The new year is approaching, and this is a time for resolutions!  Is losing weight or eating healthier a part of your resolution?  If so, check this out!

I’d like to share some information that I gathered while watching Doctor Oz!   I don’t often tune in, but when I do, I find useful information to apply to my life for my health, benefit, and well being!  This episode was no different!   In fact, I made sure I was tuned in the day he talked about The Daniel Plan with Pastor Rick Warren. The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life
I first heard of The Daniel Fast The Daniel Fast: Feed Your Soul, Strengthen Your Spirit, and Renew Your Body
when I started listening to and reading some of Donna Partow's work.   While Pastor Warren's plan is very similar, he approaches it from similar angles as the fast while offering expertise of two additional sources.  Both plans/fasts and books on the subject are packed full of information to help you as you begin and follow along!   I, of course, was drawn to this episode based on my knowledge of Pastor Warren and having read his book The Purpose Driven Life a while back. The Purpose Driven Life

Here is what that episode touched on:

Focus, Faith, and Friends

It combines spirituality with community.

Mind, Body, and Spirit

To provide a little more information on Body –  three basic essentials:  ban sugar, ban flour, and load up on clean carbs:  fruits and vegetables

They suggest having protein as a side dish.  It is a Science based program from what they are saying, and you will need to eat the right proteins as a side dish instead of the main dish.

Here is a little hint on what you can eat in a typical day on this plan:

Breakfast:  eggs, whole wheat bagel, turkey or bacon

Snack:  Almonds, berries

Lunch:  Veggie soup with turkey sausage

Dinner:  Pasta (a little) with more turkey sausage

Dessert:  Chocolate dipped banana with walnuts

Now let’s talk about the mind:  They stated that 140 studies say that as your weight goes up the physical size and function of your brain goes down.  Wow!  That was shocking when I heard this!   They further went on to explain that as weight increased, the frontal lobe function decreases activity (one that makes good decisions).   They went on to discuss the impact of sugar on the body and also on the mind – it can cause dementia because the neurons don’t talk to each other as much, causing cravings, inflammation, depression and dementia!  I don’t know about you, but that was enough to scare me into putting that brownie down!  They explained it as a dinosaur syndrome – big body, little brain – and further stated that you will become extinct if you continue to consume so much sugar!   They claim that The Daniel Plan will help the brain.

Now let’s talk about the Spirit.  Pastor Warren said that fellowship is the key to success!   This plan brings God or a Higher Being in as a very important part of the weight loss program.  Pastor Warren stated:

God gives us the grace to start over.  You feel bad, guilty.  This is not fear or guilt driven, it is faith driven.  God says He knows we can do it and gives us grace and motivation.  Jesus made us, gave His life for us, so we’d better take care of the temple of God.  He gives us the power to keep going.  There is a difference in will power and God power.  It’s based on trying, not trusting.

Pastor Warren went on to say that success is related to the support we have.  He suggested that two or three people can do The Daniel Plan together and emphasizes that we need each other and that we’re better together.    We can help pray for, support, help, and encourage one another.

Pastor Warren drives this point home by saying that there are two ways to change.  One way is to grab the steering wheel and force it to go another way.   If you do it this way, your will power is forcing it not to go where it naturally wants to go.  If we let go of the wheel, it will go back to the bad habits.  The best way, and the one with more long term success, is to change any thing in life whether it be food, fitness or anything else for that matter by changing the auto pilot.  God specializes in that!  He will renew your mind so that you will think differently about food!

He addresses cravings.  If we try to have them pushed down by ourselves, it is just too hard to do when dieting on your own.  We feel hungry and then our will power sags.  This is when we need friends!  (An accountability partner as I mentioned in a previous post to help us stay on track but to also PRAY for us and with us!)   When we help hold the cravings down, they get squashed when it is shared with your friends!  Consider doubling the weight loss when doing it together with a friend!  It is so worth it.

There were a few ladies that gave testimonials on the show.  One lady had a 150 lb weight loss on The Daniel Plan.   She said that it addresses community and spirituality.  She said that she feels like she’s worth something now!  Diets didn’t address her issues or concerns before.   She felt the doctor’s information included in the book was excellent.  She learned not to eat certain foods and found the information provided to be powerful.  She said that the community was great and that small groups within the church were encouraged to take part in this.  She stated that when doing this in a group that they are there to hold your hand as you go through this plan,  to encourage you to eat healthy, and in doing this plan, you begin to talk to other church members.   Some would even gather to talk with going out to eat, and she stated that she could even eat regular food and did not feel deprived at all.  If you are not sure about a small group of people in your church or even in your community beginning this plan, then do this plan with just a group of ONE other person.  She stated that ONE person that you love and trust can be your partner on this voyage!

I don’t know about you, but this information packed into this small segment on Doctor Oz’s show really interested me so much that I looked into the book.  I have not yet purchased The Daniel Plan as I have seen other books on The Daniel Fast today as well when looking through books on this subject manner.    (I will post those links on the right hand side if you’re interested in taking a look at the books mentioned in this post.)    Please note that I am not getting paid to promote either The Daniel Plan or The Daniel Fast.  I just found this information interesting and wanted to pass this along to readers around the world as they set out on a mission this coming year to improve themselves in all aspects! The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life