Seth Roberts

As a lot of people mentioned, you don't need to buy the book to get the diet plan. It's pretty simple and explained on the author's website. The book was mostly background on how Roberts got the idea, what he did to test it, and dieter testimonials. All in all, it was an interesting read. I admire Roberts' ability to think outside the box. If the testimonials are to be believed, this diet could be a magic bullet.I don't believe in magic, unfortunately. I will try out the ideas and see what happens. It's not risky and the premise appeals to my supremely lazy attitude. I can't rate the book higher than three stars until I know if it actually delivers on its claim. The three stars reflect an easy to read book that clearly leads you through its ideas. Whether or not you believe any of it along the way is another thing.… (meer)

I heard about the Shangri-La diet in an odd way - from reading another diet book! The author mentioned that she didn't understand why, but taking a spoonful of oil, or sugar water, works for her when her appetite starts to get out of hand. I was intrigued and purchased this book.

Roberts diet is simple: Take one tablespoon of extra light olive oil (or sugar water) several times a day, in the middle of a 2 hour time-frame when you do not eat anything else. It will suppress your appetite so you can eat less food. (Of course, you have to eat quite a bit less to make up for the extra calories in the oil.)

I've tried this for the past few days and it does seem to suppress the appetite. (Extra virgin olive oil does not seem to work, however. It needs to be extra-light.) Only time will tell if it will work for me long-term.

The dieter does need to make a conscious effort to eat less, and only eat when genuinely hungry. If you still continue to eat for emotional reasons, or eat mindlessly, the results will not be as great. It seems like it will work best if you are already trying to lose weight.

Read this book if you are intrigued by this unusual diet. The book explains the facts behind the method, and lists many 'extra credit' methods to lose weight even faster.

This could be the end of uncontrollable hunger and obsessions about food!… (meer)