Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst Review: Faith-Rooted Motivation for Healthy Eating

Made to Crave is a Christian living and personal development book, not a diet guide or nutrition manual. Lysa TerKeurst, president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and a New York Times bestselling author, frames the book around a central theological premise: that human beings were made to crave God, and that many people have misplaced that longing by overindulging in food and other physical pleasures. The book does not tell readers what to eat or how much to exercise. Instead, as the publisher describes it, TerKeurst explores why people make unhealthy food choices, and argues that the missing link between wanting to be healthy and actually becoming healthy is spiritual empowerment. The aim is to help readers identify what they are truly seeking — and to redirect that hunger toward what she describes as a faithful Heavenly Father.

The book is positioned squarely for women who already know the practical mechanics of healthy eating but struggle to sustain motivation. TerKeurst's framing — "you know 'how to' get healthy… but now there's finally a book to help you find your 'want to'" — makes the audience explicit. This is not a book for someone looking for calorie counts or meal plans; it is for the reader who has cycled through conventional advice ("eat less and move more," as the publisher's copy puts it) and found it emotionally or spiritually insufficient. TerKeurst draws on her own experience, describing how she used to turn to food — a piece of chocolate cake after a hard day — before arriving at the conviction that what she truly needed was more of God. That personal, testimony-driven approach is central to the book's design.

TerKeurst is a New York Times bestselling author of multiple titles, including Forgiving What You Can't Forget and Uninvited, which have reached the #1 position on that list. Made to Crave itself was published by Thomas Nelson, one of the leading Christian publishing houses, and was supported by companion resources including a 21-day email challenge and, per the publisher's ecosystem at madetocrave.org, an ongoing community infrastructure. Christianbook.com, a major Christian retail platform, carries a five-star reader rating for the title, reflecting strong enthusiasm within its core readership. The book sits in a well-established genre of faith-based wellness writing, but its explicit focus on the spiritual root of food cravings — rather than behavior modification alone — marked it as a distinctive entry at the time of its publication in December 2010.

The book's primary strength, as the publisher frames it, is its reorientation of the conversation. Where most wellness titles address behavior, Made to Crave addresses motivation at a spiritual level — a gap TerKeurst argues is responsible for why so many women repeatedly fall short of their health goals. The approach draws on scripture and personal narrative in tandem, designed to offer both theological grounding and relatable, autobiographical honesty. For readers within the evangelical Christian tradition, this combination — a recognizable public figure sharing her own struggle alongside a biblical framework — is precisely what the book is engineered to deliver. The 21-day challenge companion resource also extends the book's practical reach beyond the page, offering structured engagement for readers who want an applied component.

Because the book's argument is theological at its core, readers outside the Christian faith tradition will find its central premise — that cravings for food are best addressed by redirecting them toward God — does not apply to their worldview. This is not a criticism of the book's internal logic, but it is the most significant factor in determining fit. Additionally, readers seeking concrete nutritional guidance, dietary frameworks, or exercise programming will not find them here; TerKeurst is explicit that the book operates in motivational and spiritual territory, not practical instruction. Those hoping for a hybrid approach — spiritual encouragement plus a structured health plan — should be aware that the book is designed to address the "want to," leaving the "how to" to other resources.