I picked up The Weigh Down Diet not long after I got saved in 1998. I don’t remember how many pounds I lost, but I do remember how good I felt and how free I felt. I’m not sure why I ever stopped practicing the principles of Weigh Down, but I did. The last 14 years I’ve yo-yo’d with my weight. I tried the program that uses Points, which worked for a while. I lost weight, but I just couldn’t count points for the rest of my life, and I would end up putting weight back on. I started the points thing again a few months ago, and I was so frustrated! I felt like all I could think about was food; how much can I eat (or how little), when can I eat again, what I can and can’t eat…it’s exhausting! And I realized it was making food an idol for me! I believe God recently reminded me of Weigh Down, and I started reading Weigh Down Works. I was shocked when I found out Gwen had passed away! My condolences go out to her loved ones, but Praise God, she is with our savior now! I’m grateful to God and Gwen for answering His call and helping so many people, including me, to run to God instead of food for everything we need. I’m already incorporating the Weigh Down principles in my life and I feel free once again! No more diet foods, no more counting points (or eating food I don’t like just because it’s low in points), and no more looking at something I enjoy and depriving myself. I can focus more on God and stop focusing on food! He is more than sufficient! Thanks so much for continuing on with this ministry!

Reading this beautiful page and tearing up thinking how much I’ve been impacted by Gwen’s love for God! I was a very empty teenager— running to peers, emotional eating, anxious habits, social media.. you name it— trying to fill up my heart. I took a weigh down class with my mom and now, 17 years later, I can confidently say my life was changed for the better. What could have been a dark path ended up being a joyful, sweet, new life! Forever thankful for all the words she shared and the love she lived. I pray to carry them with me always!

I thank God for the ministry of Gwen Shamblin Lara… I am being so blessed. I'm not even done reading it but have already begun implementing strategies and seeing a breakthrough. Thank you for keeping this ministry alive.

Gwen exemplified servant hearted leadership and so purely and encouragingly exampled what a relationship with God could be like. My family and I are forever indebted to carry on the love for God and each other that she shared so well. She was not just a best friend and mentor but also the voice of loving truth that this world so deeply needs.

I started coordinating Weigh Down classes in 1997, and I experienced great success with laying down the sin in my life by following the godly principles taught in Weigh Down. Gwen not only taught the Truth she explained how to put the Truth into practice, and that Truth is paramount for living a life pleasing to God, and it produced much godly fruit and blessings in my life - my marriage was now better, all my relationships were better, my overall health was better, because I lost over 100 pounds putting Weigh Down principles into practice. I love Gwen for telling me the Truth and for teaching me how to put God's will into practice, and for that I am eternally grateful to God and Jesus Christ.

I just found Gwen again. I did one of her workshops in 1996 I was not ready, and I put away a binder I had from that workshop. I had gastric bypass surgery in 2005 lost 90 pounds and gained most of it back, then lost another 77 pounds in 2015 and gained most of it back. I saw her book in a thrift store and remembered something about it. I came home and went in my storeroom and found the binder I had in 1996. I believe Gwen was given a gift from God to help so many. She was such an amazing woman. God knows how many lives Gwen changed for the better and helped them get closer to God. I pray that everyone sees the truth of who she was, an amazing woman of God. I am going to continue on with her teachings. I know it will work. Thank you, Gwen. You will be missed!

I was morbidly obese for most of my life, going on diets all throughout my childhood and into adulthood. I lost over 100 pounds multiple times, only to gain it back rapidly each time. I praise the Almighty God for Gwen Shamblin Lara and her life. She selflessly shared her relationship with God with all of us and taught me how to put food in its proper place and to worship God and His Son Jesus Christ. I lost 120 pounds 15 years ago and have never regained it. I now turn to God with my problems, and I thank God for my joy! Without Gwen and her teaching, I shudder to think of what my life would have become. She gave her life to God, and He reached out, and continues to reach out, to all of us through the words He gave her. I am a walking, talking miracle because of her influence and love in my life.

Gwen has been an inspiration to me since I bought her first book. I would go up and down with my weight, but as soon as I would go up by about 15 pounds, I would grab her book and start reading and the pounds would come off. Gwen really got me to read my Bible more and just stop eating when I’m full. I have learned so much from her. And she will be missed. She is and was a disciple for our Lord. God bless you, Gwen.

It's been 25 years since I took all three workshops in my early to mid-twenties. To this day I still remember your advice that anything we run to besides God for comfort will never love us back. Your ever-present voice of reason that replayed in my head all these years had ALWAYS kept me out of trouble and guided me on a path towards God rather than idols. Thank you for being one of the most influential spiritual teachers of my life.

I only have a story from the outside. I'm a Christian and have not had dealings with her church or her. I greatly appreciate her work to get God into the thoughts of those that have fallen away or were lost to faith. She used a unique way to bring God into people’s lives. I don't care how she did it and I think God will appreciate the fact she brought some of his lost children back. I'm so sorry for her loss.

Gwen helped me see that there is more to weight loss than just the food. I was looking for a program that was Biblical and I ended up learning that I was more worried about food than I was about actually losing weight. Getting my focus on my Heavenly Father made the weight come off and I have a closer relationship with Jesus. Thank you Gwen for your tender heart toward people and what they need. May you dance with the angels.

I started this program in 1997 with Gwen and lost all my weight and I also taught it in my church. I had a setback this year and realized I could come back and it just broke my heart to know Gwen died. She taught me so many things, but I remembered her love for God over food. My condolences to her family. My greatest hope is that the ministry will continue.

I heard about Weigh Down back in 2008. I found the Weigh Down Diet book and I knew as I read in just the first few pages that this book would be unlike any of the other "diet" books I owned. I found the peace and freedom from weight problems that I had been looking for, and lost 30 pounds in just a few months. As long as I invited God into my eating and into every part of my day, I was set free! As Gwen has said so many times. "This is mere Christianity." My story is not unlike many others who found Gwen's teachings to line up with scripture and to be life changing. And, unfortunately like others, I was not consistent with putting these biblical teachings into practice. I let doubts and projection steer me off course. The devil is so skilled at getting us to look sideways instead of looking at our own sins and how WE need to change. In spite of what the evil world may say about Weigh Down and Gwen, I know that God indeed used her to help me and thousands of other people turn to God with not only their weight problems, but with their relationships, addictions, strongholds, and day-to-day trials.

I was in early short term success story in the late 1990s with Weigh Down. At that time, it was only her first book. It brought me closer to God and I lost a few pounds. I let the teachings go by the wayside and struggled on both counts for the next 25 years. What man meant for evil God meant for good. I decided to watch that HBO pack of lies and realized just how sound and good the Word of God is, brought through Gwen, and how dysfunctional and evil the world is, testified to by those on that show. I am now back to having a close and personal relationship and surrender to God and have reactivated the Weigh Down Biblical teachings.

I first heard about Weigh Down back in the mid 1990's. It immediately resonated with me, and I knew this message was the key to my freedom. I had been so bound by the dieting/food obsession cycle. I went through several classes and even coordinated some classes, but the root of love for food was never removed and I eventually went back to dieting in the early 2000's. Fast forward to June 2021, my daughter was at the point of exhaustion with dieting and food rules and was in tears looking for a pathway to change. Immediately, the Weigh Down program came to my mind and I committed to doing the program with her. Ever since that day, I have embraced the program and never looked back. I have realized the heart change is the true reason for the program that I missed the first time. I was deeply saddened to hear about the loss of Gwen and the others that took place right before I came back. However, the Weigh Down program has never been about a single person and Gwen always made that so clear, which is such a testimony to her legacy. People can say what they want to about Gwen, but anyone who has listened to the message she so boldly spoke, knows she had no other desire except to magnify Jesus and put Him first in everything. That's what Weigh Down is all about. It's not about weight loss at all, it's about giving all of your heart to God and Gwen was such a shining example of doing just that. I praise God every day for Gwen and her willingness to speak forth the truth in spite of much persecution and opposition. This message has truly changed my life and I aim every day to seek God first and His righteousness. The weight loss has naturally followed and for that I am grateful! Praise God!

I cannot believe she went home to be with Jesus already! In 2000, after suffering a lifelong struggle with depression and being overweight, along with being in a domestic violence marriage and having a son diagnosed with a rare heart and lung disease, I was a mess! Someone in our church had stood up and given testimony about Weigh Down and how it wasn't just another diet plan but a lifestyle that brought you closer to God. I searched for it, and I got enrolled in a class, and my life changed. I found out that God wanted me to have a real relationship with Him rather than my fridge and food. Her genuine love for people and God showed in everything she did. Gwen never made anyone feel like a lesser person and made people feel valuable. She continues to make a difference in my life as I remember her words from out of Egypt.

My entire life has been impacted and changed. Gwen taught me to open my Bible and apply what I learned to my life. I praise God for Gwen!!!!

The first time I heard Gwen preach was in 2001. The first sentence she spoke still impacts my life today. I think of it often. She held up the Bible and said, "if you revere this book, you'll do what it says". In the years following, I watched her not only preach it but live it out…every single day…especially when she thought no one was looking. She became a family friend and mentor. We loved her dearly.