Rather than focusing on what foods are eaten, all of these plans draw on heaven as a source of the will to resist overeating. The Weigh Down diet was created in 1986 by Gwen Shamblin, a Tennessee dietitian who was struggling with her weight. She started looking at the way skinny people ate and discovered that many of them ate only half the food on their plates and ate only when hungry, a seemingly simple concept that is nonetheless difficult for many people to grasp. She started losing weight after following that regimen. With Weigh Down, there is no need to follow an eating plan designed by man.
Participants throw away the concepts of three meals a day and the five food groups.
The Weigh Down plan says eat what you crave when you are hungry. If that is chocolate, eat it but in holy moderation. They had to move away from being afraid of hunger and away from thinking that they had to finish everything on their plates. Some say they may eat one or two meals a day, feeding their souls first, resisting the temptation to be greedy. The Weigh Down Workshop diet is a 10-week program.