Weigh Down Workshop is a Christian-based weight management programme that effectively urges its participants to replace food with God. It was developed in 1986 by Gwen Shamblin
The workshop quickly gained popularity, and numerous churches began providing it across the nation and even beyond. In the end, Gwen started the Tennessee-based Remnant Fellowship Church in 1999.
The Church and Gwen, however, have become embroiled in disputes about their methods throughout time.
The HBO documentary series “The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin” examines Church activities under the direction of Emmy Award-winning director Marina Zenovich.
Before dying in a plane crash in May 2021, Gwen accumulated a sizeable fortune through her seminars, books, and other items. Consequently, let’s check out her net worth now, shall we?
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Gwen Shamblin Lara: Method of Earning Money
The family in which Gwen Shamblin Lara grew up was devout. Gwen pursued her master’s in food and nutrition at Memphis State University in Tennessee after receiving her dietetics degree from the University of Tennessee. She developed the concept for the Weigh Down Diet while working there.
She was of the opinion that some people were overweight while others were slender for reasons other than heredity, metabolism, and other behavioural clues.
Jennifer Shamblin Prayer, faith, and the Bible’s verses were highlighted in Lara’s diet strategy. She thought that if people just ate when they were hungry and quit when they were full, like God intended, then people wouldn’t get fat. Dieting is applying a Band-Aid to a much deeper condition, as Gwen once said.
A bird will breathe again if you pull it out of the water and launch it into the air. We achieve that by reintroducing them to the environment in which they were created, which is this relationship with God.
Calorie counting and portion control are not priorities on the Weigh Down Diet. It does not specify a particular diet or form of exercise. “People are tired of the fight; they feel hopeless,” said the dietitian from Tennessee.
It’s remarkable how liberated you’ll feel if you put your emphasis on God and prayer rather than the refrigerator’s magnetic draw. The Weigh Down Workshops were a staple of thousands of churches across the nation in the late 1990s and early 2000s, boasting many participants who said they had experienced results.
Gwen Shamblin Lara: The Weight Down Diet
In 1997, Gwen penned “The Weigh Down Diet,” followed by a number of other books in the next several years. In 1999, she went on to form the Remnant Fellowship Church. But over the years, there have been a number of issues involving the Church and Gwen.
She once cited the starvation of Jews in Nazi concentration camps to argue that heredity had no bearing on how weight loss occurred in people. “How in the Holocaust could you have all these folks getting down real skinny?” she said in an interview. They ate less overall.
There were concerns about how she could afford to live extravagantly given that both her church and business were for-profit entities.
Employees who filed claims said that Gwen had asked them to share her beliefs. Two church members were found guilty in 2003 of beating their 8-year-old son to death. The Church favoured physical punishment in their doctrines, and Gwen backed them. On May 29, 2021, Gwen, her husband, and numerous other Church leaders perished in a plane crash in Smyrna, Tennessee. At the time, she was 66 years old.
Gwen Shamblin Lara: Net Worth (2023)
At its height, Weigh Down Workshop was a multimillion dollar business with annual sales of over $20 million. That indicates that the company was valued at roughly $80-$100 million overall.
When assessing Gwen Shamblin and her husband’s net worth, one must take into account the fact that they were the sole owners of the business.
Additionally, Gwen was one of the best-selling authors of her era thanks to the success of her book, which had sold over a million copies.
Then, her numerous television appearances increased her riches as well. We calculate Gwen Shamblin’s net worth at the time of her passing to be $100 million given her several sources of income.
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Gwen Shamblin Lara: Bio
On February 18, 1955, Gwen Shamblin Lara was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States. When she died, she was 67 years old. She was born under the sign of Aquarius.
Gwen Shamblin Lara came from a Christian-based home. From 1978 till 2018, David Shamblin and Gwen were wed. The couple had two children: Michael Shamblin, a son, and Elizabeth Shamblin Hannah, a daughter.
Jennifer Shamblin Gwen received her undergraduate degree in dietetics from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She subsequently graduated with a master’s in food and nutrition from Memphis State University in Tennessee.
Jennifer Shamblin Career: Lara, a qualified nutritionist, joined the faculty at Memphis State University after receiving her master’s degree. She stayed there for approximately five years. She afterwards spent five years working for the state’s health department.
As a child, Lara struggled with her weight. In 1980, Gwen started a consultancy business in the area of weight loss to aid people going through similar problems.
In 1986, she began a series called the Weigh Down Workshop in which she counselled listeners to avoid unfavourable feelings and behaviours like fury, despair, binge eating, and drunkenness in favour of forging genuine relationships with God.
Gwen founded the Remnant Fellowship Church in 1999 in an effort to save God’s people. At the beginning, a small team of people organised themselves in the Franklin, Tennessee-based Weigh Down facility’s shipping department. They met daily and spent their time praying and teaching the Bible.
In 2002, Shamblin bought the 40 acres of property in Brentwood, Tennessee, and a church was constructed there. The church’s building was completed in 2004.
“The Weigh Down Diet,” Gwen Shamblin Lara’s debut book, was released in 1997. In the book, she promoted using spirituality to prevent emotional eating.
Throughout the book, she advised readers to read the Bible whenever they felt like they were physically hungry but weren’t. The book sold over 400,000 copies in just one year. As of 2021, more than 1.2 million copies of the book had been sold.
Gwen Shamblin Lara: Relationship
From 1978 through 2018, David Shamblin and Gwen were wed. The couple had two children: Michael Shamblin, a son, and Elizabeth Shamblin Hannah, a daughter. In 2018, Gwen wed American actor Joe Lara. Lara, William Joseph Joe had a daughter from his first marriage to Natasha Pavlovich.
Shamblin when Controversy: Lara caused controversy during the investigation of the death of an 8-year-old boy named Josef Smith. According to reports, his parents admitted to abusing their child because Lara’s Revenant Fellowship Church, which she founded, supported violence.
Lara started a discussion when she claimed that the doctrine of the Trinity was against the Bible. She held the view that Jesus Christ was not the actual God but rather God’s son. Thomas Nelson Publishers opted not to publish her book Exodus as a result of her comments. Later, in a letter to her supporters, Gwen clarified what she had said.
Gwen Shamblin Lara: Spouse
Going back to his personal life, he has had two marriages and one divorce. David Shamblin, her first spouse, was her first husband.
They were wed in 1978 and were a married couple until their divorce in 2018. Michael Shamblin and Elizabeth Hannah were their two children born during their marriage.
2018 saw the couple tie the knot with actor and model Joe Lara. They remained partners until May 2021, when they perished in a plane accident. She was also attacked for utilising the name of Christianity as she gradually expanded her company.
Quick Facts
| Name | Gwen Shamblin Lara |
| Nick Name | Gwen |
| Birth | 18th February 1995 |
| Birthplace | Memphis, Tennessee, USA |
| Death | 19th May 2021 |
| Gender | Female |
| Profession | Author, Diet Guru |
| Nationality | American |
| Age | 67 years (as of 2023) |
| Zodiac Sign | Aquarius |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Education (School) | School – Local School |
| Graduation | College – the University of Tennessee Memphis State University |
| Parents | Father – Unknown Mother – Unknown |
| Siblings | Sister – Unknown Brother – Unknown |
| Height | 170 cm |
| Weight | 54 kg |
| Partners | Ex – David Shamblin Current – Joe Lara |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Children | Son: Michael Shamblin, Elizabeth Shamblin |
| Sexuality | Straight |
| Current Residence | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Famous For | Dietician |
| Net Worth | $1-5 Million |
Gwen Shamblin: Facts
- Jennifer Shamblin Lara was deeply passionate about God and His Church. She also had a soft spot for kids and always made an effort to aid the less fortunate.
- Elizabeth, the daughter of Gwen, revealed in an interview that her mother had taught her and Michael to have a relationship with God from a very young age.
- In 1996, Gwen resided with her family in the ancient home of Ashlawn in Brentwood, Tennessee. In 1838, the mansion was constructed.
- Gwen and Joe Lara jointly owned the Cessna 501, which was the plane that crashed into a lake not far from Percy Priest and killed both Gwen and her husband. JL&GL Productions LP was the owner of the aircraft’s registration.
- Prior to her passing, Gwen served as a health expert on numerous speaking panels, appeared on numerous TV shows, and provided consultations to numerous people.
- The Christian Diet Guru is a title that Lara frequently uses.
- In her diet plan, Gwen includes a variety of fast food products.
Gwen Shamblin: FAQ’s
Who is Gwen Shamblin?
Dietician and author Gwen Shamblin Lara was from the United States.
What is Gwen Shamblin’s nickname?
Gwen Shamblin’s nickname is Gwen.
When was Gwen Shamblin born?
Gwen Shamblin was birth on 18th February 1995.
What is Gwen Shamblin’s age?
Gwen Shamblin’s age is 67 years (as of 2023).
What are Gwen Shamblin’s family members’ names?
There is no data about it.
Where did Gwen Shamblin study?
Gwen Shamblin went to the University of Tennessee and Memphis State University.
Is Gwen Shamblin dating?
Gwen Shamblin is married to Joe Lara.
What does Gwen Shamblin do?
Gwen Shamblin is a famous fellowship girl.
Where was Gwen Shamblin born?
Gwen Shamblin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
What is Gwen Shamblin’s net worth?
Gwen Shamblin’s net worth counts more than $1-5 Million.
What is Gwen Shamblin’s offspring’s name?
Gwen Shamblin has a son named Michael Shamblin, Elizabeth Shamblin.
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