Unlike David, Miller resisted temptationthanks to First Place, a weight-loss program that blends dietary advice with lessons from the Scriptures. The group boasts several hundred thousand members at more than 10,000 churches here and abroad. “Most of our programs are at mainstream Christian churches,” says Miller, “but we’ve had requests for materials from Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, even from Jewish congregations.”
Participants, who pay about $80 for 11 to 13 weekly sessions, receive a looseleaf notebook with recipes, tips on how to read food labels and a diary to record intakealong with inspirational Bible lessons to help get the Lord on board. “We believe that prayer and Bible study are an important part of learning discipline, something a lot of overweight people have never learned,” says Miller. The program’s feeling of fellowship pleases those who’ve found other groups less than charitable. “First Place isn’t like the commercial programs, where they make you feel guilty if you don’t lose fast enough,” says Houston architect Marilyn McCarnes, 51. “I feel supported and loved whether I lose weight or not.” Each First Place meeting ends with a prayer. Miller leads her group in thanking God “for all the victories that will come from you. Be with us as we face that refrigerator.” Think of him as the weight watcher who sees all.
