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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Aug 3.
Published in final edited form as: J Natl Med Assoc. 2009 Jun;101(6):552–564. doi: 10.1016/s0027-9684(15)30940-8

Table 1.

8-Component Theoretical Framework for Spiritual Counseling on Weight Loss

  1. Admit to the need for empowerment over our problems with food and an inactive lifestyle.

  2. Be open to connections with others and a Power greater than ourselves as a source of inner strength to restore us to a healthy lifestyle.

  3. Explore this source of empowerment and its connection to a better life. Make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of that Power, as we understand it.

  4. Admit the areas of struggle and the character traits that surface in this struggle.

  5. Identify the recurring themes and key struggles that keep us “stuck” where we are.

  6. Be ready to work in partnership with a higher Power to remove our ineffective behaviors.

  7. Seek through prayer, meditation or affirmations to enhance our awareness of spirituality in our lives, surrendering that which is truly out of our hands.

  8. Work through the demands life brings us, send this message to those around us and practice these principles in all our endeavors.