Shangri-La Chronicles

I’ve been sticking with the plan all week, even though I haven’t been posting.

It really does seem to be working, even though most days I’m only doing one dose of the oil a day (mid-afternoon, 1.5 tbsp). I still get hungry at mealtimes, but I fill up much faster, and I seldom crave something sweet after a meal or in the evening.

The weight loss seems to be consistent; about a pound a week.

I had a few days of my stomach/digestive track being out of whack, but that seems to have settled down as well.

The appetite suppression worked pretty well yesterday.

I had a bowl of Kashi “autumn wheat” cereal for breakfaast, and then running around doing errands and drinking soda made it hard to do a morning oil dose.

Had lunch with the boys on campus, and wasn’t able to finish off the small size bowl of pasta and one breadstick—which was really unusual for me.

ELOO early afternoon, wasn’t hungry for dinner until 7pm, when I ate some frozen low-calorie pizza rolls and had a small bowl of ice cream.

Took a second ELOO dose around 8:30pm, got slightly hungry around midnight but went to sleep with no problems.

Breakfast at 8:15 - a bowl of lower-sugar apple & cinnamon oatmeal made with 1% milk, and a can of diet coke.

A cup of coffee with splenda & a little bit of milk at 9:45.

Brought a bottle of ELOO to work to keep in a desk drawer, and took a tbsp of it at 11am.

Lunch at 12:30 - a sugar-free strawberry smoothie with a multi-vitamin booster, followed by a bag of cheddar cheese flavored sun chips from the vending machine.

1 tbsp of canola oil (yuck) at 4pm because I’d left the ELOO at work. Bought a new bottle this evening to keep at home from now on.

Dinner at 6:30 - a bowl of “brown rice medley” (the steam in the package kind because I was really hungry and impatient) with some of the salmon from last night mixed into it. Followed that with a bowl (3 small scoops) of french silk ice cream. I was not feeling as though my appetite had been suppressed at all…I was quite hungry by dinnertime.

However, the relatively small dinner and dessert totally filled me up, and I’m not even a little bit hungry now as I settle in to bed for the night. So maybe it is having an appetite suppressant effect. Still trying to get a good sense of it.

Haven’t weighed myself yet. Will try to do so only once a week so that daily fluctuations don’t trick me too much. I’m hoping for a pound a week, which is a healthy rate for me to lose at.

Scrambled eggs for breakfast, ELOO/FS midmorning, lunch of 4 microwaved taquitos with a tbsp of sour cream for lunch, ELOO/FS mid-afternoon.

Later in the afternoon I had stomach cramps and intestinal distress, so I took a nap and felt better afterwards so had salmon and a tiny bit of rice for dinner, along with a croissant roll.

Don’t know if the discomfort was oil-related. Gerald’s had a stomach bug recently, and I was tired, also my period started today. If it happens again, I’ll try changing to sugar water instead of oil.

Tonight I’m hungry at midnight, which hasn’t happened before :(

A lot of people I’ve talked to are skeptical about this whole “shangri-la” thing.

Let’s assume they’re right, and there’s absolutely nothing to any of Roberts’ arguments about flavor-free calories lowering your set point. Then what?

Well, I still accrue benefits. First, I’ve become much more conscious of what I eat, which is always a good thing. I pay attention to when I’m eating, and how much of it. That’s often critical for losing weight.

Second, I’m taking daily doses of two oils that are known to have healthy properties; olive oil and flaxseed oil. Not huge doses; two tablespoons per day of the olive oil, and 4 capsules of the flaxseed—about the recommended dosages of each for health benefits.

Third, I’m eating less. Even if it’s purely psychological, less food is fewer calories, and that’s good.

So, I don’t see a downside. Not expensive (I’ve spent <$10 for a month or more of oil), not time consuming, not unhealthy, potentially effective.

Another low appetite day. Took 1tbsp ELOO and 2 capsules of flaxseed around 10am. Ate lunch at 1:30pm (pasta + shrimp again, to finish off the leftovers, plus 3 tsp of chocolate frosting because it looked yummy and I was still a bit hungry). Second dose of ELOO/FS around 4:30pm. Dinner of chicken soup with matzo balls and one small piece of challah bread with Smart Balance spread, along with water. Drinking a diet coke now, and feeling quite full.

I don’t want to get obsessive about weight, so I only plan on weighing myself once a week, probably on Fridays. That way I won’t be distracted by normal fluctuations. My goal is to take off a pound a week, with both reduced eating and regular exercise.

(Not much exercise today, alas. I did take the dog for a one mile walk, but it was very hot so we walked slowly.)

I woke up this morning not hungry, which isn’t unusual. Went downstairs, saw the leftover layer cake from last night sitting on the counter, and had absolutely no interest in have a piece—which is unusual. Made myself eat a bowl of Cheerios and am drinking my morning Diet Coke now.

What’s most interesting to me at this point is that I seem to have stopped having carb cravings entirely. Even when I think about my favorite (mostly junk food) carbs I don’t have any desire to eat them.

I remember doing Body for Life a few years ago, and having the same reduction of carb cravings, but that approach was unsustainable for me. Anything that forbids me to eat unauthorized foods six days a week simply doesn’t work for me. Yesterday, for example, I really enjoyed eating a few french fries and a small piece of fried fish. So the fact that this seems to be reducing (perhaps even eliminating) my “bad food” cravings is very exciting.

Also, I’m not going to do Twitter-like frequent postings from now on. At most I’ll do two, one in the morning, and one at the end of the day.

Had a miniscule piece of cake for the taste around 7pm. Haven’t had any cravings for more, even though it was great. About ready to turn in for the night, and am not the least bit hungry. No snack cravings of any kind. That alone will make a big difference in my weight if it continues.

The RIT gym reopens Sunday, so I can add in regular exercise to my eating shifts.

Not hungry at all when Gerald brought home fish fry at 6pm.

Had a small piece of Lane’s fish and handful of french fries with malt vinegar at 6:20, feel very full. Drinking a Diet Coke now. Planning to have a small piece of cake in an hour or so, then nothing else for the day…assuming I don’t get my usual late-night snack cravings.

Damn. Started my flavor-free window at 3:40, took 1 tbsp of ELOO and 4 capsules of flaxseed at 4:45, and then was helping Alex frost his cake at 5 when I spaced out and licked a little bit of chocolate frosting off my finger, blowing my “window.”

Ah well, what’s done is done. Clearly I have to be more vigilant during “windows”. I’m thinking that will work well with my teaching schedule, since I can’t accidentally snack in class.