Psychological Healing
in the Roman Catholic Mystic Tradition

Weight Reduction

But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.
—Luke 6:25

 
Introduction | Body Mass Index Calculator | Points to Ponder about Overeating | Weight Reduction Assisted by Fasting | Weight Reduction through Faith and Prayer | Visualization and Prayer Technique | Coping with Cravings

 
ERTAINLY, no one can argue that eating is a sin. Eating is necessary for our survival. Yet consider the following:

•	Overeating defiles your own body, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, with medical problems such as back pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
•	When you eat anything to make yourself “feel good,” you reject and defile divine grace, the only source of goodness, and you subordinate the desire for holiness to the desire for self-satisfaction.
•	Overeating scandalizes children with the impious example of self-indulgence and gluttony.
•	Overeating causes you to carry around excess weight, thus wasting energy that could be used for productive labor.
•	Overeating drains the environment of needed resources. Food consumed in excess could be better used to feed the starving poor. Oversized clothing that covers an obese body could be better used to clothe the naked. Fuel wasted in transporting an obese body could be better used to warm poor souls shivering in the cold.

And so, knowing all of this, and yet stubbornly continuing to care more about the welfare of your stomach than you care about the welfare of your soul, is a sin.

	For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
	—Philippians 3:18-19

Body Mass Index Calculator

Enter your weight and height and click on the button to calculate your Body Mass Index: Use metric measures Weight: lbs.         Categories: <18   Underweight 18 – 24.9   Normal 25 – 29.9   Overweight 30 – 34.9   Stage I Obesity 35 – 39.9   Stage II Obesity >40   Stage III Obesity Height: Ft. In. Body Mass Index: Description: •    This index assumes that excess mass is the result of body fat. If you have a muscular, athletic body type with little fat, then you may not be at risk for the health dangers of obesity. • Men at the low end of Normal may actually be underweight.

 
Points to Ponder about Overeating

The general facts about weight gain or loss are governed by a simple law of physics: if you consume more calories as food than you expend in exercise, you will gain weight and if you expend more calories in exercise than you consume as food, you will reduce your weight. There are three points to consider in this regard:

•	Some persons have—or through yo-yo dieting have created—a metabolism that tends to store food intake as body fat, and for such persons it can be a trial—but not impossible—to maintain a normal body weight.
•	Some persons have medical problems that make it difficult to exercise. In that case, only one option remains: you must cut back on the amount of food you eat so as to compensate for your lack of energy expenditure.
•	Some obese persons will claim, in all seriousness, that they do not eat very large meals. But, if their eating habits are examined closely, it is often discovered that they “nibble” or “snack” almost constantly throughout the day. All of this points to the way that you can unconsciously deceive even  yourself about your true behavior.

Psychological factors, therefore, can play a role in excess weight, either as a primary cause, or as secondary causes underlying a medical condition.

	Anger.  Unconscious anger, especially because of a father who is lacking (either physically or in terms of protection and guidance), can generate feelings of victimization. That is, such persons can resist physical exercise and disciplined eating habits (saying that it’s all “too much trouble” or “unfair”) because they lacked protection and guidance as children; they will use food as a way to stuff down feelings of anger because they don’t know what to do with those feelings; they will eat to compensate for their uncontainable emotional hunger; and they will derive a certain satisfaction, and pride, from “throwing their weight around” as compensation for their feelings of social and emotional helplessness.    On the other hand, anger at a father who is lacking in gentleness and guidance because he is manipulative or controlling can lead to the development of Anorexia Nervosa, an eating disorder whose deep psychological intent is to get revenge on the father by controlling one’s own body.
	Body Armor.  Some individuals, usually women who have been sexually abused as children, use body fat unconsciously as a sort of body armor to deflect the sexual desires of others.
	Deadened Emotional Awareness.  Some individuals, usually because of the emotional emptiness of growing up in dysfunctional families, have, as a psychological defense, so deadened their emotional awareness that they perceive all emotions as hunger. Anger, frustration, fear, sadness, loneliness—it all feels like hunger. But, at its psychological depth, it’s really a hunger for emotional acceptance, not for food.
	Deprivation.  Some individuals who felt deprived of emotional or material resources as children will, as adults, resist the self-restraint of healthy eating because it feels like another form of deprivation.
	Reward.  Some individuals have grown up in families that use food as a reward for being “good,” and so, as adults, they can use food for self-soothing when they feel “bad.”

 
Weight Reduction Assisted by Fasting

In the Christian tradition, fasting does not necessarily mean to do without food entirely. Fasting can also mean to do without things you do not really need. Now, when you cut out of your life food that you do not really need, you will reduce your weight. And then, once you have attained an ideal weight, you can fast moderately, yet perpetually, in order to maintain an ideal weight. 

In regard to fasting, however, be careful not to get caught up in pro-anorexia (“Dear Ana”) propaganda. The dangers of Anorexia Nervosa are very real: loss of the menstrual period is a warning for women, and loss of bone mass and sudden cardiac arrest can be unfortunate consequences of the disorder. At its core, anorexia represents a hatred for the body as a vessel of submission to incompetent authority. Anorexia, therefore, is in flagrant opposition to proper Christian respect for the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. [1]

Here are some suggestions to consider in regard to a spiritually healthy way to let go of excess weight and maintain an ideal weight:

•	Eat foods made with whole grain flours. Avoid “store bought” baked goods that use refined white flour. Bake as much as you can at home, using whole grain flours. And use light olive oil for shortening, not the commonly used “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” stuff.
•	Eat vegetarian foods as much as possible, rather than meat. It’s entirely possible to consume all the nutrients required for health with a gentle vegetarian diet (i.e., including eggs and milk products). Some religious orders make a vegetarian diet—that is, perpetual fasting—part of their rule.
•	Avoid fried foods, because they add unnecessary (and unhealthy) grease to your diet. Greasy foods also tend to make your mind sluggish, thus interfering with prayer.
•	Coffee and tea are fine for breakfast and dinner, but throughout the day avoid them, along with the culturally standard soda pop and colas, and drink only pure water. Drinking about 8 oz (250 ml) of water per hour is not only healthy (it keeps you properly hydrated) but it also helps to keep your stomach full, thus preventing you from feeling hungry between meals.
•	Whenever you are about to eat anything, whether it be a full meal or just a sip of water, take time to give a proper blessing. Developing this habit will help you avoid “automatic eating,” and it will encourage you to reflect on whether you really need the food or not.  BLESS us, O Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. And, in support of a more austere diet, add the following to the above: Thank you for such humble and simple food; may it fulfill all of our physical needs, for without even your most lowly of gifts we would perish. Amen.

 
Weight Reduction Through Faith and Prayer

You can live within normal and healthy weight limits if only you love God more than you love your stomach. Right now you use food to numb your emotional distress, and you fear that without using food and excess body fat as psychological defenses your life will be nothing but empty pain.

Therefore, to overcome the habit of constantly reaching for something to fill your stomach, endeavor to teach yourself to act in new ways. Recognize the urge to use food as a way to numb emotional pain, and then return food to its proper place in your life: not as a psychological defense but as a holy gift of nutrition. This takes considerable conscious effort—still, it is all possible through graceful trust in God’s help and protection.

While you are making all these changes, it can help greatly to use some sort of relaxation technique. For more information about relaxation techniques, see my web pages called Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Autogenics Training on A Guide to Psychology and its Practice. A relaxation recording (true to the Catholic faith) from the present website can help you experience relaxation as well.  A Catholic relaxation recording

Moreover, the Catholic Church offers a centuries-old form of relaxation and emotional support: prayer.

Accordingly, I offer below two ways to use relaxation and prayer to help you reduce your weight. The first way is best practiced at least two times a day (morning and night). The second way is a small card that you can print and carry with you; whenever you feel the urge to use food as a psychological defense, pick up the card, not food, and say the prayer.

 
Visualization and Prayer Technique

In general, changing unwanted behavior comprises three basic steps:

1.	To know how ugly the behavior is and how much damage it causes to yourself and to others.
2.	To regret the damage caused by the behavior.
3.	To know the benefits of new and different behavior.

It will not be sufficient, however, that you “know” these things intellectually; it is necessary to know them by feeling them in the depths of your heart.

So here’s how to do it.

First, enter a state of relaxation. Here, you can simply sit (or kneel) and pray quietly. This is important because the next two steps (if done properly) will arouse substantial anxiety, and you need to be able to reduce that anxiety again.

Second, create a negative mood state in which you visualize the harmful and disgusting effects of the unwanted behavior. For example, see your body swelled with fat; feel your muscles and bones straining under heavy weight; notice your shortness of breath; visualize cholesterol coating your arteries and heart. After the intense negativity of this mood has been felt fully, reduce the anxiety with relaxation. Then say a Hail Mary.

Third, contemplate how miserable and wretched your life will be if this behavior does not change. For example, see yourself wheezing for breath, barely able to endure any physical exertion. Imagine your children suffering from their own obesity because of your negative influence. Imagine yourself in Purgatory where every unnecessary mouthful of food you have ever taken will be purged from you. After the intense negativity of this mood has been felt fully, reduce the anxiety with relaxation. Then say a Hail Mary.

Fourth, create a positive mood state in which you visualize the beneficial effects of new, healthy behavior. For example, see yourself as calm and confident in your faith, mentally and physically healthy, free of frustration and tension, a positive influence on others. Then say a Hail Mary.

Fifth, reinforce your positive mood with prayers of supplication. Repeat them several times. Create your own, or select from the following examples.

•	Give me the grace, Lord, to not use food to fill my craving for love. In You, Lord, I am filled with all the fullness of divinity; there is no greater love than this.
•	Give me the grace, Lord, to not use body fat to ward off unwanted sexual attention. Let the protection of the Blessed Virgin, Saint Joseph, and all the angels, Apostles, saints, martyrs, and virgins through the ages help me guard and preserve my chastity.
•	When I trust in You, Lord, I do not need to soothe myself with food. Through Your grace, I am no longer a slave to impulses and addiction.
•	Lord, when grounded in prayer, I work calmly and confidently. Give me the grace to not let my self-confidence be bothered by small mistakes. In You I can overcome all obstacles with total confidence.
•	Give me the grace, Lord, to respect my own body as a temple of the Holy Spirit and to present myself to others with respect and dignity.
•	Give me the grace, Lord, to remain calm, relaxed, and composed in any situation.
•	Lord, let Your calmness and patience reflect through me to shine upon others as compassion and sensitive understanding.
•	You, Lord, give me an experience of peace and calm that cannot be threatened by anything outside myself. I thank you, Lord; I refuse to be jealous or envious, and I wish peace and good to all.
•	In You, Lord, there are no “good” days or “bad” days; there is only love.

Sixth, conclude with a prayerful closure to the session. Say the following prayers:

•	The Hail, Holy Queen (Salve Regina). HAIL, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy; hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.   V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.
•	The prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. SAINT Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray: and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the wicked spirits, who roam through the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
•	The following invocation, thrice repeated:   V. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, R. Have mercy upon us.

 
Coping with Cravings

Copy the following prayer card, and whenever you feel a craving for unnecessary food, use the card to say this prayer:

 

Download the information on this page in the form of a pamphlet you can print yourself