Here are some additional tips to get you started:
1. For leadership or at least for guidance, look to your parish nurse or another health professional who is in your church. Most churches or clusters have a nurse who would be willing to help the congregation plan a sound weight loss program and gain access to resources. Remember that we are not in the business of dispensing medical advice, but we can provide literature, conduct educational seminars, encourage members to visit their physicians or nurse practitioners, and lots more.
2. Decide when your program will begin and when it will end. The program should not be open ended because you want people to have a goal and not lose interest. Make sure the program is long enough for healthy weight loss practices (no crashing dieting allowed!) and for people to relearn good eating habits. Make sure there is enough time for meditation for stress-reduction or other spiritual disciplines that encourage healthy lifestyles to be integrated into the program. Put a target date on the program, however, so people have a goal and don’t lose interest.
3. Design a “gimmick” that can work with your people. Are you going to have a weigh- in on a given Sunday? Are you going to going to have a competition (men vs. women, the under 40’s vs. the over 40’s, etc.)? Are you attaching an incentive such as raising dollars for hunger programs to encourage participation? Are you considering the unique concerns for weight loss for teens and children? (We want to be sure that we are not encouraging destructive patterns such as bulimia and anorexia.) What can those who are not overweight do to participate meaningfully? Are you going to add an exercise feature to this effort?
4. Embrace and integrate ideas that people come up with once the program is launched. Success is enhanced when more people take ownership of a project. If someone suddenly decides to start a walking club or a heart-healthy fellowship hour, encourage them. However, check with your parish nurse or other health professional to make sure that ideas are medically sound. Also, if you’re planning activities such as a high-impact aerobics class or church-sponsored basketball league, check with your trustees about insurance coverage.
5. Once you have your program, advertise it! Use newsletters, local newspapers, and brochures. Talk about healthy choices as a stewardship issue at meetings, during fellowship hour, and whenever and wherever the people of God gather. Our bodies and minds and spirits are God’s precious and sacred gifts to us. We are called to be faithful stewards of what God has given us.
6. Remember, some folks are extremely sensitive about weight issues, so keep it light and keep it fun. If someone is not interested, don’t push. Their discomfort should tell you that they already “got the message,” but aren’t ready yet to make the hard choices to change.
7. Plan to celebrate at the beginning of the program, somewhere along the journey, and at the end of your efforts. But think of ways to celebrate without the typical fat-laden potluck dinners! Have fun, and Lose-A-Ton!
|
Other Ideas
and Resources
The New York Conference has a food pyramid that may be borrowed by United Methodist Churches of the New York Annual Conference to do a workshop on nutrition. Contact smitchell@nyac.com or apearson@nyac.com
If you have a registered dietician or nurse in your church or can get one to come in to do a presentation, you could teach people about healthy eating. For example, many people today are talking about “low carbs”, so what does a healthy low carbohydrate diet look like? You could also use this event as a way to talk with teens and children about portions and choices and so forth.
You could do a heart-healthy potluck dinner or fellowship hour and provide literature on how to convert recipes to make them less fatty and sugary.
You could begin an exercise club in your church.
You can get all sorts of useful information to share with your congregation through the web sites listed in the column to the left.
We’d like
to hear about what your church is doing to promote healthy eating and
exercise. Please let us know and we could pass the idea on to others through
this web page. woodcockr@wcsu.edu |
The Center
for Nutrition Policy and Promotion -
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health PromotionNutrition and Physical Activity - http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/
American Dietetic Association - http://www.eatright.org/Public/
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/nutrit/nutrit.htm
Food and Nutrition Information Center - http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/index.htm
National Institutes of Health - http://www.nih.gov/
|
|
Nutrition Moment Consume complex carbohydrates (whole grains, dried beans, fruits and veggies) and fewer simple carbohydrates (sugar, soft drinks, cookies, and cakes.) Evaluate the type of starch prior to purchasing the product by reading the nutrition facts on the food label. Zoom in on the carbohydrate content. Remember the least amount of simple sugar is one the keys to a healthier you. Select starches that
contain at least 2 grams of fiber per serving .The dark cereals Make sure the bread you purchase is whole wheat and not just wheat. Eat a variety of complex starches daily, especially fruits and vegetables. Elaine Williams Nelson, |