Weight loss program is Bible-based
By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff writer
Posted June 20, 2002

RUTHVEN - Bible-based program called "Weigh Down Workshop" is how a group here are losing weight.

The ecumenical group meets every Sunday at 6:45 p.m. at the Zion Lutheran Church for about two hours for 12 weeks. The latest session started on June 2 with six or seven people in the weigh down group and eight or 10 in the weigh down advanced group, some of whom are Catholic. In the last session, 14 women lost 231 pounds and donated 231 pounds of food to the Upper Des Moines Food Pantry of Emmetsburg.

The whole group meets for 15 minutes at the beginning of each session to weigh in, find out how much weight each individual has lost, and share their successes for the week.

"No one is forced to share unless they want to," said Vicky Conlon a parishioner at Sacred Heart, Ruthven.

The groups then split into their groups to watch a video. The videos are Bible based and use Bible verses to relate to weight loss and prayer.

Weigh Down uses the principles of learning to eat only when the body is calling for food, eat in moderation and to stop eating when full.

After watching the video, the group discusses what has been heard. They talk about God, the Bible verses, and their weight loss.

"It is spiritually uplifting," explained Jill Conlon, also a Catholic from Ruthven.

Before the end of the session, each person in the group asks the others to pray for them during the week concerning a weekly goal.

During the week, the group is on their own. They have audio cassettes, along the same lines as the videos, which they listen to while at home. Jill Conlon, says she prays, reads the Bible, and listens to the audio cassettes along with eating right.

"It is an excellent program that is in churches all over the country," said Judy Nelson, a participant in the "Weigh Down Workshop."

Gwen Shamblin, a registered dietician, is the founder and director of "The Weigh Down Workshop." She has had experience in nutrition as a consulting registered dietitian and as an instructor of nutrition at Memphis State University.

She started focusing her practice in weight control in 1980 by combining her training in Dietetics and Christ-centered orientation in her counseling.

The program isn't based around buying food, exercise equipment or pills. The only things they purchase are the videos, audio cassettes and instructional guides.

"Typical diets have not worked because everyone is using man-made rules instead of God's rules," said Shamblin on her Web site. "God has never asked anyone to eat food off of a list, count fat exchanges, or take an appetite suppressant. You will find a new freedom to enjoy all you old favorites with no guilt, no cheating, and no restrictions - other than God's perfect boundaries of hunger and fullness."

To contact "The Weigh Down Workshop," the website address is www.weighdown.com.