2016-07-27
Did you resolve to lose weight in 2008? Norris Chumley's 12-week guided journal, "The Spirit of Weight Loss," will guide you through a new way of thinking about your weight loss journey. After you sign up, you'll receive a new prompt twice a week on your Beliefnet Community homepage, encouraging you to think about your body, weight loss, and your spiritual life in a new way. You can use your own Beliefnet Community journal to respond to Norris's prompts.

  • Sign up to receive Norris Chumley's guided journal directly on your Beliefnet Community page

  • Use your personal journal on the Beliefnet Community to write about your weight loss experiences

  • Read Norris's introduction below to get inspired

    Introduction to "The Spirit of Weight Loss"

    Having tried many diets and weight loss products over the years, with not many long-lasting results, I began to search for the deeper mystery of why I was overweight. I had a powerful craving to know why I often felt empty and unsatisfied. These life questions led me on a mission to truly understand myself, and at the same time to find something more in my life.

    Above all else, I longed to know why God created me, and to truly unite with God (or my Higher Power) to be my best.

    In my early days of recovery, I discovered some tools that helped me to lose 150 pounds and keep it off. I want to share them with you, in hopes that you, too, will continue your own mission of self-discovery and spiritual awakening. A powerful practice toward this kind of discovery is journaling. Taking the time to record aspects of your life, behaviors, feelings and spiritual insights can be truly helpful and fulfilling. Even life-changing.

    Daily spiritual journaling with the specific goal of losing weight and improving your overall health allows you to see patterns of behaviors and thoughts that you might not be consciously aware of. The daily ritual of writing down your thoughts and feelings around food and your weight can assist you in establishing discipline in the form of positive routines, aiding you in breaking habits of self-destructive behavior. Identifying areas of concern, spotting problem patterns and realizing connections between emotions and actions can help you to discover true freedom in self-awareness. Over the next three months, I encourage you to share photos of yourself and the food you eat right here in your journal on the Beliefnet Community so that you can better accept what is (or was) and help you in your effort to change that.

    Someone once said "God is in the details," and I have found that's true.

    Accept this invitation to understand the mystery of your weight problem. Come along with me – let’s write a book of life--your life--together. Twice a week, I will offer you a thought and a question that will inspire you to delve deeper into the you that God created; the you that so beautifully wants to be seen and heard – thinner, healthier and happier.

    Let's begin to discover that person.

    --Norris Chumley


    Sign Up for "The Spirit of Weight Loss" Guided Journal Now >>



    About Norris Chumley
    Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Norris J. Chumley, M.A., M.Ph., was an overweight baby who eventually grew to be an overweight child and then an overweight adult. After years of battling bad eating habits and negative emotions, Chumley had a change of heart.

    During a turning point in his life, he decided to attend support group meetings with people that had the same problems that he did. It was there that he was able to gain the strength he needed through God to overcome his addiction to food. He took control of his life realizing that he no longer wanted to use food as a substitute to true happiness. Chumley lost 150 pounds and has kept it off for over 16 years. He went from being nicknamed “Enormous Chubby” to becoming enormously successful with work that has been featured on Beliefnet.com, PBS, NBC, AMC, A&E, Showtime, The Movie Channel, HBO, Cinemas and WNET/13.

    He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Most recently, Chumley has authored "The Joy of Weight Loss: A Spiritual Guide to Fitness," and appears with Susan Sarandon in the documentary DVD, "The Spiritual Guide to Weight Loss." He is currently a featured columnist for Beliefnet.com, and teaches at various clinics and churches, including Kripalu Yoga and Health Center and The Riverside Church in New York City, in the area of spirituality and health.

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