Book Review: Why Diets Don't Work {BookCrash}

 

Why Diets Don't Work: Food Is Not the Problem by Joyce Tilney*

ISBN: 9780615616346

Paperback, 125 pages

Publisher: The Voice of Grace and Truth

Retail: $14.99

*This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosure/Policies.

About the book (from BookCrash):

This is not another diet plan, it is a battle plan! There is an epidemic in America today and it is obesity. How do we stop this? When we see the truth from God’s Word. Food is not the problem. Like Eve we have been given a free will to make choices for ourselves. After spending years in the struggle of weight issue, this book shares how Joyce overcame the shame and anger of the battle of the bulge. There is a power greater than your taste buds! You don’t have to be held captive in your body. Why Diet’s Don’t work goes to the core of the problem.

My thoughts:

"The devil wants you fat!..'[T]he thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy...' (John 10:10 NKJV)" (pg. xiii)

This is not another diet plan, that is very true. There are no menus or 'rules' for what to eat and what not to eat. This is a book written by a person who has struggled with her addiction to food and breaking the hold it has had on her. The author is not a doctor or a dietitian. If one is reading the book looking for that sort of knowledge and how to beat the hold that food has on them to lose weight through secular, medical advice, they will be quite disappointed. 

It is written by a woman who has, according to her own words, been in God's Word for many years and also been in ministry to help others. She shares the wisdom of God's Word in this book, in a way that she hopes will help those struggling with weight issues and poor health due to poor diet choices. 

Not everything in this book is written well. There are points she makes, words she uses in the wrong context, and phrases that made me shake or scratch my head. She writes in one section of the book (on fasting) that dieting is going without food for a certain length of time. False statement stemming from an incorrect definition. Dieting is simply the way we eat- regardless if we are excluding some foods or including absolutely everything, regardless if we are losing weight or adding it on. 

Beyond that, there is a lot to be gained from this book. If you are open to it and not searching for simply a secular, medical explanation and plan all laid out for you. This isn't about that- it's about our spiritual attitude and more specifically how it relates us to food. Or how we relate to food. Tilney includes personal experiences and many verses that I thought were helpful to explaining her points. I especially liked all the verses. Those above all were the most helpful to apply to the mindset we have and should have towards food. 

There will be some who find this book to be too 'preachy' and for those, I'm really not sure why they'd be reading it. Perhaps desperation. For others, this will be that 'light bulb' moment they need to start to win the battle they are having. And then there will be some who will nod along with the author, shake their heads in other spots, but overall agree. I fall into the last category. I don't have a weight problem but I do have moments of allowing food to control me. 

This is a book written by a woman who is striving to follow God in her life. It should be read as such and not medical advice. Take what you can use and leave the rest. 

**Disclaimer: I received this book free from BookCrash for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own. You may have a different experience. This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosure/Policies.**