So 25 of us made it through the first six months and lost 644 pounds. All 25 remained in the group and we added 25 more for Session 2. I open enrollment twice a year as I believe it takes a six month commitment to change a habit. So the 50 members in Session 2 lost 571 pounds for a total of 1,215 pounds for the first year. Session 3 started in January of 2009 with almost all of the original Session 1 and 2 members and we added 15 more people. Then we went up to 80 people in Session 4. The total weight loss for two years is 1711 pounds. Session 5 started with a total of 80 old and new members and in just 5 weeks we have lost 175 pounds.
Once a PIO member always a PIO Member. It is akin to Alcoholics Anonymous where maintenance can only be guaranteed with a lifetime commitment to wellness and attendance at a weekly meeting.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
How Pray it Off Works
We meet once a week on Thursday at Holy Family. The church provides the space and the paper for the copies. The meeting starts at 6 pm sharp and gets out at 7 pm SHARP. I am a stickler for time. I get there between 4:30 and 4:45 to start the weigh-in's. The group now has 80 members and I try to weigh most of them before 6pm. Each participant fills out a food log that includes exercise and water consumption and that is handed in to me at the weigh-in. Without it, a member is not weighed.
At 6:00 we start with the Pray it Off prayer and then awards are given for losses in 10 pound increments. The phrase Praise the Name of Jesus is used for the first 50 pounds lost. For 10 you get a sheet that says Praise, then Praise the for 20 and so on until at the 50 pound level you get a framed image of Jesus with the whole phrase. Give thanks to the Lord is given for losses of 50-100 pounds and St. Pio Pray for Us for over 100.
Each week a chapter of the Bible is read at home and then we discuss it for five minutes. I call it a "Taste 'O the Bible". We relate the Word of God to our weight loss journey.
Then I give a presentation each week on a different subject or group of kindred subjects. For example, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Worry, Offering up Suffering, etc. I believe that we have to address the "why" we overeat to make a change in our eating habits. Then there is a blurb on exercise and a recipe, or two each week. A packet is given out to each member each week. I will be putting most of that weekly packet on this Blog each Friday. I hit the high points in the meeting, then the group reads the full materials at home. We end this part of the meeting when I play a different Praise and Worship song each week, then we say, as a group, our Intercession to St. Pio. (Our group's patron Saint).
Once the "formal" part of the meeting is over at 6:35-6:40, the group breaks into their Small Group Discussions (each member sits at a round table with the same group each week.) I give out an Agenda for this discussion, related to the topics of the week. As they are meeting I weigh in those people that I didn't get to prior to the meeting. At 7:00 pm each table says The Hail Mary and the meeting is over.
At 6:00 we start with the Pray it Off prayer and then awards are given for losses in 10 pound increments. The phrase Praise the Name of Jesus is used for the first 50 pounds lost. For 10 you get a sheet that says Praise, then Praise the for 20 and so on until at the 50 pound level you get a framed image of Jesus with the whole phrase. Give thanks to the Lord is given for losses of 50-100 pounds and St. Pio Pray for Us for over 100.
Each week a chapter of the Bible is read at home and then we discuss it for five minutes. I call it a "Taste 'O the Bible". We relate the Word of God to our weight loss journey.
Then I give a presentation each week on a different subject or group of kindred subjects. For example, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Worry, Offering up Suffering, etc. I believe that we have to address the "why" we overeat to make a change in our eating habits. Then there is a blurb on exercise and a recipe, or two each week. A packet is given out to each member each week. I will be putting most of that weekly packet on this Blog each Friday. I hit the high points in the meeting, then the group reads the full materials at home. We end this part of the meeting when I play a different Praise and Worship song each week, then we say, as a group, our Intercession to St. Pio. (Our group's patron Saint).
Once the "formal" part of the meeting is over at 6:35-6:40, the group breaks into their Small Group Discussions (each member sits at a round table with the same group each week.) I give out an Agenda for this discussion, related to the topics of the week. As they are meeting I weigh in those people that I didn't get to prior to the meeting. At 7:00 pm each table says The Hail Mary and the meeting is over.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
More Pray It Off History
I came home from the Parish Life and Worship Committee Meeting to tell my husband the good news that Pray It Off was approved and I told him, excitedly, that I already had my first member. He asked "Who?" and I quickly replied, "YOU!" Since then he has lost almost 60 pounds, is 10 pounds from his goal and no longer has high blood pressure or sleep apnea. Praise God.
The first group meeting was held in January of 2008 with a group of 28 people who really didn't know what to expect. Not only am I the creator and facilitator of the group, most importantly I am a member. 25 of us made it to the end of the six month trial period and even the three who left have rejoined over time. We lost 644 pounds in six months by eating less, moving more and asking God to help us.
Pray it off isn't a diet. Diet's do not work. It took me over 53 years to realize that. I fianally learned that I would have to watch what I ate and exercise for the rest of my life. Such a simple statement but so hard to grasp and consistantly accomplish.
The first group meeting was held in January of 2008 with a group of 28 people who really didn't know what to expect. Not only am I the creator and facilitator of the group, most importantly I am a member. 25 of us made it to the end of the six month trial period and even the three who left have rejoined over time. We lost 644 pounds in six months by eating less, moving more and asking God to help us.
Pray it off isn't a diet. Diet's do not work. It took me over 53 years to realize that. I fianally learned that I would have to watch what I ate and exercise for the rest of my life. Such a simple statement but so hard to grasp and consistantly accomplish.
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