Recently I came across a diet (different from common Keto, Paleo diets), The Shangri-La Diet. It is developed by psychologist Seth Roberts, offers a perspective on weight loss that challenges conventional diet advices (eat less). Rather than focusing on calories, macronutrients, or food groups, it targets the brain’s appetite regulation system through flavor associations.

The set point theory

The main point of Shangri-La Diet is the concept of a “set point” theory that your brain attempts to maintain a particular weight. Unlike metabolism or willpower, this work suggests weight is determined by how your brain regulates hunger and appetite. The key insight: flavor-calorie associations influence this set point.

The mechanism is elegantly simple (in theory):

1. THE HYPOTHESIS: Your brain associates familiar flavors with caloric content. When you repeatedly eat calorie-dense foods with strong flavors—pizza, donuts, fast food—your brain raises the set point.

2. THE INTERVENTION: Consume 100-400 calories of flavorless food (typically extra-light olive oil or flavorless oils) daily, ideally in a window separated by at least one hour from any flavored foods.

3. THE RESULT: According to Roberts, this breaks the flavor-calorie association, lowers your set point, and reduces appetite—leading to approximately one pound of weekly weight loss.

Roberts draws from associative learning theory, suggesting that weak or absent flavor-calorie associations (like slowly-digested bland foods) naturally lower appetite. Your brain stops expecting calories when it tastes a particular flavor, reducing the reinforcement loop that drives overeating.

Final thoughts

While the diet achieved mainstream attention and a New York Times bestseller status, it faced significant scientific skepticism - lacking peer review, absence of clinical research and based on anecdotal evidence only. However, it is universally acknowledged that the approach seemed “cheap and safe”!