tons and tons of people are all experiencing a similar psychological effect. It's possible, but if that were true, I'd expect that some other fad would have been able to produce a similar widespread effect long ago. And if it is true, then so much the better, and the people who can't reproduce the effect, should move on, and appreciate that it does seem to work for many. I also think the theory behind why the "diet" works is interesting, but not completely validated. That is, while it seems to work, perhaps the reasons why are wrong (more likely, that the theory isn't totally complete). I think they make intuitive sense, but it may be there's some other factor that differentiates some people, and makes the core idea not work for them. But I think the most common reason for this not working is probably due to misunderstanding the idea. I've seen the same few mistakes made over and over: 1) Not understanding the diet, and not following it properly. When it passes by word of mouth, for example, many people will try extra-virgin olive oil instead of extra-light olive oil (ELOO). 2) If you're already on a diet, and go off that diet when you start this one (or relax your old diet in any way), you can pretty much guarantee you're going to gain weight, at least in the short term, because your caloric intake is likely to skyrocket, even w/ the appetite control from the ELOO / sugar water. That's what you get when you start eating a lot more junk than you're used to. 3) Shangri-La will make you less hungry, but it is ultimately up to you to eat less. It's clear in the book that you still need to restrict your caloric intake, it's just that the ELOO / sugar water, when used properly, can help on the appetite, making it easy to self-restrict your caloric intake. If you have some psychological need to always eat what's in front of you, even when you're full, then you may not eat any less, and you won't lose any weight. Personally, I do have a bit of a psychological tie to cleaning my plate, especially since I paid for the food and want to get my money's worth. I'm working on that, but what I've tried to do is make sure that I put less food in front of myself to begin with. For example, there's a pizza place a few blocks from me that sells pizza by the slice. When I first started the diet, I'd get two pieces, and would end up hungry pretty soon after. A week after starting the diet, I went into the pizza place. I decided to eat one slice, and then only get the second slice if I was still hungry. I wasn't, so I left, and didn't get hungry again the rest of the day. If I'd have ordered two slices, as normal, I still would have eaten the second sli

Keep an open mind...

I'm so sorry that the one star reviewer didn't try the diet. I think he/she would've been surprised by how well it works. And it's not just for "couch potatoes." It's for anyone who wants to lose weight. This country has a terrible obesity problem. I know this program can help, because it helped me. I lost 10% of my body weight in a couple of months on this program. I would like to say as emphatically as I can that the book doesn't contain "pseudo-science." The author(a Ph.D professor at one of the country's top universities!) goes to great pains to include material from other scientists and respected journals. And the footnotes are exhaustive! Sometimes when a new idea comes along, it's difficult for some to let go of old dogma. Don't be discouraged by naysayers! Keep an open mind. Try it yourself.

Too good to be true, but true nevertheless

I was very skeptical of the claims made about this diet. Who wouldn't be? It sounds like the ultimate diet scam, designed to appeal to sedentary fat idiots who long to believe they can lose weight without expending any effort or having to give up their favorite junk food. Then I read the book. It's very clear and well-reasoned, but it was still hard to get past the fact that it goes against practically all the standard weight loss ideas I'd ever heard. Of course in the long run none of the standard ideas ever helped me lose weight and keep it off, so I decided to give this method a try. The great thing about it is, it's exceptionally easy and painless and very inexpensive to try it. Spoiler alert! I hate to give away the ending but for me at least it TOTALLY WORKS! I've noticed that people's reactions to this book, with very few exceptions, fall into two categories: those who think it's crazy and can't possibly work, and those who actually try it and are very surprised to find themselves losing weight. The book itself is kind of quirky and offbeat, but seems to be backed up by solid research. For such a small book it sure has a lot of footnotes. Can I just say something? I'm not hungry!