Remember those bracelets in the ’90s that every “cool” person was wearing, the ones with ‘WWJD?’ emblazoned for the world to see? Well it seems as though God is making a comeback. The newest fad diet to hit the market is targeting bible-thumpers.

[The Lord's Diet is based on foods Jesus would have eaten. What if this was his diet to keep the pounds away?]

The good news is that you don’t have to be one of the faithful to follow this diet, the bad news is that the The Lord’s Diet, also known as ‘What Would Jesus Eat Diet’ isn’t saying anything that you don’t already know…well other than what food a man called Jesus actually ate.

WHO?

The Lord’s Diet was created by Don Colbert, a board certified doctor in family practice and anti-aging medicines. Dr. Colbert has also written 2 best-selling books about The Lord’s Diet.

WHAT?

The premise of The Lord’s Diet is that you should only eat foods that Jesus would have eaten, which is basically a Mediterranean diet. By asking yourself ‘what would Jesus eat,’ you allow yourself to “follow Jesus in every area of your life”, according to Colbert.

Specifically The Lord’s Diet is based on Colbert’s own “research”, which concluded that Jesus ate unprocessed foods such as whole wheat bread, dates, red wine, fish, and olives just to name a few. Food no-no’s include pork and refined sugar and flour products. Although fish is a staple in The Lord’s Diet, other seafood like lobster and crab are…you guessed it, FORBIDDEN.

WHY?

You’re probably asking yourself, “why would I want to eat like Jesus?” That’s a good question, but probably not the right question at this point. If you toss out all of the religious stuff in the What Would Jesus Eat diet, what you’re left with is a diet remarkably similar to the Mediterranean diet, which is a very healthy way to eat.

[This is what the Lord's Diet would look like if exercise were part of the plan!]

If you’re a believer and you think Jesus is your path to weight-loss salvation, The Lord’s Diet may be just the motivation you need to eat healthier. If you can’t get past all the Jesus stuff in this diet, you’ve probably already stopped reading about this diet.

What’s Good?

What’s good about The Lord’s Diet is that it isn’t a diet per se, in that it is basically a lifestyle change. By cutting out processed foods and focusing on whole grains and fresh products, you cut plenty of unnecessary calories, sodium, and bad fats from your diet.

Another positive aspect of The Lord’s Diet is that you are still allowed to drink red wine, but before you do you should find out the calories in red wine to make sure it’s not negatively impacting your weight loss efforts.

The food portion of this diet is very similar to the Mediterranean diet, which does have scientific research supporting it’s health benefits.

What’s Bad?

The biggest downside to the What Would Jesus Eat diet is that there is absolutely NO focus on exercise. This is presumably because there were no cars in the time Jesus was thought to have lived so they did a lot of walking…a lot.

The Lord’s Diet isn’t intended to help you lose weight, only to eat the way Jesus may have eaten. The goal is to look at food in a spiritual way to save your soul, not necessarily your life, which is unfortunate because there are so many obesity-related illnesses.

Despite this historical discrepancy, I cannot in good faith endorse any diet–fad or legitimate–that doesn’t encourage you to get up and workout once in awhile. Colbert’s diet plan includes 2 books, What Would Jesus Eat (12.99), which just explains the diet and his conclusions, and What Would Jesus Eat Cookbook ($19.99) that provides recipes to incorporate Jesus’ diet into your daily life.

[What Would Jesus Eat is the food bible for The Lord's Diet.]

The Lord’s Diet, while not specifically geared towards weight loss may have the unintended consequence of helping you lose fat because the Mediterranean Diet is packed with lean proteins, healthy fats, and whole grains. With a diet like this, you will very likely decrease the amount of calories you consume. However if you follow this diet only, you will only lose a little bit of weight.

Combine this diet with regular aerobic and resistance training and you just might start to see the fat melt away.

If you’re considering The Lord’s Diet, read our review of Turbulence Training for pointers on burning fat. Who knows, between Craig Ballantyne and Jesus, you may just get the body you’ve always wanted!