The Eden Diet

I first heard about The Eden Diet from MizB over at Should Be Reading. At first I thought it was just another fad diet book, but after researching it a bit I found my initial assumption might have been wrong. So… I gave it a try.

In The Eden Diet, Dr. Rita Hancock promotes a manner of eating that is both incredibly freeing and ridiculously simple. Are you ready for it? Here it comes…

If you’re not hungry, don’t eat!

I’ll give you a second to digest that one.

Okay, back with me? So, how are you able to write a 200 page book around that simple concept? Well, Rita doesn’t just address what you should eat, she instead encourages you to try to understand how you should eat. Her solution to understanding this is to look to the Bible, in which we are told…

1. We shouldn’t be gluttonous (Proverbs 22:2, 20-21)
2. We shouldn’t worry about or think too much about what we will eat (Matthew 6:25).
3. We can eat any type of food (Mark 7:15-19)
4. We should eat to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31)
(page 38, The Eden Diet by Rita Hancock)

The Eden Diet is no diet at all. Instead, it is a call to trust this area of our lives to God instead of trying to go it on our own. Instead of eating foods that bring you no joy or being caught in a calorie counting loop, we should instead be eating foods that we love and not worrying so much. When you’re hungry: eat. Eat something you enjoy until you’re full and relish every bite. When you’re not hungry but crave something anyway, just wait. Once you’re hungry again, eat it! Treats are not forbidden; instead they should be joyfully accepted and enjoyed with no feelings of guilt.

The goal of this book is to remove the reader from bondage to food. Instead of looking to food for acceptance, love, or consolation, the reader is encouraged to look to God. Food gets put on the back burner (pun only kind of intended) and God is put first. The Eden Diet is no diet at all, but a call to adjust your attitudes.

Of course, Rita does caution us not to throw common sense out the window. While treats are allowed, put some thought into what you’re eating and don’t live on chocolate cake just because you can. She also is a big supporter of regular exercise, citing it as the number one tool of keeping lost weight off.

So, has it worked for me?

I finished the book about a month ago, and eagerly put it into practice. I’d be lying to say I’ve been 100% successful at eating only when my body tells me I need to, but it has caused me to put a lot more thought into my portion sizes. It’s been paying off, though. I’ve lost four pounds in the past month, which for me is hugely exciting.

The Eden Diet presents a solid, Godly method for weight loss. It is not preachy, but it is written with the assumption that the reader is living with a Christian mindset. For me it’s been a wonderful way to evaluate my eating habits and get my mind back to where it should be.