Here’s something I posted on the Shangri-La Diet (SLD) boards. If Seth can wade through my verbosity…I hope he has some ideas and insight. I’m not seeking an answer; speculation would do just fine.

You’ve probably already encountered this with all your research, but just in case you haven’t, here are the basics:

About 10 years ago, a friend turned me on to Dr. Abravanel’s Body Type Diet and Lifetime Nutrition Plan. Taking Dr. A’s quiz, I quickly identified as a “gonadal” type (curvy waist/hips, strong build), and I tweaked what I ate accordingly. Within a couple months, I’d shed about 15-20 pounds without really trying, and also enjoyed lots of extra energy. Of course, I *was* 25 at the time, so it wasn’t so difficult back then!

In the years since first encountering his theory, I’ve found that it seems to usually play out, and that people with a certain type of build are more likely to have specific “problem” foods. This makes sense to me, and also explains why some people (P and T types) do fabulously on a low-carb diet, and others (like me) tank on it and feel horrible in the process.

His basic idea:
Certain foods trigger higher production in our gland system, either in the thyroid, pituitary, adrenals, or (for women only) ovaries. If you continuously eat foods that overstimulate your dominant gland, you eventually exhaust it, its production falters, and you gain weight. The trigger foods/flavors:

Gonadal: creamy, spicy, rich, red meat
Adrenal: salt, yellow cheese, red meat, alcohol, shellfish
Thyroidal: sugar, refined carbs, caffeine
Pituitary: dairy (except yogurt), sugar, caffeine

Additionally, the T and P types need fairly sizeable quantities of protein in their diets to help stabilize blood sugar issues.

/oversimplified intro

In my (limited and anecdotal) experience, I’ve found these basics to hold true when I chat with people about what “works for them” in their diets. So (finally), here’s my question:

If this is true (of course, it may not be), what–if any–implications do you think body type may have on the effectiveness of sugar water versus oil for people of different types?

I’m still trying to figure this one out, myself. On the one hand, I feel SO good when I have a dose of the sugar water — then SO bad after the oil. This makes sense to me, as fat has always been my demon; sugar never has been a problem for me (unless it’s combined with fat…mmm…cheesecake). On the other hand, I definitely feel more of an appetite suppression from the oil.

My initial hypothesis is that sugar would work better in the long run for a G/A type, oil for a P/T type.

An aside:
One of the things that I love about the SLD theory so far is how broadly applicable it is–ie, with the help from the sugar or oil, I gain the help I need to moderate my eating. I KNOW what sorts of foods work well for me (very low fat, lowish protein, tons of fruit and veggies, moderate starch), but I’ve had a hellish time with the willpower to break the bad habits I established during pregnancy! If the past two days are any indication of what’s to come, even a short stint on the SLD should help me to get back to eating well as a norm. Once I’m eating that way regularly, it’s a breeze to maintain…getting into the pattern is where I get stuck!

Allison, with 20-25 pounds to drop.

Spammers: don’t bother. Comments are moderated.

On with the show…

Weight: 151.6
BMI: 26.7

A note on daily weight: I’m not particularly concerned about what my weight does from day to day, other than as a curiosity. My entire life, I could easily expect my weight to shift 3-4 pounds from one day to the next–then to shift right back. It’s only the aggregate moves over time that are important. So, why do a weigh-in? Eh, it’s easier to chart (chuckle).

The BMI is a crude, at best, measure of one’s health; it doesn’t take bone structure or muscle mass into account. That said, for most people, it gives a reasonable idea of where they should head. My BMI goal is about 22 = 125 pounds. Knowing my own bone structure (medium) and muscle tone (tendency to carry a lot of muscle), I shy away from the lower end of the “normal” range — it looks bad on me (an ex actually told me in photos where I was about 115 pounds that I looked skeletal).

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I’ve already encountered two other newbies to the Shangri-La diet. I look forward to seeing how we all do with it, and what our impressions are along the way. Hooray for community! Even if this tanks, at least I’ll have a couple other (lunatics’) shoulders to cry on.

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Last night, we went out for dinner (Oh, how I love to eat out! Let me count the ways…), and I ate something that I knew was ridiculously fat-ladden (hence, my lack of surprise at the scale today). Am I just being difficult here? In a way, it felt like a last fling before my desires change. Oh, I drank two glasses of wine, too. I did, however, notice that when the waiter asked whether I’d like to see a dessert menu, I had to surpress a look of, “are you insane???” that I wanted to give him. Dessert? How could I possibly want dessert, you moron? Oh, right. Normally, I would. That’s something, I suppose.

Before hitting the restaurant, we swooped through Barnes & Noble, so I could pick up a copy of the book. I love the irony…eating a patently bad-for-you dish as I read a book about a diet. How wrong is that? In my own contrarian kind of way, I think I’m just daring this program to make me feel different. I. DARE. YOU.

After we returned home and I put the kidlet to bed, I settled onto the sofa to read for a bit. Lately, my evenings have often included hot cocoa. People, it’s been cold here over the past few days! Besides that, there’s something about melted mini-marshmallows that gives me a sense of childlike security. Ah, cocoa. Last night? Couldn’t even think about it. Actually, even though I didn’t eat any more of my fat-laden dinner than normally I would, I felt stuffed for the rest of the night. I did feel a little dehydrated, so I grabbed some water, but that’s about it.

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What the heck am I talking about anyway?

Oh, right…that. In Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner profiled a wacky psych professor (I love him already, go fig) with a propensity for self-experimentation. One of his experiments involved tinkering with his own body’s set point–and discovering that if he consumed calories that the body couldn’t associate with a taste, his body didn’t recognize them as being part of a “feast cycle.” Even though the calories counted as energy (and toward weight gain), the body thought that there was less food abundantly available, so it changed its furnace settings. He became less hungry. When he ate, it took less to fill him up. He thought about food less. As a side note, he also dropped weight — too much, for a short while.

Links coming soon…just looked at the clock. Maya and I have to head across the street to meet our neighbor’s kitty, since we’re cat-sitting while they leave town!

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One thing I find appealing about this approach (whether it works or not) is that in general, the people doing it are open to scientific study. Seth Roberts rigorously tracked his intake and results, and most people I find who’ve done this for any (relatively) extended period of time do the same.

Contrast this to a recent experience I had with Isagenix. (I won’t include a link, because I don’t want to promote this program. Google it, if you must.) I met “B” a couple months ago at the Y, and she gave me a little bit of information about Isagenix, and their “cleansing technology.” A couple things turned me off about it from the start. First an foremost, Isagenix is multilevel marketing. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Other things that bugged me: a lack of any data beyond anecdotal evidence, no technical description of why this should work, and lastly, B’s referring to the program as “doctor-endorsed,” immediately followed by, “and you should listen to what Dr. John Gray has to say.” Um…doctor, yes. Medical doctor, no. Gray is a psychologist.

Now, before you bag on this, I’m fully aware that Roberts is a psychologist. What I see as a difference is that he makes no bones about being a psychologist, and people aren’t talking about “Dr. Roberts’ plan” as if he were a medical professional.

Anyway, back to Isagenix. I did the “9-Day Cleanse,” (which really takes 11 days). I saw some results. At the start of the program, I weighed 150.6 (sound familiar?). After the final “cleanse day,” the scale read 143. Amazing, right? Not so fast. I was interested enough in their product/program that I’d ordered the 30-day program (similar to the 9-day, just less intense) as a follow-on to see if I’d continue to see results. Because of a shipping snafu, about 1-1/2 weeks passed before I received the 30-day supply. In the first 3-4 days of that time, my weight bounced like a superball back to where it was pre-cleanse — while eating a very healthy normal diet.

Now, who knows? Maybe Isagenix is the amazing product that the company claims. What I do know was that by the time the (ridiculously expensive) 30-day supply arrived, I was annoyed. Even if a 30-day regimen reversed my bounceback, what’s to say that I wouldn’t experience the same AGAIN immediately afterward. The only other solution would be to stay on Isagenix in perpetuity. I have a problem with this. The product is expensive. The program feels like deprivation. If there’s one thing I do know about weight loss and fitness regimes, it’s this: whatever you do to drop the weight, you’d better be prepared to continue to do to maintain the loss. In other words, any program must be sustainable. B suggested that I could turn other people on to “the technology” (God, that phrasing irritated me), so that that income could pay for my product. Sorry folks, I’m not turning anyone on to anything unless I believe in it.

Anyway, back to my initial train of thought. I like — love, even — that people involved with Shangri-La are (for the most part) open to scientific study. Isagenix felt like a religion, where if you wanted to see clinical trials, you’d get shooed out the door. It was all about faith. In my opinion, any product I use to lose weight or gain fitness should be readily available.

I KNOW what I need to eat in order to maintain a lower weight. But I’ll tell you what, I’ve had a hell of a time trying to implement changes. If a little sugar water or unflavored oil helps me to do what I already know I need to do, I’m all for it.

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Yesterday’s “doses” (speaking of data points):

9am: Breakfast (we got a severely late start, and I forgot to eat until then!)
11:30am: 1 Tbsp sugar in warm/hot water.
1:15pm: Lunch
4:00pm: 1 Tbsp sugar in warm/hot water.
6:45pm: Dinner
11pm: 2 Tbsp canola oil.

Yeah, looking at the book, that was too much. Cut me some slack; I’m learning. I will not be blogging a food diary; I only include meal times to track how well I’m doing with giving taste-free space around my doses.

Other effects: As noted above, I experienced a slight lowering of appetite. On top of that, I noticed feelings of mild euphoria (both physically and mentally) within an hour or so of each sugar water dose. I treated the sugar water almost as a shot yesterday (slammed it). Today, I’m slowing down how fast I drink to see what change that makes.

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Today’s Stats:
8am: Breakfast
10am: Finished drinking coffee.
11:30am: Three spoons of sugar (regular spoons, not measuring; need to work on that part) of table sugar, dissolved in one warm/hot pint glass of water. I’d intended to drink this slowly, but had a surprise offer to get out of the house, so I slammed it. Again.
1:15pm: Lunch. I was very hungry before this meal — that’s a little discouraging. Probably finished by 1:30, certainly no later than 1:45.
3:00pm: 2tbsp canola oil.
4:30pm: While I’m not hungry in the least, I feel a little off and headachey.
5:05pm: The weather has cleared, and it’s now sunny and 60ish degrees. I thought that we’d go for a short hike, but I simply can’t. I feel AWFUL.
6:30(ish)pm: I started feeling tons better…but no appetite, and was bewildered why my toddler was crabby. Then I looked at the clock. WOW…dinner time! I fed her, then ate perhaps two spoons of her Annie’s mac-n-cheese. Normally, I’d eat a serving of it myself, but I just couldn’t be bothered. Besides, I had spinach in the fridge that I needed to use, and it sounded better (see below for how I fix it).
8:15-8:30pm: Granny Smith apple, not so much because I was hungry, but because I the chewing was satisfying (oral fixation; there’s a reason I used to smoke and love to eat).

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It’s now nearly 9pm, and I hear my daughter yelling that she does NOT want to sleep. SIGH…that’s a whole different issue. I can only hope that once her Motrin kicks in (she’s teething bigtime) she’ll zonk out.

One comment about the 8:30pm apple, and what I think of as “sensuous eating” — I am most definitely an emotional eater. I know this about myself. Why do I eat ice cream? Hello? I get a serious buzz off it, and the world seems like a friendlier place afterward…for a little while, anyway. What I find interesting tonight is that I still wanted to chew/eat/feel more, but I didn’t care particularly what. The apple (that would normally be a morning snack) was just as satisfying as a bowl of ice cream would be some other time. I can’t believe I just said that.

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My favorite way to eat spinach:
Head a small amount of olive oil in a large frying pan/skillet — I find medium/medium-low to work well.
Add a handful of slivered almonds.
Stir ocassionally.
As soon as the almonds start to turn golden, add some chopped garlic. Don’t ask me how much. You know how much garlic appeals to you — what looks like a good amount?
Throw in a handful of dried cranberries.
When the garlic and almonds are both golden/brown, but not close to burning, dump a pile of fresh, prewashed spinach into the pan.
Use a large spatula to quickly rotate the almonds/garlic/cranberries on top, then throughout the spinach.
The spinach will wilt quickly. Serve it up just after it’s no longer leafy, but before it’s a pile of overcooked mush.

The beauty of sauteeing spinach (IMO) is that I can kill about 2-3 salads’ worth of veggies in one swoop. Nice.

Starting weight: 150.2
(There’s a story to be told at a later time about why this annoys me.)

I figure that there’s nothing to lose. My normal midmorning apple will move to lunch or evening meal (I like eating an apple a day), and while I plan to not eat junk, I’m also not going out of my way to “diet.”

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Hmmm…you know, I initially posted this as private, ie, only readable by me. But whaddya know, it’s showing as published. That’s annoying, but I think I’ll post publicly on this, anyway.

Rather than bother to put this stuff into organized posts, I’m going to just write as I think to within each day’s post.

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As simple as this should be, I just had my first goof, or perhaps almost-goof (I’m not sure which it is). Within 30 minutes of my first sugar-water dose, I cut up a gardenburger for my daughter’s lunch. Without thinking about it, I stuck the fork in my mouth…very little on it, but enough that I could *taste* the gardenburger. Oops.