Hello,
I was wondering if anyone knew of any novenas or prayers, or possibly any patron saints for people who are struggling with their weight? I have been struggling with my weight for a long time and I jump from diet to diet, never committing to anything. Any suggestions would be great.
God Bless.
Hi rpl,
That’s a good idea to make God your partner in weight loss through prayer. Next you have to make it a lifestyle change… you make sensible eating part of your daily routine. Fixed times for meals - no heavy calorie food and absolutely no snacking unless it’s a birthday or church feast day. When you are tempted to snack or eat heavy calorie foods offer up a Fatima prayer or an Our Father. You’ll be praying a fair bit at first but God will give you strength.
Weight loss is about 80% sensible eating - three good balanced meals per day and 20% exercise, like running, cycling, swimming, rowing. Remember, absolutely no snacking unless it’s fruit or vegetables.
Congrats on making the effort. Prayers are nice for motivation, but as you’re all too aware from your struggles, I think God expects us to meet him halfway by controlling those things we’re capable of controlling first. Kind of like you’re more likely to help your kid buy their first car if you see them working and saving towards it than if they just ask you for the money. I’m in good shape, but it takes a lot of efforts- key is to find your motivation for why you want to be thinner.
I pray in thanks to God for my health every day, and prior to every workout thanking him for giving me a body as capable as mine. I also pray to St. Jude to also thank the Lord that I don’t have to endure the health issues that some do.
Anyway, Dr. Dean Ornish has some great books on his program for eating healthy. He has developed a program that is proven to reverse the plaque build up in the veins/arteries. It’s pretty extreme, but he’s helped a lot of folks with severe cardio and health problems.
His comment is- people will always give up on diets/exercise programs if they feel like it’s a sacrifice. That is, folks literally would rather live shorter happier lives than feel like they’re making themselves miserable by living longer. He advises folks to focus on what they’re gaining, not what they’re losing. Having folks transition from being barely able to make it up a flight of stairs to being able to walk several with ease. The difference in lifestyle gains those people make turn a new eating/exercise program from a sacrifice to an enabler to live the way they like to live. Not a sacrifice.
So, why do you want to lose weight? Don’t say to be healthy, ask yourself be healthy to do what? I workout hard 5 days a week because my dad died before any of my kids were born. Great guy, but he didn’t take care of himself. I want to dance with my great-grand-daughter at her wedding and race motorcycles the next day, and be able to sky dive, SCUBA etc into my 90s. I don’t even have grand-kids yet. My kids also truly need to believe I’m indestructible for now, that I’ll always be there for them, it’s been a very rough year for them. It motivates me to eat healthy and get in the gym, although I hate it. I’m a vegetarian (not real strict at holidays) and it’s easier to eat that way than you would think. Lot’s of good cookbooks out there. For me, I don’t feel like I’m giving up anything I’m choosing to be there for my kids long term, a real gain for me.
What do you want to improve in your life that will turn this into a lifestyle choice, a gaining of something of value to you vice a sacrifice for an abstract non-quantifiable ‘healthier’? As I said before, getting up the stairs easier sounds trivial, but for someone who literally wheezes and stops 4 times it’s major.
Give your changes- new eating style or exercise regimen at least 6 weeks. Exercise can start out as just walking for 30 mins each day, than transition to jogging etc. Don’t skip or cheat in the first 6 weeks because if you stick it out that long it becomes a habit. Here is where prayer can really help in giving you the strength and guidance to stick with it.
Thank you for the advice. The main reason I want to change is so I will be around a long time for my wife and kids. My wife is a nurse and she has seen a lot of families lose their fathers at a young age to heart disease, and I don’t want that to happen to mine.
I think a lot of the overeating I do is due to emotional issues I deal with on a daily basis. Stress, boredom and bad memories are usually the triggers for me, so I need to give those to God and ask for help. I started Weight Watchers for Men several weeks ago and it’s a great program. I don’t feel like I’m on a “diet” when I use the program. It’s really a lifestyle change. Another motivation for me to lose weight is to feel comfortable in my own skin. I just want to be happy with my body.
Anyway, I’m going to keep on trucking and meet God halfway. God is not going to make a miracle happen with my weight loss, I need to show him I’m serious.
Thanks again.
Pray to God for guidance to an activity you enjoy. A sport or something, cycling, basketball league, tennis with the kids, etc relieves the boredom and stress as well as giving you a workout-- but as a side benefit-- enjoyment as the main driver is the key to continuing an activity. And as always, thank God for the good times He has guided you to.
I’m reading (well really re-reading… I get new inspiration every time I read it) The Eden Diet by Dr. Rita Hancock. It’s a wonderful book from a Protestant lady about how to diet along with God. What is so nice about it is that you can eat whatever you want to— God does not tell us we can’t eat specific food even if we’re overweight, you just turn your focus to God and only eat when you’re hungry— not when you’re emotional or bored. I recommend you pick up the book— its what I’ve been following and I’ve (without much effort) lost 15 lbs already.
In the link below you will find a pdf file with the Novena to Saint Margaret for Weight Loss, she is the patron saint of those struggling with weight issues. I would also suggest that you run a search for biblical or spiritual weight loss books in amazon.com , there is a plethora of them in that website.
God bless…
graceandspace.org/welcome/component/docman/doc_download/19-novena-to-st-margaret.html
graceandspace.org/welcome/moments/novena/171-novena-to-st-margaret.html
Hey Friend, don’t worry. Start with a Prayer for guidance to an activity you enjoy. Novena to Saint Margaret along with a good fat loss diet plan would be worth helpful. **Try Food lovers **fat loss system by Robert Ferguson, that provides you the essential healthy weight loss.
Check for **How The Food Lovers Fat Loss System Works ? **. It completely resets one’s body metabolism and thereby burning the fat faster and as always, thank God for the good times He has guided you to.
Start loosing weight today wishing you good luck!!!
Thank you everyone for the thoughts. The novena to St. Margaret is great and I’ll check out the books. Please keep me in your prayers as you are in mine!
God Bless!