Day 56: down 12.8 lbs.

Day 55: down 10.4 lbs.

My exercise this week has been pretty poor. I haven't done any weight training (I've switched to once per week), and my running has been sub-par. I planned to get up early this morning and go for a long run, but I was just too tired when the alarm went off. I'll have to settle for a short run over my lunch hour.

My reduced load of 240 kcal of flavorless oil per day doesn't seem any different than 360 or 480. I'll stay at this level for a while to see what happens.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 54: down 11.8 lbs.

I mentioned body fat percentage yesterday. Here's a chart of my weight & body fat since I started SLD. It's hard to read, so click on it for a better view. The right y-axis is weight in pounds. (Anybody know how to add a secondary y title in OpenOffice?)



I don't know what kind of accuracy this scale claims, but I know this type of body fat measurement isn't really all that accurate.

The scale seems to be sensitive to hydration. If I've had a lot to drink, it's more likely to show a lower body fat percentage. My normal weigh-in is in the morning, before I've had anything to eat or drink, so it generally shows a higher percentage then than it does at any other time of day. The really curious numbers are from about a month ago, when over a three-day stretch my scale showed the weight dropping off like crazy at the same time the body fat was piling up.

I don't put a lot of stock in these numbers, other than the general trend.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 53: down 11.2 lbs.; body-fat oddity

Today's the 12th consecutive day (well, minus Sunday when I didn't weigh in) that my body-fat percentage scale has read 27%. It hadn't stayed on the same number more than 5 days in a row previously.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 52: down 12 lbs.

No flavorless calories since Friday; less exercise than usual; lots of high-fat, high-salt, low-nutrient food. Weight change: none.

We went camping over the weekend, so I didn't weigh in yesterday nor did I follow Shangri-La.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 50 - down 12 lbs.

I hit a new low this morning, but I suspect a good bit of the loss is just water weight. I ran a 10K race last night (well, probably about 10.3K. I, and most everybody else, missed a turn and wandered a bit). Afterwards, instead of drinking Gatorade or water like an elephant, as I usually do, I was herding my kids around, fetching umbrellas, watching for my dad (he ran, too).

Considering the detour, I was happy with my time. I didn't really push that hard, and I did more chatting with other runners during the race than I have in my life.

Anyway, I should be back up to my normal running load next week. I hope that will keep my weight loss going.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 49: down 11 lbs.

My 10K road race is tonight. I'm looking forward to getting my milage back up next week, and maybe breaking out of this weight pleatuau.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 48: down 9.8

Lately I've been hungry in the middle of the day, but not so much at breakfast or supper time. The way I understand the theory, the flavorless calories aren't supposed to have an immediate, short-term appetite suppression effect, but rather to lower it overall. So the timing shouldn't matter much. I am usually done with my flavorless calories by late morning. The next several hours are usually when I'm hungriest. Maybe it's the four hours of not eating in the morning that sets me up for afternoon hunger.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 47: down 9.8

Still bouncing around in a narrow range. Apparently, plateaus are common on this diet.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 46: down 10.6 lbs.

This week's weight (and hunger level) should be interesting. Too many variables, but interesting. I'm tapering off on my running to get ready for Friday's road race, and I've reduced my canola oil usage.
tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 45: down 11.4 lbs.

Well, moving from three to four tbsp. canola oil per day didn't do anything for me; let's try going the other way. Starting today, I'll try 1 tbsb., twice a day. That'll drop me down to 240 flavorless kcal per day, which is still well within the range recommended by the book (100 to 400 says my memory).

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned my continuing scepticism about the Shangri-La Diet, and offered an alternate cause of my own weight loss: running. Here's a chart of my weekly mileage for the entire year. I also chart a five-week moving average. As you can see, my exercise load began increasing a little before I started SLD (6 May), and has increased dramatically since then.

Rod over at Following Shangri-La suffers blog fatigue. I know the feeling.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 44: down 11 lbs.

Just reporting the numbers today. Nothing to see here. Go back to your homes and families.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 43: down 9.6 lbs.

I think changing my dose of canola oil from three to four tbsp. has been a washout. I've had no noticeable change in appetite, and I've gained weight. I'll stay at four through the weekend, and if I don't see a change I'm going back to three.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 42: down 10.4 lbs.

I haven't noticed much change yet since I increased my canola oil from three tbsp. daily to four. My weight has been on a major plateau. I chart my daily weight, and while the day-to-day has moved as much as 2.2 lbs, the three-day moving average has barely moved a pound for over a week.

On the exercise front, I'm really looking forward to a 10K road race in one week. I ran a killer interval session this morning, and it went exceptionally well. I don't think I'm in shape to run a personal best, but I should run a decent time.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 41: down 10 lbs.

I've gained three days in a row, which is a first since I started. It's only about a pound and a half, though. Nothing to worry about.

Annie's Shangri-La Diet Blog, perhaps the first SLD blog, has moved and shifted its focus. Check it out.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 40: down 10.2 lbs.

I was hungry, hungry, hungry all day yesterday, despite eating more than average. Starting last night, I've upped my canola oil from 1.5 tbsp. to 2 tbsp. twice daily. That's a little more than the book recommends, but several people on the forums have reportedly used this amount to good effect.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 39: down 10.8 lbs.

A few days ago I mentioned the hunger vs. appetite idea. A comment in the Seth Roberts forums described it this way:

I started the Shangri La 4 days ago, feeling very hungry a lot of the timess, but 2/3 the way through whatever I'm eating have to stop, no matter how delicious and tempting the food.

That has happened to me exactly once in 39 days.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 38: down 11.4 lbs.

I've gone two days in a row without a full dose of canola oil. Yesterday I didn't get any until 9:00 p.m., and took 2 tbsp. instead of my usual 1.5 + 1.5.

I don't have a regular schedule. When I run in the morning, which is about 4 to 5 times a week, I'll take 1.5 tbsp. at around 6:00 a.m., and 1.5 tbsp. at 10:00 a.m. or so. If I don't run in the morning, I usually take the oil at about 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 37: down 10.2

I did only half of my canola oil yesterday, and today may be the same. Weekends can be so busy.

I ran a short road race yesterday, where the object was not to run the fastest, but to most accurately predict one's finishing time. Watches are not allowed. I was off by 15 seconds, which was good enough to win my age group. The distance is said to be 1.9 miles, but I think it's a little short of that.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 36: down 9.2 lbs.

I'm five weeks in. I gained 2.2 since yesterday. The other time I gained 2.2, it was followed by a six-pound loss in one week. Not that I'm expecting that again. I just mention it to fill space.

My body-fat scale has been usually reporting 27% lately, with a couple of dips to 26%. When I started, it was fluctuating between 28% and 29%.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Hunger vs. appetite

Stephen M may have described what I'm experiencing over on the Seth Roberts forums. He says for his first two months on SLD, he had hunger but little appetite. I hadn't really thought much about that distinction. I'm not sure that's what I've got; I'll have to chew it over a bit. So to speak.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 35: down 11.4 lbs.

Well, the no-hunger mode didn't last too long. Yesterday afternoon was back to normal. I was just as hungry as ever. I didn't binge or anything, and I lost some weight.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

One man's attempt to answer the question...

What's worse than drinking canola oil?

Day 34: down 9.6 lbs.

I'm still hopeful that the SLD effect has finally kicked in for me. I had very little hunger this morning. I expect in another day or two I'll know a lot more, either good or bad.

SD Blogger sums up a month's worth of SLD.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Is the wait over?

I've been grousing and complaining about how the huge appetite loss that some have had on SLD hasn't happened to me. Well, today at lunch, mid-sandwich, maybe it did. I just lost all interest in eating another bite. I'd had a fairly small breakfast, too, and had gone for a mid-length run (about 7.5 km).

Tonight I had a fairly light supper, and hours later, I'm not the least bit hungry.

So fingers crossed. Stay tuned.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 33: down 10.2

I've hit the arbitrary milestone of 10 lbs. lost. I was pretty hungry last night, so I had a late-night snack, which is a little unusual for me. I'm hungry again this morning, but it's not too bad. My usual routine now is to take one dose of canola oil right away in the morning, and I'm not so hungry as to want to skip that.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 32: down 9.4 lbs.

I'm still waiting for that dramatic appetite loss. I can't say for sure there's no change at all, but it's surely not nearly as substantial as some have experienced. Other than the very first day, I've never really had that stuffed feeling. Yesterday I was pretty hungry for about half of the day.

I lifted weights again yesterday, and the muscle soreness this time wasn't nearly so bad as last week. I could feel it this morning during my run, but it wasn't what I'd call painful. I may skip weight training on Friday, as I have a road race on Saturday.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 31: down 7.4 lbs.

Continuing yesterday's thoughts...

I also haven't concluded that SLD will never work for me. It's possible that it just won't kick in until later, as some others have experienced.

Blog note: I was a bit baffled by the date stamp on yesterday's post, until I thought about it for a bit. I started writing it on Saturday night, saved it as a draft, then finished up on Sunday after I weighed in. I forgot to change the date & time, so it retained the Saturday time.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 30: down 8.2 lbs.

Seth Roberts asks " How much weight loss will it take for you to stop being skeptical?"

Well, it's spelled out right there in my original post: when it does what it promises; viz., reduce my appetite substantially. It hasn't. Meanwhile, I just ran my second-highest monthly mileage ever. It would be surprising if I hadn't lost weight. During the only other month I ran more, June 2004, I lost nearly as much. In 2003, I didn't have any one month with as many miles, but I had consistently good mileage for several months in a row. I lost more then than I have since starting SLD.

I want to point out, though, that I am in no way dismissing the results others have reported. If I hadn't changed my level of exercise, I'd be more inclined to believe that it's working for me. I just think the 88,496 steps my pedometer counted in the last six days point to a more likely cause of my weight loss.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 29: down 9.4 lbs.

It says here that Sebastian Coe, one of my running heroes, who is my height, weighed 120 lbs. when he was setting his 12 world records. Yikes! When I first read that a couple of years ago, it seemed really insane. Now it just seems only a little insane. His BMI was 17.2; the low end of normal is considered to be 18.5. I'm at 27.1. I'd like to get down to about 145 to 150 lbs., which would put my BMI at about 21.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 28: down 8.4 lbs.

As I've mentioned, I started weight training on Wednesday. I know eventually it will help with my weight and with my running, but boy, the muscle soreness is not very pleasant. My last two runs were a little painful. I hit the pavement hard with each step. My shoulders and arms are bad, but the worst is my chest. It feels like I'm wearing a brick brassiere. I'm going to try for three weight training sessions each two weeks (Wednesday, Monday, Friday) until the muscle soreness goes away, then switch to once a week, like the patron saint of SLDers, Stephen M.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet

Day 27: down 8.6 lbs.

I started weight training yesterday. I'm hoping to give my metabolism a little boost. It's been a couple of years since I've done any weight training at all, and probably more than 15 years since I've done it regularly.

tags: diet, weight loss, Shangri-la Diet