Faithful Women Don’t Get Fat
Thursday, 24 May 2007 by Joscelynn TomawToday I was surfing the TV at lunch, when I spotted Gwen Shamblin on The Tyra Banks Show. I know, The Tyra Banks Show is the most ridiculous show on television, what was I thinking? But my mother was on Gwen’s diet a good 10 years ago and I couldn’t pass up a chance to re-explore a forgotten childhood memory. As a know-it-all teenager, I thought this diet was a totally wack, holy-roller plan. Gwen comes with a Southern accent, big hair, and a flamboyant worship style: all the trademarks of the televangelist that you’re not supposed to take seriously; but as I listened to Gwen today, I thought she was on to something. The plan is really no more than AA for overeating, urging people to pay attention to their bodies’ needs, eat small portions slowly, and rely on a healthy dose of faith to get them through times of temptation. The Weighdown Workshop is sort of French Women Don’t Get Fat, which I also like, plus Bible study.
On the slightly wack side, Gwen and some of the Workshop participants seemed to suggest that, when on the verge of succumbing to temptation, God would cause something to happen to the food they were about to eat: cakes falling to the floor, chips flying out of the bag when opened, etc. Since I believe that God allows temptation so that we might exercise our free will, I think you have to expect the outcome of prayer to be a change in perspective rather than circumstances.
I have the utmost respect for people who overcome eating disorders (and I use the term broadly). Most treatment programs for other addictions teach total abstinence, with food that is just not a possibility. I think, in many ways, it takes much more strength to deal with temptations in life through moderation rather than by eliminating them altogether.