Gwen Shamblin Lara

Gwen began her consulting practice in the area of weight control in 1980.[6] She had struggled with her weight while attending school.[14] She became "convinced that genetics, metabolism and behavior modification alone couldn't explain why some people were thin and others battled the bulge."[15] In 1986, Gwen founded the Weigh Down Workshop,[16][17] a weight loss program which has “no forbidden foods, exercise regimen or weigh-ins,”[18] and avoids “calorie counting.”[19] As The Tennessean points out, the program lacks “some basic elements,” like exercise and guidance on food selection, as recommended by the American Dietetic Association.[20] According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, “the Weigh Down Workshop attempts to help participants develop the discipline to eat only when they are hungry and to stop eating when they are full.”[21]

Gwen developed the program while working on her master's degree at Memphis State University.[22] As part of a counseling center,[23] she held the first class in a mall in Memphis, Tennessee;[24] the program was initially only offered as small classes in similar retail[25] and other non-religious settings.[26] In 1991[16][17] or 1992, she began hosting the program at Bellevue Baptist Church located in the Memphis area.[27] The program consists of twelve-week seminars guided by video and audio tapes featuring Gwen.[28] The meetings consist of a group viewing of one of her videos, along with prayer and discussion.[29] By 1994, the program quickly spread as far away as Europe and was offered in about 600 churches in at least 35 US States.[15]

According to the Associated Press, by January 1995, the program could be found in over 1,000 churches in forty-nine US States, as well as at locations in Britain and Canada;[18] but by July 1996, the workshop was at about 5,000 churches, with close to ten percent located in Gwen's home-state of Tennessee.[30] As many as eight churches in Britain were hosting workshops by December 1996.[31] Some participants in the US would also host meetings in their private homes.[16]

In 1996, Weigh Down, which consisted of a forty-person staff, began building a headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee.[17] The same year, Gwen Shamblin Lara and Weigh Down began hosting an annual summer convention, known as Desert Oasis, in the Nashville area.[17][32]

By August 1998, Weigh Down was holding more than 21,000 classes with over 250,000 reported participants worldwide.[33] Weigh Down Workshop classes would eventually spread to all fifty US states[17] and every continent,[34] becoming "one of the most popular weight-loss programs in the world" by mid-2000.[35] Gwen has also been traveling to other cities as part of the Rebuilding the Wall tour.[36]

Other dietitians have questioned the soundness of Gwen's diet advice, which focuses on faith instead of healthy eating habits or exercise.[37][38] In the book Born Again Bodies: Flesh and Spirit in American Christianity, author Marie Griffith, a Princeton University associate professor of religion, examines the trend of religion-based dieting. Although critical of Gwen for using the Christianity label while building her business, Griffith credits her for the new wave of interest in creating "a more holy body", and substantial sections of the work examine Shamblin's movement.[39] Griffith notes, "In Shamblin's world, people who don't lose weight often feel like failures. If they don't lose weight, it's a failure of discipline; it's a failure of obedience."[40] At the same time, Griffith's work places Shamblin's movement squarely within a historical tradition of perfecting one's body in order to be more Christ-like, or fasting and dieting in order to feel closer to God.[39]

In 2001, NewsChannel 5, a local Nashville news station, aired a story entitled "Is it a ministry or just big business?", looking into how Weigh Down Workshop's money was spent. Towards the end of the interview, Gwen states that "half of [the money] goes to the government, the other half goes to keep it going so someone else can be helped." According to the news report, "She says she would sell her belongings to keep the ministry going."[41]

Gwen founded the Remnant Fellowship Church in 1999, which at first was a small gathering at the back of the Weigh Down building in Franklin, TN in the shipping department.[10] In 2002, the Shamblins purchased 40 acres of land in Brentwood, Tennessee, where construction for the church building took place.[10][42]

Building of the church wrapped up in 2004.[43]

The church has members from all across the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Canada.

The church does a live webcast for their church program. normally, services are 6:00 PM Wednesdays (CDT) and 9:00 AM Saturday (CDT).[44] The church's membership count is over a thousand.

The church has been labeled as a cult that practices cult like mind control on its members. They believe that criticizing or disagreeing with Gwen Shamblin is out of the will of God where she sets herself up as a prophet of God.[45][46][47][48]

Gwen Shamblin Lara is the author of The Weigh Down Diet.[49] First published in March 1997, this diet “advises using spirituality to avoid overeating and has sold more than 1.2 million copies.”[50] The publisher Doubleday reported selling four hundred thousand copies in less than a year.[27] In this book, Gwen expounds on her theory that there are two very different needs in each person: a need for food and an emotional need. According to her, people should only eat when they feel real, physical hunger and stop when full; prayer and Bible reading will fill emotional needs instead of food. Overeating is equated with greed. A core principle of The Weigh Down Diet, when people feel an urge to snack but are not experiencing physiological hunger, Gwen encourages participants to read the Bible instead.[51]

Since the release of her first book, Gwen has written a number of books including Rise Above[52] and a self-published devotional book titled Exodus.[53]

Controversy arose when Gwen began to teach that the doctrine of the Trinity was not Biblical. She stated that she believes Jesus Christ is not God but rather God's son.[54] This led Thomas Nelson Publishers to cancel the publication of Exodus, her next work.[7] In a letter to her followers sent to clarify her position on the Trinity, Gwen wrote: "The reason all of this is important is that if you do not understand that God is the clear authority and that Jesus was under God's authority, then you will not have a clear picture of what it means to be Christ like. Jesus suffered, obeyed, submitted, denied his will, and made it his food to do the will of the Father." Later she writes, "I believe that Jesus and God are two separate beings." She also says that she does not believe that Jesus and God are equal in power and glory.[55]

The popularity of Gwen's teachings has resulted in its appearances on BBC,[56] 20/20,[32] A Current Affair,[9], The View,[57][58] and Dateline (Australian)[59] as well as in such magazines as Family Circle,[35] Good Housekeeping,[60] Woman's Day,[15] and many newspaper articles.[24][29][33] She has been featured on The Today Show,[61] CNN's Larry King Live,[9][32] DaySide,[62] and The Early Show.[63] Participants from the Weigh Down Workshop have been featured on the cover of Good Housekeeping,[64] in the Ladies' Home Journal,[65] in People Magazine,[66] First magazine,[67] Quick and Simple,[68] and in numerous newspaper articles. In 2007, The Tyra Banks Show devoted an hour-long program to Gwen, the Weigh Down Diet,[69] the Fellowship and participants from Weigh Down programs.

In 2009, Gwen and Weigh Down were featured on such television programs as WeTV's Secret Lives of Women,[70] CBS’s The Insider. In late 2011, She began producing a live Internet show, titled You Can Overcome.[71]

• The Weigh Down Diet. Doubleday. 1997. ISBN 9780385487627.

• Exodus: Daily Devotional. Weigh Down Workshop. 1998. ISBN 9781892729002.

• Rise Above: God Can Set You Free from Your Weight Problems Forever. Thomas Nelson. 2000. ISBN 9780785268765.
• Out of Egypt: Inspiration for Conquering Life's Strongholds. Thomas Nelson. 2000. ISBN 9780785268499.
• The Legend to the Treasure. Weigh Down Workshop. 2007. ISBN 9781892729804.
• Weigh Down Basics: Workbook. Weigh Down Workshop. 2012. ISBN 9781892729132.
• History of the One True God Workbook: Volume 1: the Origin of Good and Evil. Weigh Down Workshop. 2013. ISBN 9781892729170.
• History of the Love of God: Volume II: A Love More Ancient Than Time. Weigh Down Ministries. 2015. ISBN 9781892729262.

• Exodus out of Egypt: weigh down workshop, Weigh Down Workshop, 1992, OCLC 42869110
• Rising above: the magnetic pull of the refrigerator, Weigh Down Workshop, Inc., 1992, OCLC 42414509
• Exodus from strongholds, Weigh Down Workshop, 1998, ISBN 1892729075, OCLC 51290468
• Weigh down at home, Weigh Down Workshop, 1999, OCLC 843098377