Some Pray It Off Background

In the fall of 2007 I was at the end of my rope with my weight. I started gaining at puberty and here I was 53 years old and still struggling. Oh, I could lose weight, but I always gained it back. In recent history I went to Weight Watchers in 1999 and went from 371 down to 245 and went to the weekly meetings for FIVE years and kept the weight off but I quit, figuring I could lose the rest of the weight on my own. Yeah right. I started gaining it back until I was at 338 in 2007 and depressed and hopeless. My best high school friend Karen, lost her battle with cancer in December of 2007 and her loss really shook me up. I turned to God and begged Him to help me lead a healthy life for Him and for Karen. Now, He didn't talk to me out loud, but I felt in my heart that He would help me if I helped other people. Doesn't that always seem to be God's modus operandi???? So the seeds for Pray it Off were planted. I went to the Parish Life and Worship committee at my church, Holy Famiy with an outline for the weight loss group which I had dubbed "Pray it Off" and they approved the Pilot program. I had a six month plan to hold weekly meetings each Thursday and open it up to parishioners with 50 or more pounds to lose.