Light Weigh program brings faith and weight loss together

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
September 25, 2002

ALGONA - A group of adults at St. Cecelia's Parish in Algona have been participating in the Light Weigh program. This is a 12-week Catholic spiritual growth weight loss program designed to help strengthen a person's relationship with Jesus as they learn to eat foods they enjoy in moderation.

A new 12-week session began on Sept. 15 in the St. Cecelia Activity Center. Anyone from the area cluster, male or female, who wants to deepen their relationship with Jesus and is willing to learn more about how God has created the human body to be holy, is encouraged to attend.

One of the parishioners at St. Cecelia's had been involved in the Light Weigh program and brought the idea to Lorri Larsen. Larsen made the program available to the parish starting two years ago. There are currently 12 people signed up to participate.

"It is a spiritual weight loss program," said Larsen who organizes the program. "When people have been through at least one session, they say that the spirituality gain is as important if not more important than the weight loss."

The meetings start with prayer. There are about 15 Scripture passages to look at for each week's session. Participants are to read all of them and to decide which one means something in their lives. At the beginning of each meeting, they share what the passage has done for them or how it has helped them cope with their eating skills and worshiping skills.

"We do not weigh-in at the group, so they are all accountable for their own weight loss," said Larsen. "The process is about not filling your stomach too full. It talks about the fist size stomach that we are supposed to have, and how we can get back to God's natural way of telling us that we are full. It teaches us to listen to the body."

Then the group watches a 35-to-45-minute video that Suzanne Fowler, the founder of the program in Leawood, Kan., has put together, which is the teaching part. The video consists of proper eating skills, a saint for the week and basic Catholic teaching.

"It is a very Catholic program," said Larsen. "After the video we spend some time talking about what each one of us heard. We kind of wrap up the process."

The sessions each end with a prayer to St. Michael to help them with the distractions in their life.

"I had tried many diets, and I thought I could give this approach a try," said Kathy Baker, a participant of the program who has been participating for a year and a half. "I gained in my faith and lost in my weight. It gave me the will power and the strength. It just seemed to work together."

The cost of the sessions is $117 for the 12 weeks, which covers written materials on healthy eating, doctrinal issues of the Catholic faith, lifestyle example from the lives of the saints, Scripture reference to choose to study each session and a set of audio tapes for personal use. The cost is the initial payment. Anyone may continue or repeat the 12 sessions as often as they would like to for no additional cost.

"I think more than anything it has helped me to be conscious of my eating habits," said Larsen, who is also a participant. "The focus of the whole process is instead of turning to food, we turn to God in prayer or to sacrifice an action or a prayer for someone who is in need. It makes me much more mindful of what is going on around me."

For more information about the five to six year old program the Web site can be visited at www.lightweigh.com.