[Rita Hancock MD]

In 1968, a famous obesity research study was done by a social psychologist named Dr. Stanley Schacter. It showed that overweight people tend to eat according to "external" cues, such as the time of day, the sight of food, the smell of food, etc., whereas thin people tend to eat according to "internal" cues (hunger pangs).

That's the problem, folks. When you eat in such a way that you are "disconnected" from your internal signals, you tend to eat too much and gain weight. Trust me; I should know. I grew up morbidly obese, usually double what the other kids weighed. Then, I lost 75 pounds when I was 17, and kept it off for 25 years.

Dr. Schacter's study also suggests the solution for permanent weight loss: you have to once again (or for the first time) learn to eat according to your internal signals--your hunger pangs.

That's exactly what I tell my patients, and it works great for them. Now, I tell that to everybody else, as well. Check out my book on the subject. It's called The Eden Diet.. Go to my website http:///TheEdenDiet.com. It's currently under construction, but you can view parts of it.

The diet has a Christian focus, and some have compared it to Thin Within and Weigh Down Diet, only more favorably.

[Minister Jane]

I just turned 44 yrs old on June 11th....and I am 275 pounds...5'3 and I hate it!......In 1991 I was crushed and impaled on the back of the dump truck I was driving and have had 24 abdominal surgeries...over the yrs of being so sedetary..I have gained 150 pds....I have not had a surgery in 3 years....so I have made the decision to start working on my body....I will not live another years like this......I have bought myself a treadmill and a in home gym.....so now I just need some direction and instruction to start...any Ideas?

Jane

[Rita Hancock MD]

I'd recommend a Christian weight loss program to anyone who asked.

Only your doctor knows for sure what is going on with you, medically, so you should consult with him or her. However, I would like to be able to speak frankly (for your benefit): if my patient said they gained that much weight because they were sedentary, I'd address the issue of denial (I say that to you respectfully). In order to gain that much weight, a person would have had to have eaten a substantial amount of food, in addition to being sedentary. Perhaps that person eats mindlessly--without thinking or truly noticing what passes through their lips.

In addition, I'd ask my patient if they suffered some sort of emotional trauma (like yours, ding, ding, ding) before gaining that weight, and I'd ask what sorts of emotions might trigger them to eat when they're not hungry. Anxiety? Fear? Anger? Depression? If they were Christian, I'd direct them to God in prayer for answers and direction--some other crutch to lean on besides food--preferably the Lord, of course. There are a number of Christian weight control programs out there, and I have written one as well. It is in the process of being formally published. My URL is theedendiet.com. But you can't google it yet. You have to enter theedendiet.com right into the browser. It's a site that's still under construction.

But here's the thing, Jane, sometimes you can't take a patient's crutch away too soon, or they fall apart. Sometimes, they need extra help, through counseling or pastoral care, to deal with their underlying triggers. The food and eating part is really the easy part to deal with. The underlying cause is trickier to deal with.

With that being said, I think it's perfectly fine to start trying to lose weight at the same time as a person starts to dig into their underlying issues. You know--deal with both things at once: the cause and the result of the eating.

How do you do that? A number of Christian weight loss programs have been proposed, but I like the concept of looking inward to the signals God programmed into your body: Start by tuning back into your body's hunger signals. Wait for them. Don't eat until you actually feel a growl in your stomach (provided you're not diabetic or ill in some other way, of course). Then, eat something SMALL. Eat something you like, even if it's what the world might call "fattening." But just eat a little. Just enough to stop the hunger. You might get hungry again soon, but who cares? Eat again when you feel hungry again. Stop eating according to emotions and other factors external to your stomach, and start eating according to the brilliance that God programmed into your body in the beginning. You'll see that if you do that (trust what I like to call "God in you," your hunger pangs), then you'll lose weight AND feel more joy, as well. You'll be freed from bondage to food.

God bless you. Let me know what you think, okay, Jane?