The Jerusalem Diet: The "One Day" Approach to Reach Your Ideal Weight--and Stay There

by Ted Haggard

The Jerusalem Diet is a remarkably simple and flexible plan that will transform your perspective on food, diets, and health. You’ll rediscover how to relax and enjoy life, moving steadily toward your ideal weight while still taking pleasure in the foods you love.

No expensive foods, supplements, or exercise equipment required. All you need is a good digital scale, a calendar, some basic food items available at any grocery store, and a willingness to “lighten up”–physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

This easy-to-follow plan frees you to stop counting calories, agonizing over menu choices, and pursuing extreme exercise programs. Instead, you’ll learn how to lose weight while still eating the foods you love and enjoying life to the fullest.

The Jerusalem Diet reenergizes not only your body but also your outlook on life. As you move toward your ideal weight–one day at a time, one pound at a time–you will feel better, look better, and live better.

Developed by a busy pastor who loves food and admits to a lack of self-control when it comes to eating, The Jerusalem Diet is designed to work for anyone who can manage to stay on a diet for just 24 hours. If you want to shed pounds and keep them off–without starvation, deprivation, or frustration–this is the plan you’ve been waiting for.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published December 13, 2005

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

(See edits at the end of the review) I think this had some pretty clear, helpful suggestions for eating sensibly while maximizing special occasions. I was very pleased that Haggard didn't hammer so much on the religious aspect. Instead, he offers his advice without a lecture.

However, the part directed at women was pretty cringeworthy. When his wife said that beauty is a woman's gift to those she loves? Ummm...I'm gonna need you to keep a lid on your antiquated views of femininity.

Everything else though, pretty good stuff.

*2018 Update: Just to be clear, while I still think this had some pretty good, simple advice, it did not work longterm for me. Weight Watchers did. This book did not work for me specifically because I struggle with binge eating, so having a day when I can eat everything just established some unhealthy patterns for me. However, I'm sure this book would work for others who don't have such serious eating issues.

**2021 Update: Yeah, Weight Watchers didn't work for me either. It became a way for me to structure my anorexia and my family had to finally confide that they were worried about me. I picked up "Just Eat It" by Laura Thomas, and for the first time in my life I feel free from thinking about food all the time. I'm off the rollercoaster.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I can see where he is coming from with this diet, I don't agree with everything he says. Eating right for one day to get to your weekly target weight sounds foreign to me. I do recognize that he is speaking to the majority of the population, those who cannot stick to a rigid plan. The beginning of the book talks about how it is OK to eat your normal diet (The SAD diet), and then by having a 'fat' day, you can eat fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds & water as well as exercising for 1 hour and lose a lb. a week. Where this may work, it is not healthy. Toward the end of his book he emphasizes more on eating healthy. His logic is that if you start slow, you will eventually eat better more continuously. It isn't a bad plan, I just think some of the info he purports is faulty. I would read other health & nutrition books along with this to get a more rounded approach to diet & exercise.

[Shiloh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was always curious about this book (wondering what skinny Pastor Ted would know about weight loss), but I got it at a library sale, and I enjoyed it. He writes very well, and I like the casual, low pressure approach to weight loss (since I hate dieting).

[Ron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother.