Weigh Down founder to come to ACU For Immediate Release September 20, 1999 Gwen Shamblin, founder of the Weigh Down Workshop, will bring messages from her God-based weight program to ACU on Sept. 30. Shamblin will be here in connection with Wellness Week, a week focusing on emotional and physical health. Shamblin's community presentation will be from 7-9 p.m. in Moody Coliseum. Michael Shamblin, an upcoming Christian artist and Gwen Shamblin's son, will perform before his mother speaks. The community is invited; there is no cost. The basis of Shamblin's program is focusing on God rather than food. "God wants us to run to Him instead of to the refrigerator," Shamblin said in the March 6, 1997, edition of The Herald. "I realized that dieting was just making the food behave," she said. "I wasn't behaving at all." Weigh Down allows people the freedom to eat anything they want within the boundaries of hunger or fullness; it does not require counting calories or exercising. The program has grown to over 30,000 locations with nearly half a million participants in the U.S., Canada and 68 countries worldwide. Her book, The Weigh Down Diet , which lists the principles of the workshop, has appeared on several best seller lists. In August 1998 it reached No. 1 on the Christian Book Market list. Shamblin and her program have been featured on shows such as ABC's 20/20 and NBC Nightly News . The program also has appeared in publications such as USA Today, Good Housekeeping and The Washington Post. Shamblin has added another dimension to her program called Exodus from Strongholds. This program is designed for people dealing with addictions other than food, such as alcohol, cigarettes and sexual obsessions. -30- Archived News Releases - Current ACU News and Events If you are a member of the media who would like more information about this release, please contact Tom Craig, director of media and community relations, at craigt@nicanor.acu.edu or call 915-674-2692 (cell phone: 665-5469). Last update: Sept. 21, 1999 This page is maintained by Tom Craig, craigt@acu.edu. http://www.acu.edu/events/news/990920-shamblin.html