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I've never heard of the Shandri-La Diet, but thought I'd share what's working for me.

Due to a diagnosis of cancer, I started researching how to fight the disease with nutrition, and have radically altered my diet to one which I'm enjoying, and the weight is falling off -- and I'm one who always had trouble losing weight. It's not coming off due to the diagnosis. I have no symptoms.

I'm not doing a "diet," but eating healthy. My goal, obviously, isn't weight loss, but weight loss is a nice side benefit. Since my goal is not weight loss, I have NOT been limiting my portion sizes or worrying about the amount of olive oil I use, etc. All that fiber, though, does tend to keep portion sizes smaller because you get so full with a small amount of food.

No refined sugar. That's not as difficult as it sounds. There's always Splenda, which I do use in my iced tea and the bran muffins I make. Also, I use a little bit of honey (really take it easy here) to sweeten my smoothies and bran muffins. No carbonated beverages. That I do miss, but health is more important than Cokes, right?

Lots of fiber.

I try to avoid anything with a label. In other words, stay away from processed foods.

Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Salads, smoothies (not from a smoothie restaurant. Get a smoothie maker and buy frozen fruit from Wal-Mart or Sam's. Get the kind that has no added sugar. Put water or skim milk, ice, frozen fruit, half a banana, maybe a teaspoon of honey, some vanilla extract into the smoothie maker and process it. They're really delicious).

I snack on nuts (raw, unsalted).

I do a lot of cooking on this way of eating, but after a couple of months of it, I'm really enjoying it far more than the way I used to eat, which included a lot of convenience foods. At first it wasn't too enjoyable, but I've been experimenting with cooking and finding some good recipes, so it's getting better.

I don't limit the oil I take in, but I do limit the type of oil to unsaturated fats -- mostly olive and canola oil. No spread or cooking oil that is saturated. No butter or margarine. I do use a butter like spread called Spectrum that I picked up at the health food section at Kroger's. Again, take it easy here. I just use it on a slice of toast a couple of times a week.

For breakfast I usually either have a bran muffin (VERY filling -- I'll share the recipe if you're interested) or a slice of Ezekial bread toast. Ezekial bread can be purchased at Kroger or health food stores in the freezer section. It's a wonderfully healthy bread. I may have a boiled egg or a scrambled egg with tomatoes and onions(using either PAM or olive oil). For my toast, I make grape honey. It's from Biblical times, and it's basically just a delicious grape jam with no added sugar. Take fresh seedless grapes and run them through the food processor. Put it in a small sauce pan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add water if it cooks down too quickly. That's it. And it's every bit as good as any jam or jelly you can buy that's full of added sugar and preservatives.

Lots of beans, brown rice. You can eat potatoes. Stay away from deep fried foods and "enriched" or white flour. For bread, look for whole grain (not necessarily "whole wheat"). Make sure the sugar content is low, the fiber content is high.

Cut way back on red meat. I don't eat red meat at all, nor do I eat the "other white meat." I pretty much limit it to chicken and fish. I use the G. Foreman grill a lot. It's a great tool for eating healthy.

Rather than limiting fats or carbs, just omit bad fats and bad carbs. The thing is you have to be consistent, otherwise you won't lose weight. I flirted with this way of eating before my diagnosis, but I wasn't consistent and lost very, very little weight.

If you're considering going under the knife, maybe that will be the extra willpower push you'll need to make you eat right. I know I needed the added incentive of wanting to heal my body.

You'll have an added benefit if you follow this plan: Great health! That's not always the case with people who undergo surgery in order to lose weight.

Good luck, whatever you decide. If you want some recipes or more details, freepmail me. :-) I'll pray for your success, whatever path you choose.