Kerri Fusselman; Kate DeCoste Photography; H&M: Mattilynne
There is real scientific evidence that spiritual practices including prayer can improve our health and help us lose weight. Ready to get inspired? Meet cancer survivor Kerri Fusselman, who needed to get back in shape so she began her own faith-based weight-loss program. As a result, she lost 117 pounds. Here, she shares exactly how she did it so you can follow in her faithful footsteps.
Why faith became Kerri’s weight-loss game changer
Years ago, Nebraska mother of three Kerri Fusselman struggled with her weight—and felt completely alone. She reveals, “I failed so many times at weight loss, I didn’t think I’d ever succeed.”
Then a friend encouraged Kerri to read the book Heavenly Assignment, a faith-based memoir with extra spaces to journal your innermost feelings and prayers. “That was the first time I realized I could pray about my weight,” recalls Kerri.
Up until that point, it never occurred to Kerri to pray about this issue. “I had a strong faith, but I felt like God didn’t care how much I weighed,” she says. “He loved me for who I was. But in my research to get healthy, I realized God also wants us to honor our bodies and be healthy so that we can help the people of the world.”
How daily prayer transformed Kerri’s body and mind
After that realization, Kerri got into the habit of using faith-based strategies in her approach to both health and weight loss. “I started fervently praying for my health and my body. I prayed to heal and learn to love my body every single day just the way it was.” She explains, “That was a game changer. My body started transforming overnight.”
Kerri combined her prayer practice with practical action: Eating whole foods with lean proteins and vegetables, practicing intermittent fasting and going to the gym for gentle water aerobics, which felt manageable and easy on her joints. But something felt different this time. “In the first two months, I lost 37 pounds.”
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6 powerful components of Kerri’s faith-based weight-loss journey
Asking God for help in living a healthy lifestyle taught her some heavenly lessons. Incorporating her faith into her health journey did the following things:
It helped her ditch perfection
For Kerri, her Christ-centered approach brought an unexpected gift: freedom from perfectionism. “I gave myself grace and learned to love my body at every single stage. I realized I didn’t have to be perfect. I just had to try every single day,” Kerri says. “When I went to the gym, I didn’t compare myself to other women. This helped me accomplish my goals. When I gave everything I had to that workout, I came home and prayed, ‘Thank you, God for getting me to another day of better health.’”
It welcomed angels into her efforts
This surrender made Kerri more open to asking for help from God and her community. And people showed up, especially the ladies she met in the pool. She found an incredible community of support at her Life Time health club. “Friends did everything in their power to help.”
Here’s just one example: Too intimidated to explore beyond the pool area, Kerri admits, “I had never climbed the stairs of my gym in two years. But the ladies knew I had it in my heart to get healthy. They willed me to it. They took me upstairs to other areas like the yoga and weight rooms. They became my cheerleaders.”
It allowed healing from the inside out
Discovering yoga also became a powerful tool for mind-body connection. “It helped with the mental component of weight loss,” Kerri says. “I told myself: I’m worthy of this time. This was hard, but I could do it. That whole mental part helped me heal from the inside out.”
It allowed forgiveness to remove obstacles
“I started to forgive myself for years of treating my body poorly.” While nourishing her soul, Kerri nourished her body with high-protein yogurt, apples and granola for breakfast, clean snacks like air-popped popcorn and satisfying dinners of turkey and veggies. “I started weight lifting and realized I was good at it. I was strong. In a couple months, I lost 40 more pounds.”
It helped her trust God’s bigger plan
Then came a moment that revealed God’s perfect timing. “By the time I’d lost 60 pounds, my grandson fell and broke his leg. I watch my grandchildren full-time, so I had to lift him in and out of his wheelchair every day. It taught me that God was already working in the background, preparing me and getting me ready for what he was going to need me to do to be strong for my loved ones.”
It reminded her that God’s timing is divine
In all, Kerri shed 117 pounds and felt renewed and more positive in every way. “Reaching 100 pounds lost on December 24, 2024—exactly 10 years after my breast cancer diagnosis—felt divinely timed. It was a powerful moment of reflection on how far I’ve come and how guided I’ve been along the way!”
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The miraculous ripple effect: How Kerri’s faith blessed her whole family
In all, Kerri lost five dress sizes and has kept her weight off for more than a year with the help of prayer, healthy eating and exercise. But her faithful decisions didn’t just bless her own body—they blessed her whole family. “My husband Jeff lost 85 pounds and my daughter lost 60 pounds,” Kerri says. Filled with gratitude, she adds, “I have a new grandbaby coming. I’m going to be in great health to be able to take care of my family so much better where I am now!”
A version of this story originally appeared in the April 13, 2026 issue of Woman’s World.
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This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult your physician before pursuing any treatment plan.
