There’s already a social pressure to be svelte – now it’s a spiritual pressure as well But Shamblin denies that Weigh
There’s already a social pressure to be svelte – now it’s a spiritual pressure as well But Shamblin denies that Weigh Down is judgemental “There are no weigh- ins,” she says “There are no measurements. In the first week I say, Don’t judge the person that’s overweight because you yourself may have a love of cigarettes, or a love of soap operas We’ve all been in Egypt. [She compares dieting to the struggle to escape slavery in Egypt.] Religion is what you adore Religion is what makes your pulse go up. Is it the buffet lunch at the restaurant? Or is it the Lord God Almighty?”America’s fat-acceptance lobby, who insist they’re both fat and fit, aren’t convinced But Shamblin doesn’t seem to care.
Nothing about me looks religious, and I got in through the back door of the churches because of that. “Sure,” she says, “some didn’t like it – the people who were `religious’ but didn’t have a real relationship with God. You have to know Him enough to come up with the concept that God loves brownies That was revolutionary to America. The God I know is the God who makes the chocolate and throws in the fat He stirs in the sugar Luckily I’m female and non-threatening. “Whenever people get tempted to snack,” says Shamblin, “I say `Chew on this’ – and I hand them a Bible. Run to the Lord – not the refrigerator.”To begin with, the church elders objected. They didn’t like Shamblin being on such close terms with their God.
This, after all, is Nashville – the heart of the Bible belt and home to the world’s biggest Christian bookshop. But the common sense was underpinned by an unshakeable belief in God. He can help, if you’re eating between meals and ruining your appetite. Drink three ounces of orange juice to raise your blood sugar before you eat Take smaller bites. Eat your favourites first – that way you’re more likely to abandon the rest when you’re full. Learn to distinguish false “head hunger” from true “stomach hunger” – eat only when you’re physically hungry.
It belongs in church.’ So I rethought everything.”The resulting Weigh Down Diet was common sense. The friend left half her Big Mac because she was, well, full, and Shamblin set about studying the eating habits of thin people.”My goal was to be a dietician in a hospital,” she says “Then I realised that food was my God I knew God, but He wasn’t everything He was a portion I enjoyed Him, but I loved His food more Some friends said: `This message doesn’t belong here. She recalls that she looked like “a potato with toothpick legs”, and had started to fasten her trousers with safety pins.One day she was in McDonald’s with a thin friend. Shamblin has built an empire of 24,000 classes in only six years, and now it’s in more countries than Weightwatchers.Shamblin, 44, had problems with her weight at college.
And Jehobics, a way for Christians to exercise away unwanted pounds. After all, original sin was really a form of gluttony.But only the Weigh Down Diet lets God-fearing men and women eat what the hell they want and still lose weight Maybe that’s why it’s proving so popular. God, it seems, is moving in mysterious ways.Religious diets aren’t new: there’s More Of Jesus, Less Of Me; there’s Help Lord, The Devil Wants Me Fat. They are your basic low-fat diets with Bible study supplements.