Sunday Courier & Press (Evansville, IN)
Margaret Mckinney
December 20, 1981
There was standing room only in the big conference room of the Airport Ramada Inn Indianapolis.
The air conditioning was inadequate for such a large crowd and doors had to be closed because of a noisy meeting nest door. But nobody left.
More than 160 women and about a half dozen men had come together, some from hundreds of miles away, to meet Carol Showalter and Mary Haig, co-leaders of 3D, a Christian group diet program that now exists in 50 states and eight foreign countries.
Nobody knows exactly how many followers the program has. The 3D mailing list includes 70,000 names, but the list is months behind in its records.
The three D’s stand far Diet, Discipline and Discipleship. Members are called to Christian discipleship through discipline and diet. The trim – or trimmed – bodies that result are a desirable by-product of balanced nutrition, prayer. Bible study and small-group sharing and caring. Changed lives are the goal, but the changes involve mini-goals, successes and failures along the way. One-hour weekly sessions renew individual strength and determination.
The two international leaders are inspiring witnesses to 3D effectiveness. They are slender, pretty and healthy-looking. Animated and happy, they demonstrate with every word and gesture that they are committed Christians. Observers feel a spark of envy, wanting what they have.
The gathering that night in Indianapolis was not the usual testimonial session for overweight people. Nor is it in small 3D groups. An Evansville member of 3D said recently, “I’ve been in this program for nine weeks and there’s hardly been any mention of diet.” So too at the Ramada Inn the emphasis was on discipline - the diet exercise, daily Scripture reading and prayer. Nobody confessed to eating a quart of chocolate ice cream in the bathroom and snipping up the carton and flushing it down the toilet. It was assumed that every compulsive eater has lapses like that. “Sin is a weight,” said Mrs Showalter, reversing the usual order of a familiar quote, “Lay that weight aside and allow the Holy Spirit to go deep within.”
Although you wouldn’t know it today, Mrs. Showalter waged a long battle with obesity before becoming involved with 3D. As told in her book which I is part of every 3D kit, she went the way of crash diets and Weight Watchers for 10 years. All the diets worked, but then she regained the weight. It didn’t help being the wife of a Presbyterian minister, and subject to all the temptations of sauced and iced Christian fellowship meals. Yet her position as church leader and example intensified her feelings of guilt and despair. Worthy and workable as Mrs. Showalter considers Weight Watchers, that kind of organization didn’t have the power to put her own life in order. An obsessive preoccupation with weight was robbing her life of joy.
Mrs. Showalter did not “invent” 3D. The name was chosen by a Christian weight-control group led by members of the Community of Jesus on Cape Cod. Vacationing on Cape Cod, Mrs. Showalter heard about 3D and took the idea home with her to Rochester, NY. At first she wanted only to be a member of a 3D group, but a leader was needed and others urged her to accept the post.
Several years of trial and error followed as the present program evolved. Carol’s husband, Dr. William Showalter, helped. Soon there were many groups in Rochester, and people who moved away took the idea to other cities.
Requests for help multiplied. It seemed as if the only way to respond was to work out a standard program that could be purchased as a package. A not-for-profit corporation was formed. Carol called on her friends at the Community of Jesus for guidance, and other Christian church people were consulted.
A beginning package was assembled, but it had flaws and omissions. Now a revised package costing $40 per member for a 12-week session is being introduced. It contains study materials, the 3D book written by Mrs. Showalter, sheets for recording a personal diet diary, and a book explaining the 3D diet. There is additional nutritional information in the book plus helps for meal planning. The diet used is the same as the Eat and Stay Slim diet and the one used by the American Dietetic Association in its booklet developed for diabetics.
Packages for two more 12-week sessions for groups that want to continue meeting are also available at $35 per member. A leader’s kit may be shared by the co-leaders, although each leader is expected to have her personal package and follow the discipline.
Three D groups meet in churches ,often with the support and cooperation of the minister or priest. Members need not be members of the church where meetings are held.
A meeting room scale and tape player are all the equipment necessary. The ideal size of group is 10 to 12, with two leaders. Responsibility is shared equally, bearing in mind that the leader must be the greater servant trusting the Holy Spirit for guidance.
Whether a person has joined in order to lose or gain weight or to get a handle on some other form of compulsive behavior, he or she must weigh in every week. Members must memorize selected Bible verses and learn to be open with one another. Openness does not imply confession that this one or that ate six candy ban on Friday, but a willingness to look beyond the act and discover why he or she felt a need to overeat.
“Fat," said 3D nutritionist Lorie Jack, “is a symptom. It tells on us. We can’t hide it. Something is wrong in our lives.”
Mary Haig, who shares top leadership with Carol Showalter, is the wife of an Anglican priest. Her home is in Canada where 3D has received wide acceptance. Dietitian Lorie Jack was added to the staff in September, 1980, in response to requests for a full-time nutrition specialist. Camie Ford was the fourth member of the 3D team visiting Indianapolis. The women travel about 10 days of each month. The day before, they were in Columbus, Ohio, where they met with group leaders from Roman Catholic churches and 13 Protestant denominations. Three D is popular on military bases, too. The US Army recently picked up the tab for a team visit to a post in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Groups may be formed of only women, only men, or couples. Some churches have special 3D groups for teens. Any combination that works is all right with program planners. Said Mary Haig, “Commitment is our goal: Roof off to God, walls down to each other, cup running over.”
Evansville’s only current 3D group meets at First Presbyterian Church. Those interested in starting others may phone there, 423-6297, for assistance. Because people like to make a new beginning on weight control at the new year, local 3D members suggest that new groups order their materials now so that they will be on hand Jan. 1.
The 3D address is Diet Discipline and Discipleship Inc., 271D Chili Ave., Rochester, NY 14624.
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