So I had it all stuck in my head I was going to do the shangri la diet - drink the oil, eat the sugar, etc, etc. So I started last Friday, I have had the oil every morning since but gave up on the afternoon dose of suger. I pretty much gave up on the diet itself after two-three days. I did notice a decrease in hungry so I kept up with the oil - just adding 2tsp to some water and then drinking it fast and downing half a liter of water after.

Olive Oil is high in calories - but from what I can tell it has other health benfits. Then I found this article....

http://health.howstuffworks.com/the-...ve-oil-ga6.htm

What do you guys think? is it worth it to take 1-2tbsp Olive Oil daily? How much should I take or should I stop altogether?

I don't wanna harm myself.... this is no longer about the shangri la diet I am just staying with my calorie counting and exercise.

I've been doing this for about 2 months. Totally works. I'd keep doing it even if the oil didn't help my appetite because my skin is nicer and my "time of month" is MUCH better (fewer cramps, decreased flow) and it seems to help the old creaky joints :-)

How much Olive do you take daily? Do you just drink it with water?

Are you doing it as the shangri la diet or just the oil on it's own? Have you noticed an increase in weight loss?

Sorry for the all questions!!

I tried it last year when we reviewed the Shangri-La diet and it made me gag. It had no effect on my appetite. I was concerned that the extra calories would cause a weight gain, so I didn't push it. Olive oil is extremely healthy, but it should be used to replace other oils in your diet, and not in addition to them, and probably not as a snack.

We polled over 10,000 dieters and only 6% said they overate from appetite. The rest overate from boredom or stress or habit. Unfortunately an appetite suppressant, even a natural food, isn't going to help most people. However, if you want to try something, we've heard that Korean Pine Nut oil suppresses the appetite and has scientific studies behind it. It's sold in capsules, though it's hard to find.

For another opinion on oil and Shangri-La, Jonny Bowden wrote about it in his blog.

I don't know anything at all about the Shangri-La diet (never heard of it), but I'd say that, intuitively, it just makes sense to use the olive oil in your cooking and your salad dressings instead of spray or vegetable oil. Olive oil tastes best, anyway, at least, it tastes best in cooking. I eat about a teaspoon or two each day, but in with my food. (I can't imagine having olive oil with water for breakfast and boiled green beans for dinner when I could just saute the green beans at dinner and make them tastier. That just wouldn't make any sense!)

That is where I am at now, I am worried about the 'extra' calories and they they might out-weigh the health benifits.

Sotypical -

Taking the olive oil with food doesn't work and it can't be virgin olive oil, it has to be extra LIGHT olive oil. The theory is the calories have to be flavorless and there has to be a one hour flavor-free window on either side of the oil. There is a whole board about it - I can't post the link, but google it. Some people are using fish oil capsules, some are using flaxseed oil and other things. The key is that it HAS to be flavorless. I take 2 T in a glass of water right before I go to bed. I was thinking of switching to fish oil caps, because it has benefits that olive oil doesn't. I was REALLY skeptical - I thought it was a silly silly thing. I don't even know where I found out about it - the book wasn't in the stores yet (haven't read it). But I thought of what the heck, olive oil can't hurt, so I tried it. It took a few weeks, but now I am just not that hungry. My worst time was always after work and before dinner. I would be ravenous and eat WAY too many calories. Now I am doing much better. I've lost 20 pounds pairing the oil with a basically "whole foods" diet - I eat low on the glycemic index and we've always eaten very little meat, so I didn't change that. Anyway, it seems that people who have the most to lose do the best (makes sense) and men do better on it than women. Frankly the whole idea seems so silly only one person in the "real" world knows I am doing this, But like I said - I would keep doing it even if I weren't losing weight - I don't know if it is the Omega 3s in the oil or what but I FEEL so much better that it is worth it to me.

Thanks Luja. I am using 'pure' olive oil - I am taking it as soon as I get up and then not eating for an hour - although this morning I had to have a drink of something with flavour because I was gaging on the after taste and couldn't stop! haha But I also have horrible gag reflaxes, its funny - I haven't thrown up in probably 6 or more years, but I gag on everything, lol.

I don't think I am going to follow the diet per say - I did find the forums, signed up, read some posts and decided it wasn't the place for me as I like it here much better.

I think I am going to stick with the oil for a few weeks - if I don't have another repeat of this morning - just to see what it brings to the table - I don't know unless I try!

I've been following the food pyramid espoused by Harvard, which puts olive oil on the bottom tier, along with whole grains and fruits and vegetables.

http://www.eatdrinkandweighless.com/index.htm

They do recommend staying within 15-1600 calories a day for weight loss, so that has to be taken into consideration.

I don't think plant oils are the culprit in obesity. I think it's sugar mainly. I personally don't think drinking it sounds good (on a taste level), but I put it on toast, salads, vegetables, cook with it, etc. I don't understand why taking it with food would matter?

Thank you for that link! I just skimmed it but that looks like a really good book. This morning I cooked my scrambled eggs with the Oil and that was much better! haha - I am kinda scared to put it on toast.... but it sounds WAY better then drinking it! I am good with the calorie part of my diet, just not always the healthy part! thanks

I use olive oil in all my cooking. I believe it does have good health benefits so I've been working on ways to incorporate it with other healthy foods. I often put it in my water when I boil vegetables and it taste better the boiling them plain and is healthier! I also tend to make low fat quesidillas on whole grain tortillas and use olive oil for that as well. When I make pasta I will usually just mix some in to a canned marinara sauce. I've learned it's not too difficult to just find one thing each day to incorporate it into.

I use it as one of my healthy oils, i.e., as the basis for a vinaigrette.

I tend to saute in grapeseed oil if I don't want the olive oil's comparatively stronger flavor. I also use walnut oil (delicious, but must be kept in fridge) drizzled over raw green leafies.

I haven't heard of the Shangri-La diet--can someone give a quick overview?

Dont have any taste for one hour before and after and drink oil with water or water and sugar. I get up at 6, immediatly drink my oil and water and then exercise and then eat breakfast. Some people do it twice a day. That is the just of it.