The Weigh Down Diet

Shamblin is the founder of the Weigh Down Workshop, which holds weight-loss seminars in more than 10,000 churches across the country. In this book, she takes a common approach to losing weight--eat only when you're hungry and only until you are full--and adds a spiritual dimension. According to Shamblin, most overeaters eat to fill a void in their lives, and some develop a real passion for food. She suggests that if they fill the emptiness with a passionate relationship with God, food becomes just a source of fuel for the body. Although trained as a dietitian and nutritionist, Shamblin does not advocate a low-fat diet. She claims that our bodies crave a variety of foods, including high-fat treats, which were created by God for us to enjoy. In fact, she recommends eating our favorite foods first at any meal, since we may not get to enjoy them if we stop eating when we are full. Using testimonials from satisfied customers and information for those interested in joining Weigh Down seminars, Shamblin combines the superficial nutritional advice of diet gurus such as Susan Powter with the evangelistic fervor of savvy televangelists such as Jimmy Swaggart to produce a book that is little more than an infomercial for the Weigh Down Workshop. (Mar.)