The attitude to food has changed over the past hundred years. In Europe, people are no longer starving, on the contrary, constant overeating has become a problem. This is understandable, because the products are available, and the culture of entertainment is at a very low level for many. The food traditions that existed among the religious Russian people are now completely destroyed and replaced by the cult of food. Everyone knows that food should be balanced, correct and environmentally friendly. And the fact that it is not always necessary to eat until full, many do not even suspect.
That is why being overweight is the scourge of many Russians and Europeans. Fighting him is not just work for a good figure. Obesity makes diseases such as diabetes, arthrosis, cholecystitis more likely.
It is difficult for a person to walk a lot and move actively. To fight, diets and special diets are used. But for many, this is work and deprivation of pleasure, and they turn to the church for help in order to learn prayers for weight loss. Of course, it is good when a person resorts to God with any of his problems, but in this case the church cannot help. There are no such prayers. But Orthodoxy can help to look at the problem much broader. After all, obesityoften overtakes those who have a wrong attitude to food, shows gluttony. That is, prayers for weight loss are prayers against this sin.
If a person comes to the temple with a desire to get rid of gluttony, the Orthodox Church can offer him help. This is one of the deadly sins, so prayers for weight loss in the form of a prayer against gluttony are very common.
In the Orthodox tradition there are four fasts: Great, Christmas, Petrov and Assumption. Food restrictions during these periods are very significant. Believers ask God to help them overcome their pernicious inclinations and desires, their passions. For example, the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is practically an Orthodox prayer for weight loss, and it is pronounced many times every day of fasting. According to the charter, during a short prayer, 4 earthly bows are performed (kneel down, bow to the floor) and 12 waist bows, in which it is supposed to touch the floor only with an outstretched hand.
Of course, believers do not perceive the prayer work of Great Lent as prayers for weight loss. But, if you approach them from a physiological and psychological point of view, they are just that.
Many psychologists have studied the problem of excess weight, the increased importance of food in the value system of modern Europeans. And the desire to lose weight in itself occupies a special place. We must completely stop thinking about nutrition: calories, taste, advantages and disadvantages of dishes. If interest in food is supplanted by somethen a more significant interest, for example, spiritual values, religious life, then a person himself will not notice how he will lose weight.
Many people use what they call "prayer for weight loss". Reviews of the results depend on the general mood of the person. If he is ready to radically revise his value system, usually the weight gradually disappears and does not come back. And if food and personal pleasures still come first, the fight for slimness can go on for a lifetime and never be won.
