Why Choose It ?

Clearly, the spiritual element separates Christian-based programs from popular weight-loss plans such as Weight Watchers or TOPS. According to Jody Wilkinson, M.D., research physician at The Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, diet programs in general have not been successful in helping people keep off the weight.

At best, he says, only 15 to 20 percent of people who lose weight are able to maintain the weight loss for three to five years. "Maybe the reason we're not very successful," he suggests, "is because most models leave out the spiritual dimension."

Interestingly, the spiritual dimension is about the only thing some Christian weight-loss programs have in common. Is it OK to take a critical look at how they approach the other dimensions? I believe it is not only OK but important to do so.

I have listed in this compilation three other Christian weight loss programs along with the Weigh Down Workshop program. I have included a description of some of their other key elements.

Although many people have had success with and even drawn closer to the Lord while using the other programs, the Weigh Down Workshop is my program of choice. This report is my attempt to show why it is my personal belief that the now popular Weigh Down Workshop ‘Exodus from Egypt’ seminar is the best approach so far from a biblical perspective.

The 3D diet component centers on a lifestyle eating plan based on the diet recommendations of the American Dietetic Association. A member's manual outlines the plan and shows participants how to figure their daily caloric needs. The manual also contains "exchange" lists to help people make sure they eat a variety of foods from the milk, vegetable, fruit, bread and meat groups. On each exchange list, the portion sizes are spelled out clearly.

The discipline component of 3D helps its users develop new spiritual habit patterns in prayer, daily devotional readings, Bible memorization and so on. It also promotes exercise as a discipline.

3D is now distributed by Paraclete Press in Brewster, Massachusetts, where Showalter serves as director of marketing. It costs $35.95 to take part in the 24-week 3D program.

First Place members must agree to nine guidelines or "commitments" when they register: regular attendance, prayer, Scripture reading, verse memorization, Bible study, "Live-It" (First Place prefers this term over "diet"), keeping fact sheets (to record daily food consumption), exercise, and communication with other members by phone. National director Carole Lewis says the program isn't rigid about the guidelines; however, the more commitments members follow, the more success they will have.

First Place's food plan, like 3D's, is based on the American Dietetic Association diet. One key exception: Participants are asked not to eat any products with sugar listed in the first three ingredients. The sign-up fee for First Place is $60.

Participants must sign an "Agreement of Resolution," which states that they will follow the food guide, the guidelines and key principles. If the participant violates any of the program guidelines, he or she is expected to discontinue the program voluntarily for the remainder of that phase.

Most experts urge people to proceed with caution when they see such strict conditions. "Restriction simply is setting someone up for failure because it assumes that they are perfect," says Kathy Duran, R.D., a staff dietitian at North Texas Heart Center in Dallas. "Consistency is the key."

PRISM is billed as being based on biblical principles and includes Old and New Testament Scripture in each lesson. Romans 12:2 is the cornerstone of the program: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (NKJV). PRISM doesn't specifically tout itself as a "Christian" weight-loss program and it has received phone calls from all sorts of interested groups including a Jewish tabernacle that recently called to order program materials.

Participants are expected to keep a daily journal of the foods they consume.

Next year, PRISM hopes to produce a new videotape series. Each six-week session costs $45, and members may choose to go through the complete, 24-week program.

Today, Weigh Down employs a staff of 100 and has been used in more than 33,000 churches in more than 60 countries around the world. Gwen's book, The Weigh Down Diet (Doubleday), has sold more than 400,000 copies.

Gwen Shamblin is a registered dietitian but she doesn't dole out many nutritional dos and don'ts. Her focus is primarily on the spiritual dimension.

"I believe the Basic Four Food Groups and the Food Guide Pyramid were not accidentally left out of God's Word," she says. "[In Scripture] there was an emphasis on not worrying about what you should eat or drink."

"When people take their focus off food, counting calories and fat grams, and reading food labels," says Gwen, "they are able to focus on loving God with all their hearts and seeking first the kingdom of God."

The stipulations: They must truly be hungry, and they must stop when they are full.

Weigh Down doesn't encourage exercise--but neither does the program ban it. Gwen, who admits that she isn't an exerciser herself, notes that many people make a god out of exercise. Her belief is that people should exercise if they feel God calling them to it.

Gwen Shamblin says "I feel like God has been falsely accused. He has been told that He likes broccoli, but Haagen-Dazs is something He doesn't approve of. People don't want to get to know Him when they think He's that kind of a God. For me to go out there and paint the real picture of what He's like thrills my soul."

Within a year, Weigh Down Workshop plans to introduce a program for teens. The adult program costs $103 for a 12-week session, which includes 12 audio cassettes and a workbook.

In the 1998 Jan/Feb Today’s Christian Woman’s Magazine Gwen said:

"So let's not make food our god--or our enemy. Somehow we've begun to think that God only likes broccoli; he loves broccoli, but he also loves chocolate and lasagna. No food is evil; it's what comes out of our hearts that makes us "unclean," Jesus says in Mark 7:17-20..."

"Our bodies were made with great wisdom. You mainly need to know how much food you need. If your body is saying no, say no. If you're sleepy, sleep. If you're hungry, eat. If you're thirsty, drink..."

"Well, it's a good idea to be wise regarding the claims made about specific foods these days, that certain foods can cure cancer, arthritis, or headaches. You can't make certain foods you eat directly affect some isolated cancer cells..."

"The point is, be slow to jump on the bandwagon. One month we hear something lowers cholesterol, the next we find out that long-term research contradicts the short-term findings. So don't be overly optimistic with a food claim. Put your hope in God--not in food concoctions..."

When asked about other weight lose programs in another interview:

"I've never looked at anybody else's materials. I made a vow a long time ago I wouldn't. " says Gwen. " Instead of taking one more weight-loss program into the church and adding a few Bible verses to it, I just did what God called me to do. And I’ve been so busy, I haven't really had time to examine other weight-loss programs..."

"So many people are sitting in church pews, chained to their refrigerator or their six-pack or their pride; they're enslaved, and they don't even know it. I want them to know that if you feel trapped and don't know how to get out, there's hope."

Why I Choose Weigh Down Workshop

Weight loss and maintenance all come down to a simple equation. If you eat more than your body needs to maintain its weight, then you are going to gain weight. The opposite, of course, is also true.

I choose the Weigh Down Workshop over all the other programs because, out of the four programs mentioned in this compilation, and others that I have tried, it is the only program that is not a diet but depends only upon the teaching of God's word and principles for guidelines.

The other programs give participants a specific food plan and exercise goals; Weigh Down avoids any kind of diet and exercise rules. This program is the opposite of dieting, which makes the food 'behave' and only increases your desire to chew. With the Weigh Down approach, you will chew less food, but more importantly, with God's help - you will desire less food. Weigh Down has one big difference which sets it apart from many weight loss plans. Participants are free to eat whatever their bodies desire - within the boundaries of hunger and fullness. No mandatory exercises, no calorie or fat gram counting, just God-given controls. With this approach, participants naturally reduce the volume of food they want to one third of what it used to be and yet still eat with fulfilled satisfaction.

At this writing, I have been involved with Weigh Down for ten months and I am now about to start my third session as a Weigh Down Workshop seminar facilitator at Family Bible Church. I now know first hand about the differences between dieting and the Weigh Down approach. Where diets and mens schemes and rules have failed me, Gods grace is working to change me and I have now lost sixty-five plus pounds without dieting.

For me, as with most others who have worked this program, Weigh Down is not primarily about weight loss. It's about surrendering your will to God in every area of your life. It's life-changing, and it draws you closer to God. It's about no longer worshiping false idols which can include, among others things, dieting, calorie counting, exercise, the scales and food.

I have read many Weigh Downer’s testimonies in magazine articles, books, e-mail and on personal web sites. I have also viewed numerous testimonials on television programs such as 20/20, Larry King Live, Inside Edition and Hard Copy and on the Weigh Down seminar videos. Out of literally hundreds of testimonies from persons who have been through the Weigh Down Workshop, a vast majority of the people have released ten, twenty, fifty and even more than one-hundred and fifty pounds and some have kept the weight off for years.

However, the thing that most impresses me about this program is not the weight lose. It is how in testimony after testimony, like me, the most important issue for each and every individual is the deeply intimate relationships with the Lord that they are experiencing.

Unlike the other weight lose programs, I have never met or heard of a single person who has been on the Weigh Down Workshop program to say that it does not work or has been of no value to them.

The success of the program is due to participants being convicted by the Lord with a new desire to succeed at weight loss and then re-education.

I thank the Lord for using Weigh Down to instill in me that same conviction and the gift of a more intimate relationship with Him. I Thank Him for the opportunity to play a part in sharing this wonderful program with others.

To God be the glory for all things,

Shirley Schroeder
WDW Coordinator

*Sources for the information in this compiled report include:

-‘Losing Pounds for God’ by Carol Chapman Stertzer, Charisma Magazine
-’Soul Food’ by Jane Johnson Struck , 1998 Jan/Feb Today’s Christian Woman’s Magazine
-‘The Weigh Down Diet ‘ (Doubleday), book by Gwen Shamblin
- ‘WDW Virtual Notebook‘
-‘Exodus Out of Egypt’ video seminar, by Gwen Shamblin
- FBC Weigh Down Workshop class, first and second sessions
- Weigh Down Workshop Home Fellowship
- The Holy Bible and prayer

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