I'm pretty tall ( 5'8" ) so years ago a few extra pounds was not such
a big deal.  I could just be "careful" for a few days & drop 5 lbs..
Over the years it got harder to do. Eventually I decided to accept myself
just the way I am.
I quit worrying about putting on a few pounds because the only way I could
see for losing weight with diet foods is they taste so bad I'd be happier
not eating!  What's the point of eating if it doesn't taste good?

So why was I surprised when one day "all of a sudden"
I was huge !?!  It was getting harder to accept but I was determined not to
care because I'd played with the diets before only to yo-yo. But,
clothes looked terrible on me, and I was not happy.
 

It gets worse.  It was easier to accept that I was fat than it was
to accept that I had been such a bad example for my daughter.
She had become overweight as a pre-teen. Its hard enough to
be a pre-teen without being overweight. Children are often
cruel and I blamed her unhappiness on myself.

I began to pray for my daughter.  I hated seeing her unhappy.
I also knew that my God is a loving, compassionate,
God of miracles.  I knew that it would take a miracle
to deliver her from the life I had made for myself.

HE is so faithful to answer our prayers and He loves us so much
it wasn't long before The Weigh Down Workshop came into our lives.

At first it evidently wasn't the right time for us to go through the classes,
because we had prior commitments that prevented us from attending.

I watched as my mother went through the classes and imitated her eating.
 I began to lose weight.
I had been trying for a while to get pregnant
and soon I did.  This baby was a thin eater from the womb and did
not allow me to overeat! If I tried- she sent it right back!
I lost weight the whole 9 months.  The Dr. said the baby was growing
so since I was heavy it was fine that I was losing instead of gaining.
I lost 43 lbs. and delivered a healthy 6 lb. 13 oz. baby in Dec. 1996.
I really wanted to keep the weight off. I needed to lose another 50 lbs.

I tried to  continue my new eating habits.
  At first I was doing ok, but I began to listen to others around me
saying " You are nursing, you have to eat! " Well, yes, I needed to eat,
but I didn't need to find out that my body would allow overindulgence again.
It didn't happen all of a sudden. I gradually slipped back into my old eating
habits. I began to put weight back on.

 Right after Christmas 97 Lindsey
(my 11 year old) and I began to pray for a Weigh Down class to be available
for us.  We knew it was time!

In Feb. 98 we started classes.  It was incredible!
I began to remember how good I felt when I was not eating beyond full.
But there was more,  I knew that this time I was not just changing my eating,
I was turning my focus to the Lord instead of food.   This will enable
me to make a lifetime change rather than a temporary one.  The lessons
Gwen provides on the videos are an invaluable tool to help guide me in this direction.  I am thankful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for being my
strength!  This is not something I could accomplish on my own.

As long as I keep my focus on Him, this program has been easy.
There have been times that I've been distracted and my eating responds
accordingly.  My struggles have come because I am very strong willed.
The good news is that we serve a loving, forgiving God.  He is faithful
to help us through if we are willing to turn to Him.

In the first 12 week program I lost 24 lbs. and my daughter lost 21 lbs.
Going through the program together has been good for our relationship.
She was quite an encouragement to me and I am determined to be
a better example than I have been in the past.
She is fortunate to be learning these life changing lessons at such a young age.

 I have enjoyed being involved in the WDW.  I looked foreword to the
meetings each week.  I feel like anyone could benefit from the teachings
in this program whether they need to lose weight or not.  The Lord is
speaking obedience to all of us.  We are hearing it from every direction.
I am about to coordinate a WDW at our church starting June 1, 1998.
I have quite a bit more to lose.  I am thankful to the Lord for giving
this material and grateful to Gwen for being obedient to deliver it.

If you want to know more about the Weigh Down Workshop visit their website.
 If you have any questions that I could answer feel free to e-mail me.
I will update this page with a progress report in a few weeks.
 
Ok, Its been a lot more than a few weeks. I went through the 2nd session
with my focus on the weight, the food, and the other people in my
and how they were doing, instead of the Lord.
I lost and gained and lost and gained the same 7 lbs. for the whole 12 weeks.
I was trying to do it myself instead of relying on the Lord.  When we realize and
admit our weaknesses, giving them to the Lord, He will gladly take them from
us.  But we have to willingly give them to Him.  He won't come take them away
from us. He will unlock the chains of bondage from us, but we have to drop the
chains and walk with the Lord.

This is a lesson that I am learning over and over again. Within 10 lbs. I have kept off
the weight I lost starting in Feb. 98.  It is now Jan. 99 and I am ready to get serious
again.  I pray that I will quit playing, and be as excited about the Lord and this program
as I was in the beginning.  This past July I had the opportunity to attend the National
Weigh Down conference in Nashville, TN.  It was a wonderful experience.  I learned to much and
was very refreshed. Gwen and the staff that put on the videos, and the conference are a
great bunch of people.  Everyone was really interested in helping.  I look forward to
the conference this year!
 
Look for updates. I will try to document my progress, for my own personal use, and
hopefully to encourage anyone else!