Sugar Water Diet

The sugar water diet, also called the Shangri-la diet, manipulates hunger through a regimen of sugar water and olive oil before eating that helps kill appetite. The Shangri-la diet strategy gives your body the illusion of being full by consuming tasteless calories between deliberately bland and flavorless small meals, which proponents claim causes weight loss. Before beginning the Shangri-la diet, it's important that you examine the risks involved.

Risks

• Many proponents of the Shangri-la diet have reported losing weight while following its recommendations, but there are no scientific studies that support the rapid weight-loss results that they claim.

  The Shangri-la diet works by having you fill up on sugar water before meals, and could be dangerous if you suffer from sugar intolerance or diabetes. It also has high levels of oil, which is difficult for some people to digest.

Shangri-la Diet Plan

• The founder of the Shangri-la diet, Seth Roberts, an associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, recommends two small meals each day of 150 to 300 calories. You stay away from processed foods, and eat low-glycemic foods that are slower to digest, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Your fruit intake at each meal shouldn't exceed 75 calories. Meals should be kept bland, such as mashed potatoes and combinations of blended, flavorless foods. Roberts also recommends drinking large amounts of water throughout the day.

  Before each meal, add three teaspoons of sugar to a glass of water. Do not drink the sugar water less than one hour before eating.

  Take one to three tablespoons of olive oil each day, as needed to control hunger.

  After you reach your goal weight, for maintenance you can have one normal meal each day of 900 calories, but you must continue to drink the sugar water and consume at least one tablespoon of olive oil.