Shangri-La Diet - setpoint success at last page 46

[heatseeker]

Question for people who have read the book--do you know if it's a big deal if you don't take the oil for a day or two?

Just speaking from my experience, I recently went 3 days without taking the oil due to being super busy at an event, and I just maintained, didn't gain anything.

I have been bracing myself psychologically all day to ingest a spoonful of coconut oil. I just can't do it. I really want to but I can't. Can I dilute it in water or something?

I've melted the oil in a little bit of hot water and knocked it back. Works great. Just make sure everything's flavorless.

[unchatenfrance]

I've melted the oil in a little bit of hot water and knocked it back. Works great. Just make sure everything's flavorless.

I have organic coconut oil at home, which tastes and smells very coconutty. But based on what I managed to choke back today (not much), when I plug my nose I can neither smell nor taste it. Will this work? I don't want to buy a new jar of refined oil while I have this one sitting in my cupboard.

[Louisa655]

I have organic coconut oil at home, which tastes and smells very coconutty. But based on what I managed to choke back today (not much), when I plug my nose I can neither smell nor taste it. Will this work? I don't want to buy a new jar of refined oil while I have this one sitting in my cupboard.

I started with Walnut Oil, but the taste is too strong for me and leaves a nasty after taste. I moved to Refined Coconut Oil (comes in a jar), and it seems to be fairly odourless. I scoop one large tablespoon into a little egg cup and microwave it for exactly 1 minute. Then I throw back the coconut oil like a glass of Tequila and chase it with a glass of water. Sometimes I plug my nose and sometimes I don't. There's no flavour from the coconut so I figure I'm okay. I wipe any remnants off my lips with a paper towel and done -- voila! I haven't weighed myself today and I won't until Monday, but I have come to recognize weigh loss results in myself and I'm feeling them today. My belly fat seems to get wiggly or loose and that's when I know I'm mobilizing fat stores. My belly is worst than a bowl of jello, so I believe this is working for me. The other additional factor for me is I have stopped all wine consumption. I used to enjoy a glass at night with the hubster, but am foregoing it for now. I am also eating one potato with my dinner every night as per Otzi's suggestion and this seems to be working well for me. I'm nodding off to sleep by 7:30 - 8pm and I'm rolling with it. I go to bed no later than 8pm and sleep LIKE THE DEAD until 6 am. I usually wake up for 2-3 hours during the night but NOT since taking coconut oil 2 x per day and having a potato for dinner. Anyway, just sharing a few of my personal experiences.

As one further aside, I read something interesting today: I read the first long success story on the "Perfect Health Diet" site and I found it interesting to note that the fellow who lost 100 lbs or so over 7 months also took Coconut Oil shots during the day. He explained that it helped to curb his appetite and prevented him from snacking. It's interesting to note how different people utilize these little 'weight loss helpers' and perhaps he had no idea he was doing part "Shandrala Diet". It's nice to know that people are trying different strategies in the loss of weight and the pursuit of better health.

/Lu

[purple579]

I wonder if mixing oils would work? What I mean is, I have been taking CO and like the health benefits associated with it, but the fact that it is the most problematic oil worries me a bit since I'm not sure it's working for me yet. I wonder what taking one tbsp of CO a day and one tbsp of extra light olive oil later in the day would do?

[marthat]

Mixing oils is no problem, lots of folks have done it. Just monitor your n=1 experiment to see the effect of changing oils. And don't change too often - make a change and give it a couple of weeks to assess the effectiveness.

[PaleoMom]

Well, I bounced back up 1.8 lbs. today. I'm still going to continue and see what happens, but at this point I seem to be following the same pattern I always do. Get to the bottom of my stuck range and instantly bounce back up again. I have been starving the last two days and did eat more but not more than my maintenance should be. My weekly caloric average didn't change. I'm continuing on but wanted to report.

[Louisa655]

Well, I blew it out of the park last night with a dinner out with friends at a pub. For the day, I consumed 2000 calories (I can't believe I ate that much). At the pub, I enjoyed a caesar salad and a sheppard's pie. It's the potato that can really add calories to your day. I topped the night off with too much red wine and a slice of pecan pie. No guilt here because I never eat this much. I believe my resistance to having a dessert was lowered due to my red wine consumption. Anyway, today, I'm back on schedule and committed to eliminating wine/alcohol for the forseeable future.

As an aside, I read a few interesting postings on the Shangrala Diet forum. I read a posting by a lady who nose plugs for about 80% of her meals. So, she not only consumes the 2xdaily oil, but she nose plugs during her lunch and dinner. She does this for about a week at a time, and then she will eat meals, 'un-nose-plugged'. She said that this technique led to faster weight loss.

Has anyone on this forum tried this technique, of coupling oil 2x per day with nose-plugged meals? I'm always fascinated by these types of experiments. Another question I have is: Would smokers realize the same benefit of weight loss, due to the fact that smokers have a 'de-sensitized' ability to smell?

/Lu

[heatseeker]

Louisa655, I did the same thing last night! I went out with friends for my birthday and ended up having a big 8oz steak with shallot butter and roasted sweet potato spears, and a glass of wine. All told it was probably 1000 calories, bringing my daily total to around 1800, sans oil. BIG DAY. Heh. However, I've done big "refeed" days before on SLD, and I find that it doesn't really make me gain. I just hop back on the oil wagon the next day and everything keeps going the way it should. At most, I've gained maybe half a pound or just maintained from a refeed day.

I'm going to switch up my oil starting today, using ELOO. I ran out of EVCO yesterday and decided I wanted to try something new. We'll see if it has any different effect.

[Louisa655]

Louisa655, I did the same thing last night! I went out with friends for my birthday and ended up having a big 8oz steak with shallot butter and roasted sweet potato spears, and a glass of wine. All told it was probably 1000 calories, bringing my daily total to around 1800, sans oil. BIG DAY. Heh. However, I've done big "refeed" days before on SLD, and I find that it doesn't really make me gain. I just hop back on the oil wagon the next day and everything keeps going the way it should. At most, I've gained maybe half a pound or just maintained from a refeed day.

I'm going to switch up my oil starting today, using ELOO. I ran out of EVCO yesterday and decided I wanted to try something new. We'll see if it has any different effect.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HEATSEEKER!

Well, you have a good attitude about it all. I don't get my knickers in a knot about some days eating like this. I RARELY eat that much and the potato, wine and pecan pie (it was amazing), pushed me into the high numbers. In any event, I am committed to eliminating wine and seeing if I can really drop enough weight to get into size 6's and 8's. It's this tummy fat crap that I hate so much. It just looks like shit and I feel like the lady who's approaching middle-age (ahhh, gag me).

Anyway, I feel GREAT on this oil protocol so I am definitely continuing with it. I have found that taking the oil eliminates any/all cravings --- even eliminates wants/desires for a glass of red wine. Hubster can have a glass next to me in the evenings, and I just don't want any. Quite interesting. I'll see how the next week goes and report in with my charts.

I'm not sure how to eat an entire meal with a nose plug on.....it's kind of like trying to eat food with a really bad head cold.

/Lu

[PaleoMom]

I just watched the documentary "Gasland" which had two women who had lost their sense of smell and taste from the pollution. I found it interesting that they were both overweight. They were essentially being poisoned though, so I can see their bodies holding on to fat for protective reasons.

On this same note I know a man that lost his sense of smell/taste and has very low body fat. He was never overweight though and has a heavy manual labor job. I do find it interesting to watch him eat fast food and cookies though. If you can't taste it, I find it odd not to make other choices.

There is also the case of my mother. For unknown reasons she has lost most of her sense of smell/taste. I still find her eating treats (again, WHY?) and she hasn't lost any weight since this happened (about 7 years ago). She isn't largely overweight but could probably lose 15-20 pounds to be in the super fit category.

I don't know what to make of these people vs. the SLD.