Denise: So can you tell me a little bit about your history with food and weight?

Diane: Sure. I would say, from about maybe fourth grade through sixth grade, I was gaining weight. Gaining weight. And so my mom was on the heavier side. And so the two of us, she took me to Weight Watchers with her, and I went regularly. In sixth grade, I weighed 138 pounds. And I wasn’t really tall. I’m average height now. But it was obvious that I was overweight.

And my goal weight was 105 pounds. I never got down to the goal weight, so I never felt accomplished, even though I had lost a significant amount, which I got to 109. Then, life happened and I was at a very normal weight through high school. College I had gained a little bit, but it was never, pounds or anything like that, which doesn’t mean anything, right? 

Because if you’re uncomfortable. It could be one pound, you might be at a normal weight, and I was uncomfortable. I went to a wonderful Catholic high school and I had many friends who were just very tiny and very petite, and so I would measure my own worth and satisfaction through them a little bit. 

And so I never quite felt like I was skinny enough and I use that word skinny a lot. There was lots of denying of food. I just never made it to that goal. Actually, even when I got married. I was basically a size 12, but I bought a dress bigger. one full size, bigger, and I thought, oh, we can just cut it down. Because I was afraid it was form fitted. And I just was having stress about what if I go to put that dress on and it’s too small.

So I ordered a size 14 and then we had to, it almost changed. I mean the woman who was fitting me said, oh my goodness, it looks, I think we’re gonna have to take a lot out of this dress. It changes the style. So my dress was big. It was gapping. It looked okay. Nobody really knew except me, but it just shows what was going on.

Denise: In terms of you were just so concerned not being able to fit in the dress or unsure of what your body was Really the size, what size your body really was.

Diane: Exactly. Yeah. And I really wasn’t a yo-yo dieter, but I had this stress of that dress going on. Then we got married, had kids. And I did gain weight after children. I remember after our second daughter was born, I was heavy. Then I went to OA. Overeaters Anonymous. God was there. God was not at Weight Watchers, but God was at OA. 

And I had significant improvement and I got down to a wonderful weight. I think I was 146 and I got pregnant with twins. I gained 85 pounds and within nine months I lost that weight and it just, it was more of a natural progression. I was breastfeeding twins that came off nicely. But, I never felt like I was at a comfortable weight. 

And to your point about, I guess to your point about lent last year, lent comes up and I’m thinking, what am I gonna give up lettuce or spinach? Because I never really allowed myself now desserts. Or if I did it was swiping here and there just licks and bites along the way. It wasn’t sit down and enjoy it. I wouldn’t be doing that. Because I had a diet mentality.

Denise: Okay, so you came into, if I can just go back one, I wanna go back one little part in your story to when you went to Weight Watchers with your mom.

Diane: Yeah. 

Denise: When you went to Weight Watchers with your mom, did you think you had a weight problem?

Diane: Yes. 

Denise: Okay. 

Diane: I do.

Denise: You thought, I have a weight problem. I want to go, I want to do this.

Diane: Yes.

Denise: Okay. I’m always curious about that when people say they go to their first diet, especially in their like pre-teens and teenage years.

Diane: Yeah. You know what, we had pictures from that Christmas and I looked very overweight. I was very uncomfortable. And then of course, even when kids are in sixth grade, my best friend across the street was tall and really she was skinny, and so that was like, oh my gosh, I just felt very uncomfortable.

Denise: Okay, so fast forward, you have your twins, you lose 85 pounds, you’re in Overeaters Anonymous, and you are following a food plan that you describe as. Restricted. Tell me how, what the food that you were eating prior to 63 surrendered.

Diane: Actually, once again, very healthy food. This isn’t about the food I’m eating. I was not overeating, donuts or cookies or candy or anything like that. Very, very healthy. I went to a wellness coach who’d coached me through eating in a very healthy way. So it wasn’t that. What I knew I needed to change was my relationship with food. It was odd, you know, it wasn’t staying in one place. 

So then when I would come to work, maybe I would eat too fast. I didn’t feel satisfied. I’d plan all the time. Through the years, I’ve always brought food to work. And now, I just have such a clearer plan. With 63 surrendered. I write down my food regularly. So the point here is healthy food plan prior to 63 surrendered Absolutely. 

Denise: Okay. 

Diane: And grabs along the way of stuff that isn’t so great. Yes. I would never sit down and enjoy a special dessert. I just wouldn’t do it. I didn’t know how to do it.

Denise: Oh, that’s interesting. That is so true. I think a lot of women just avoid it because they don’t even know if they’re allowed to. How do I do it without overeating or feeling guilty? you’re already eating healthy food. What  was it that made you even consider 63 surrendered?

Diane: I just didn’t have a healthy relationship with food. And so we as Catholics, right? We consider is there something I can give up? 

Denise: Right. 

Diane: Of course there are action steps that I take that are positive that I add in, but what is it I will give up? And that’s what was like, okay, I’m really eating healthily, what will I give up? And it was like I think I’m gonna give up lettuce. Wait, that’s, I didn’t really think that, but…

Denise: Right. 

Diane: There’s nothing to give up. And what I saw was I have a faithful friend who posted the notification about 63 surrendered on her Facebook page, and I clicked on it and I thought, you know what, I’m just gonna try it. This looks pretty good. Let me just see. It’s gonna start tomorrow, but I’m gonna try it. 

Denise: Yeah. 

Diane: And I was open to it.

Denise: Did you see the part about fasting from the scale? Was that what intrigued you? Do you remember?

Diane: Yes, I had been fasting from the scale for over 10 years.

Denise: Yeah. Okay. So there was just something that you said, I’m gonna try it.

Diane: Yes. Because you know what, with OA, God was there. Yes. But I felt like I still was missing something having to do with. How I eat my food. When I eat my food, the food I eat, something wasn’t right. It didn’t seem to have its own bucket. Where I could separate concerns from it. It was just like a lot of, really chaos eating as you call it.

Denise: Yeah. And so for somebody who doesn’t know our program, we look at our eating patterns, not only the food that we eat, which is really not that important. It’s more important why you’re eating something. We want to enjoy food. Of course, we want it to fill our bellies.

But we also look at the manner in which we’re eating and we just really try to cultivate peaceful eating behaviors. So we look at what’s chaotic and slowly by, slowly learn new patterns that create peace, so then we have peace around food. 

Diane: That’s right. 

Denise: It’s just so simple. 

Diane: Yep. 

Denise: So did you have any concerns about starting another program?

Diane: Not really because I’m open to doing new things. And I knew that something should change and I thought, oh, why not? It was a very reasonable investment. And I was willing to do something where I knew God was in on it. 

And I felt like I could get what I needed. I knew that there would be check-ins with other people who were doing the same thing I was doing. I knew that there would be guidance. I could see that there were some things that I needed to do each day and I was willing to do them, and it didn’t look overwhelming.

You know, there’s action steps to take right. With anything. And it appeared to me as if it would be something that I would be able to do. I loved. I was familiar with the Surrender to the divine will novena. I love when you talk about it being [00:10:00] a lifestyle. And I do believe that’s what it is, right? We’re always surrendering our challenges to the Lord and we’re asking him to guide us.

Denise: Did you notice anything? That made you think, wow. Yeah. This is different than anything I’ve done before.

Diane: Well, yes, absolutely. I just knew that God wants to help me. The thing that helped me the most really were the three ways in which we eat. The top three, right? In following the plan. The directions are to chew each bite 20 times. Okay. I can do that. 

Empty my hands in between bites and then empty my mouth before putting another one in there. That being said, I will say I have not been a hundred percent on that. I have not. Sometimes I have to catch myself. 

Denise: Oh, for sure. 

Diane: But now, I know. And that’s really, honestly, that’s been a huge part of my success along with some of the other regular steps that I take each day.

Denise: Yeah. Okay. So that’s a great segue into the regular steps that you take. But before you do that, what was the biggest surprise for you during this challenge when you did, just when did the Lent challenge?

Diane: I just, I started to lose weight and it was just seemed to be coming off naturally. It wasn’t something that I had to try just by following these quote unquote eating behavior rules. The weight just came off and I was wearing a size 12 at the time, but sometimes I really could have used a 14.

I was wearing size larges and I could feel myself getting smaller and smaller. And now I’m into size eights. Here and there, a couple tens, but for the most part, eights and I’m down into mediums and smalls. So it was a lot of fun to go through this wave of new clothing because 

Denise: Yeah. 

Diane: I couldn’t, I mean, really I, so I just I keep on shopping. All thanks be to God that I can do it. But that’s basically, I saw that change. And the other thing is I feel like the reason why I sought a wellness coach is because I had some challenges. With gut and digestion and since that has improved a huge amount as well. 

My gut digestion, elimination all so much better because I’m not eating all through the day grabbing and grabbing a loud food, but still grabbing, nonetheless, not the way God would want me to be eating.

Denise: So on a practical standpoint, the specific food that you ate didn’t necessarily change. It was just the way that you were eating that changed. 

Diane: Right? Even the healthy food.

Denise: Interesting. That’s so fantastic. So Diane, during your 63 surrender journey, you said that you just kept getting smaller and smaller. What were you doing during that time? And I think you’re probably still doing it. 

Diane: I am. 

Denise: That’s still allowing you to get to your healthy weight, which I think you have achieved. 

Diane: Yep. 

Denise: So let our audience know what you did during 63 surrendered, and now what you’re doing. The daily habits that you have?

Diane: I signed up for the weekly check-ins with other women. I attended other coaching calls with you and some of the other ladies. I listened to some podcasts that were appropriate for my stage, phase in life. So those were definitely some things.

But daily I filled out the morning review and connection. I put it in a plastic slip cover so that I just use my dry erase marker. I fill it out every morning, and I do the evening review every night. I think twice. In 11 months, I have missed that. Only twice because what I’m reminded of is life is happening. Every day. So I wanna be prepared and successful for each day.

So there is some consistency. So this, the way I liken it is that if you played a sport, you’d have to go to practice every day. And you would feel better if you were ready for your game. So the serious game, or playing every day is called life and eating.

Denise: I love this analogy.

Diane: Yes. And I like visual word pictures. And so how do I achieve my goal of staying really present with my eating in the right spot? So I do the morning connect. I do that. And then I do the surrender to the divine will novena. I do writing myself and I turn things over to the Lord. I look at the reflection.

I have the email with the Divine will novena prayers sent to me each day. I usually listen to them and then I read what the meditation is and I spend time with the Lord quietly. So I do that in the morning, and then I also just have my own little notebook that I carry around where my food is written down.

So I do my routine, so usually what my morning connect looks like, it says pray, surrender, exercises. It’ll say my workplace, any meetings I have coming up. And then it’ll say steps throughout the day. I keep track of that. And I always bring two meals to work every day. 

So basically I’m a two meal a day person, but I do have some type of healthy plan for snack or maybe, I don’t even like to use the word snack, but a plan for meal that’s much smaller, but it meets my needs.

Denise: Yeah. 

Diane: The other thing that I do regularly I just write my food down and it’s very, I don’t wanna use the word lose, but it’s very adaptable in really, that’s a good word.

Denise: Yeah, it just sounds like you have this routine where you’re connecting with the Lord and then you’ve got some practical steps. So I think that this is definitely a spiritual, emotional and a physical journey. Spiritually you are connecting with the Lord, emotionally, you’re doing your writing and staying, staying connected to your own wellbeing, your emotional wellbeing, things that might be troubling you.

Diane:  Yeah. 

Denise: But then because we have physical bodies and we live on earth, we do also have to have some physical tools. And that structure that we give you in 63 surrendered really just becomes the structure that you keep for life, which is the morning connect. Which is the spiritual side, the easy to stick to meal plan, and then the evening connect.

Diane: Amen. 

Denise: It’s just so darn simple.

Diane: It is, and I read my intentional thoughts each day. Because these are the things that I want to really procure and I’ve added a couple things along the way, but that stays the same as well.

Denise: Tell us what you mean by intentional thoughts.

Diane: Okay. It’s my what do you call it? My future? Me. So my future meet could be today, right? 

Denise: Yeah. 

Diane: It’s for the remainder of the day. 

Denise: Wow. 

Diane: Here is an example. I am a woman who depends on God and trusts him in all things who is more calm and filled with his peace. I let not my heart be troubled or afraid. I’m filled with the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength, the Lord is the strength of my life. 

I invite you Lord into my life, my heart, my thoughts, my food, my family, and he is always guiding me. And protecting me and showing me my part Everyday, in every way, I’m getting better and better. I’m an active listener. I’m a loving and caring wife, mother, relative, and friend to all. 

I surrender all my cares to God. I praise him and thank him all day. I follow my food plan and I eat the right amount of food at my meals. Less is more. I chew each by 20 times, and I empty my hands and my mouth. I am at my ideal weight, and I love how light I feel.

I’m a successful disciple, leader, friend and family member to all. I’m a doer of the word of God. I’m blessed in the things that I do because I’m a doer of the word of God. I talk to God. He hears me, and I hear his voice. I need only to be still. Thank you, Lord, that I know my part, and I read that twice a day.

Denise: For those of you who are listening I’m becoming a woman who is an exercise that is inside our lifetime, group that really allows you to connect with the Lord and get a vision for the woman that he’s creating you to be. And so Diane did that exercise and created. What she read to us.

And when you read that daily and you envision that woman in your brain doesn’t know if you’re imagining it or if you already are experiencing that. And so you’re creating those new brain pathways and so it becomes more easy to automatically do the things and be that woman. Isn’t that incredible?

Diane: It is, it’s great. Yes, absolutely. And I feel the change, I feel more at peace. When we praise and thank him during challenges, he’s there. Last week in the surrender to the Divine will novena, a simple phrase jumped out at me and it was, put yourself in my care.

Denise: Yes. 

Diane: And that’s what I’m doing. I need to do it. I need to encourage others to do it. This is how we live really an authentic life. And I have to remind myself I’m a new creation in Christ. The old me is gone and the new has come, and I’m grateful for that. It doesn’t matter my age. I’m just willing to live this new lifestyle with more components that I can understand and implement. 

Denise: Yeah. You did not mention your age, Diane. How old are you?

Diane: I’m 65.

Denise: Okay. So you have, I always like to imagine everyone’s living until they’re 95, so you have 30 more years to live this new way. 

Diane: Okay. 

Denise: And so what started out as your Lent journey to simply, I don’t know, give this a try? Tell me what, where you are now with food and weight. We know what you’re doing daily, but what has the Lord done with you and your physical body over the last year?

Diane: Well, as I said, I love how light I feel. I exercise every morning before I come. I do some great exercises really to just get blood flowing. Plus I belong to a fitness center and I go for classes regularly. People there have noticed, that’s what it is. People are like, oh my goodness, you have lost a lot of weight, haven’t you? And I do have baggy pants there. 

But I just enjoy being more active. I’m enjoying the food I eat at times. I have dessert. About a month ago I had dessert twice in one day. I enjoyed it. I just stay to the healthy side of things. Fruit is a wonderful gift. And I feel like it’s most natural for me. I eat healthfully. You know, I made my own bone broth on Sunday, and I’m freezing it.

I have a huge kettle and I’m still. Really on this path of healthful eating, but now I have a good attitude about it. In the past, no matter what I ate, it didn’t make a difference. So these behaviors that I’ve been able to learn have really lent itself to more peace up here and peace in my heart, and I think where the Lord wants me to be.

Denise: Yeah. When you said when you would eat healthy before, it didn’t make a difference. What do you mean by it didn’t make a difference in what?

Diane: Well, I didn’t really lose weight. I was not eating the way God intended me to eat. That’s what.. This is, if I don’t eat the way God wants me to eat, what else is what could be going on? And that’s why I feel like my journey was so significant. 

It was like it was revealed to me at the right time and I had a lot of different experiences with food and weight loss and healthy eating. But I had missing pieces, missing components. 63 surrendered, gave me a great start and I continue to use these components because why would I change? It’s better now.

Denise: Yeah, I know. I hear people say it’s a weight loss program that you don’t want to stop. 

Diane: Yeah, exactly. 

Denise: It’s just so great. I don’t think that we actually went into the chaos behaviors that were revealed to you in your 63 surrender journey. Can you give us a snapshot of what was revealed to you as being so chaotic?

Diane: Yeah. You know what? Just a lot of grabbing, being at work, putting a snack or putting something to eat in my drawer. Not chewing 20 times, just kind of shoveling it in. People are coming, I meet with different people. I have appointments and I just didn’t even have the forethought to predict and plan, and now I do.

So that’s a big thing. I would eat when I was driving now it would be healthy foods. It would be, you know, I’m not going through drive-throughs and getting hot dogs or anything, and not that hot dogs are bad, but I just was not overeating.  I could overeat vegetables. 

Denise: Yeah.

Diane: Salad, lettuce, just healthy things I could overeat. 

Denise: Yeah.

Diane: Really, I was a volume eater. That was my. And I just thought, Hey, if it’s only got 10 calories a cup, I could have a hundred cups.

Denise: Yeah. Oh my gosh. I remember just like going through a two pound bag of baby carrots in one sitting.

Diane: Yes.

Denise: But it’s only baby carrots. But what, yeah. And it makes sense when you’re in diet mentality. 

Diane: Exactly. 

Denise:  But when you’re pursuing peace and balance, it’s really chaotic. 

Diane: It is very. 

Denise: So if you could go back and talk to yourself before joining 63 Surrendered, what advice would you give yourself?

Diane: Don’t aim for perfection. Find something in quiet space or quiet time with the Lord that resonates. And just make a commitment to do your best each day. That’s what I did. I did not do it perfectly. Day one going out, I did not, but I did it as best as I could. I showed up and just aimed for the action steps. Do something. Perfection is not necessary. I will find what works for me. And God is really all in on this challenge.

Denise: Yeah, he sure is. He is. You know, somebody asked me one time, well, what makes it Catholic? And I’m like, well, if you’re Catholic and you’re doing it with the Lord, then you are making it Catholic. Although we are all very Catholic. Diane, I just realized you talked about clothing sizes, but I know that you saw a significant change in the scale as well.

Diane: That’s right. I had to go. Let’s see, so I started last February and.

Denise: 2025. 

Diane: Yep. And I had to go for some type of certification to a workplace. And a very nice lady, she said to me, can I get a copy of your driver’s license. I said, sure. And then she said, I assume all of this is correct. 

Denise: Yeah. 

Diane: Is that right? Including the weight? 

Denise: Yeah. 

Diane: And they said yes. And then, you know what? It dawned on me, I had not weighed myself, but I knew that my clothes were feeling looser. Do you know what, I was like about 11 pounds less than what it said on my. Lied about weight that it’s been at.

Denise: Okay. 

Diane: It was 145 on my driver’s license since high school. 

Denise: Okay. 

Diane:  I delivered the twins at 229. It was a lie.

Denise: So when you started 63 surrendered, you did not weigh yourself.

Diane: No, but I suspect I was 165.

Denise: Okay. And then when you got done with 63 surrendered, or when was the next time you weighed yourself? 

Diane: Well, it was in the summer. 

Diane: Okay. 

Yeah. I was one. I think I, you know, like here how. This is how unimportant it is. Good. I’m pretty sure I was 130.9.

Denise: So in let’s say five months, you had gone down around 35 pounds.

Diane: Yes. Just by following these behaviors.

Denise: Just by allowing peace to enter into your relationship with food. 

Diane: Amen. That’s it. 

Denise: And so here you are sitting in a comfortable body. 

Diane: Yes. Very.

Denise:  When’s the last time you were able to say, I feel comfortable in my body?

Diane: Oh I don’t know that I ever did. 

Denise: Wow. 

Diane: I do remember. When I was young in my twenties, I had an apartment and I do remember there was just a little stint of maybe a week where I’m not kidding. I sat with food that I liked and I ate it quietly and slowly and I do remember that. So that was a very long time ago. Like 40 years ago.

Denise: Yeah. You know what I want women to hear who hear this story, and I don’t care if you’re in your thirties, forties, fifties, sixties, yeah, twenties. Your relationship with food, your relationship with your body can change. The Lord can heal you. All he’s asking for is you to say yes and then he’ll do it.

Diane: Yes, absolutely. He is in it. That’s what this is about. I open my life up to him and he’s there. He’s right there. Every day.

Denise: And I think, Diane, what’s crazy, and I know that you were doing a program with God before. But I know a lot of women accidentally block his access to this area of their life. They think God doesn’t care about their food and weight. And so you had access to the Lord, you were talking to him about your food and weight. It was just that missing piece of the chaos behaviors. 

Diane: I think that’s true. Yes. 

Denise: Interesting. 

Diane: That was a missing piece. He was invited in. In so many other areas of my life. But I just didn’t know how to do that part. We can learn new things. He’s always there. I do speak scripture each day as well. You know, I’ve added a few things that I love. 

You know, for example, all things are possible with God. I’m a new creation in Christ. The old is gone, the new has come, thy will be done. He wants me to succeed. All things work together for good, for those who love Christ. My mission, my job, believe. By his wounds, we are all ready, healed. That’s what his words says.

So I declare healing. His word is alive and active and does not return to him void. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him, right? And how do I please him by following his word and letting him in? Have at it with me, Lord. 

Denise: Right. Oh, so Diane, this has been so fantastic. Before you go, what would you say to a woman who’s unsure of joining 63 surrendered? For Lent.

Diane: I would say the Lord brought you to it. That’s why you’re considering it. Why would you walk away? Just try it. You will not be disappointed. The Lord has great surprises and a great journey to show you and remember, everybody’s journey is different.

Denise: Yeah. 

Diane: So what works for me may not work for somebody else, but be open to his guidance. He has called you for a reason. How is it that I clicked on that opportunity? On Facebook the day before Ash Wednesday. How is it? I just clicked on it and I’m gonna try it. It seemed very reasonable. I thought I’ll just be open to it. I’m so grateful that I did not hold myself to perfection. 

Denise: Yeah. 

Diane: I would’ve walked away, if I did that.

Denise: Yeah. Wow. Thank you and for all of those of you who are listening to this live Lent of 2026, our Lent group starts the day before Ash Wednesday this year, February 17th. So you can get in at weightlosswiththeholyspirit.com and start with me and hundreds of other Catholic women as you journey towards peace with fasting from the scale, not just for Lent, but for a lifetime. Diane, thank you so much for being here. 

Diane: Absolutely. Thank you for the really, what a pleasure.