You have got to have faith... particularly if you want to shed those extra pounds.

That is the message from Gwen Shamblin, founder of the bible-based weight-loss program called Weigh Down. Shamblin battled her own diet demons. But after a few attempts to lose weight, she turned to God and took 20 pounds off. She has maintained her loss for 20 years and started a program to help others in the same boat.

Shamblin preaches Godly principles to help her clients get slim and trim.According to her beliefs, God does not care about what we consume -- what hedoes care about is overindulgence, a behavior Shamblin works to stop.

There is no calorie counting. There is no reading nutritional labels. Thereare no food exchanges. There aren't any gimmicks. Shamblin refers toWeigh Down as the "No Diet Zone." What Weigh Down does teach is approachingfood with control and confidence while eating the way God wanted your body
to.

The bottom line is volume. And Weigh Down is going to tell you to keepa handle on how much you eat. Basically, the Weigh Down seminar costs $119plus $16 for shipping and handling. Over the next 8 weeks, you will receivelessons on modifying your habits. You will receive 8 CDS and a workbook. You will be able to communicate with Weigh Down reps via their tollfree number.

There are live online classes, as well as classes on a local level.

Weigh Down gives you the green light to eat ice cream, chocolate chipcookies, peanut butter and your other favorite foods. But it must bedone in moderation. One of the main tenets is to stop using food as away of coping with emotional eating.

"It's God's power -- not willpower" that is going to make the permanent changes in your life, according to Shamblin. By turning to God when the going gets tough and learning to stifle those urges to binge, you will eat one-third of the foods you used to without any deprivation.

Having the man upstairs in your corner is going to help you want less food. While the program sounds good in theory, especially to religious folks, it only takes common sense -- not $119 -- to realize eating less is going to allow you to lose more.