Chapter 2

The Essentials

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

S teven Komanapalli weighed more than 320 pounds when he started The Daniel Plan through Saddleback Church. His cholesterol was high. His triglycerides were close to 400 mg/dL (normal being around 150 mg/dL). He was pre-diabetic and on multiple medications.

As Steven reveals, “My Daniel Plan journey started when my wife and I started talking about the arrival of our first child and the plans and decisions we would make as parents and as a couple. One of the things that came up was our longevity. She said to me, ‘If you die early, man, I’m going to miss you. But if you die of something that was preventable, I’ll be really disappointed that you didn’t do everything you possibly could to be here for me and for your daughter.’ Well, she only had to say that once to get my attention.”

Steven took it seriously, and whatever The Daniel Plan doctors and Pastor Warren recommended, Steven did it. He examined his faith. He asked his men’s group to support him. He started planning his days around healthy foods. He found active games that interested him to move his body. More than two years later, Steven is down 80 pounds, and his health numbers are improved. He is even taking fewer medications. He is still “doing” The Daniel Plan because it has changed his life.

Hopefully, Steven’s story inspires you. We have told you why health is so important, and we have told you part of Steven’s story to show you how doable it is. Now we want to show you five areas of your life that work together to affect your health — for good or for bad. The Daniel Plan is based on five Essentials : faith, food, fitness, focus, and friends.

The Essentials are a pathway to much more than improved physical health. Each of the Essentials holds up your life, enlivens your body, enriches your mind, and fills your heart. Integrating these can lead to a whole, healthy life that helps you love fully, serve joyfully, and ultimately live out your calling at your best. We want to wake up and be able to give our highest gifts. And we want that for you, too.

Pastor Warren dives into your spiritual health and walks with you as you build that foundation. Dr. Hyman tells you everything you need to know about the power of food to affect your mind and body. Once you see how good the right foods can be for you, we hope it will inspire new eating habits that you enjoy.

Exercise physiologist Sean Foy removes the roadblocks that keep you from exercising. He shows you how much fun moving your body is and all the benefits that come from it. Dr. Amen helps you turn your brain into the powerful tool God made it to be by showing you how to boost its physical health, renew your mind, and fulfill your purpose.

The powerful synergy of these Essentials with the support of friends brings you more than any one essential alone. The prophet Daniel didn’t simply choose to eat healthier; he made that choice based on his faith, with a clear focus and the support of his friends. So it’s no wonder that he was in better shape and health than the others in the king’s court.

THE FAITH ESSENTIAL

Here is a very frank question: Do you quit on your faith every time you hit a bump? Do you say, “Forget it, God. I just can’t do this one hundred percent of the time, so what’s the use?” No! We know our faith relies on God. He’s the one who builds it and sustains it.

God gives us the grace and power to have a relationship with him. His Word instructs us on running this race of faith. God’s power is the key to any transformational change in our lives, including our health. He wants us to plug into that power so that we can live and move the way he intended.

If you really believed God’s power was behind you, energizing and sustaining you, what would hold you back?

The Daniel Plan starts with faith, because spiritual health gives you a foundation for building habits and perspectives for health in any area. As Pastor Warren mentioned in chapter 1 , faith is part of the secret of The Daniel Plan. You may have tried a dozen diets and a dozen exercise programs. But health is about more than a program. Health comes from recognizing and using God’s power in your life and treating your body and mind with the care that he intended.

Where God guides, he provides. What he calls you to do, he equips you to do. He doesn’t need your strength and willpower, but he does need your commitment. He wants you to live an abundant life that includes a vibrant faith, a vibrant body, and a vibrant mind. But you must rely on Jesus.

“There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears” (Philippians 1:6 MSG).

For too many of us, unhealthy choices have left us without the mental, physical, or spiritual energy to embrace what God has put us on this planet to do. Some of you think, “It’s too late for me. I’d do it if I were younger, but I’ve wasted my opportunity. I’m woefully out of shape now. I’ll never get to where I need to be.” But it’s never too late.

Consider your faith — it’s always changing, always growing, always being challenged. Sometimes you step forward. Sometimes you step back. But you know faith is a life-long race. Hebrews 12:1 – 2 says, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

You have to believe you can get healthy even if you can’t see it yet. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Faith is visualizing the future in advance. It is seeing the future in the present. Every great achievement began when somebody saw it in advance. When President John F. Kennedy issued the challenge to put a man on the moon, the technology hadn’t even been invented to do it.

The same is true when it comes to getting healthy. You look in the mirror and believe that, with God’s help, you’ll get healthy even though the person staring back at you is exhausted, stressed, out of shape, or overweight.

A Great Gift

“With faith, I embraced the change [of The Daniel Plan lifestyle] and took it head-on. I didn’t know where I would land spiritually, but I knew I had to stay close to God. I can recall the day when I felt the Spirit telling me that the vessel God made of me was no longer to be in my control. He was breaking it down against my stubborn will, for my own good. He was about to make a new creation, something adorned in his fashion, that would somehow inspire others. I had to embrace it, and I knew deep down that this would impact my life in more ways than I could imagine.”

—Matthew Burstein

You have to keep going even when you want to quit. Holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.” It all depends on where your focus is; where you bring your mind’s attention determines how you feel.

There will be tough days on this journey to healthy living. If you start the habit of turning to God in tough times, then when you face challenges with food, fitness, or focus, you will be in the habit of turning to him for help. God’s grace is always there, even when you are tired or tempted.

You have to believe that God has your best in mind even when you can’t see what he is doing. Throughout The Daniel Plan, we do our best to explain why — both biblically and scientifically — we are making certain recommendations. But in the end, it will come down to your relationship with God and the health of your faith.

Abraham is a classic example of obeying when he didn’t understand. He was about seventy-five years old, and God asked him to give up all his security (Hebrews 11:8). Remember Abraham’s faith when you start to wonder things such as:

• “How healthy will I get on this plan?”
• “How long is it going to take?”
• “How will I know when I get there?”

You have to trust God even when you don’t get what you want. We all know from personal experience that faith doesn’t exempt us from problems. It’s easy to trust God when life is going well and we feel strong. But faith develops in the valleys. When our dreams shatter and we feel helpless, that’s when we have to believe in God’s power and presence. So if you have ever been in a valley and your faith was tested, then you know exactly how to face the lows on the journey of health: trust God.

Faith can virtually be regarded as a verb. It is active and not passive. It is something you do. Decision making is a faith-building activity. Use your muscles of faith to build your physical muscles.

God has given you a mission in life, and only you can fulfill it. Are you going to let your health stand in the way? Are you going to be able to face your Savior at the end of your life and say, “I finished the race. I did what YOU put me on earth to do. I didn’t get tired and worn out. I gave Jesus everything, including my physical health”? That’s what we hope you can say. So we want to help you build your faith by plugging into God’s power and asking him to open your eyes to his view of your life. It will transform you from the inside out.

THE FOOD ESSENTIAL

What do you really know about food? You know what you like. You know what you don’t like. You know what gets your kids excited to eat. Believe it or not, food is much more than your mealtime sustenance. Food can reinvigorate your health, reconnect families, restore vibrant communities, improve the economy, improve the health of the environment, reduce pollution, and even help our kids get better grades and avoid eating disorders, obesity, and drug abuse.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

How many of us have ever considered that food can heal? This is the biggest scientific discovery since the germ theory of disease and antibiotics: food is medicine. Food is the most powerful drug on the planet. It can improve the expression of thousands of genes, balance dozens of hormones, and optimize tens of thousands of protein networks. It can cure most chronic diseases, and it works faster, better, and cheaper than any drug — and all the side effects are good ones.

Food contains messages, instructions, and information that tell your body what to do every moment to increase vitality or create disease. Every bite you take is a powerful opportunity to create healing or infirmity. Real, whole food that comes from the earth — food that was created by God — heals, while industrial-processed food created in factories by man harms.

How Bad Is It?

One in two Americans suffer from some chronic disease. ¹ Heart disease; diabetes; cancer; dementia; autoimmune diseases; allergies; acid reflux; irritable bowels; neurological problems; depression; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; thyroid, hormonal, and menstrual problems; skin problems including eczema, psoriasis, acne, and more. We spend almost $3 trillion a year in our health care system, and almost 80 percent of that is for chronic lifestyle preventable and reversible disease. ²

Unfortunately, many of us don’t eat food anymore. We eat factory-made, industrially produced food-like substances. This should make us stop and think. Should we really be putting that stuff into our bodies?

Dump the Junk

The National Institutes of Health spends $800 million a year trying to discover the cause of obesity. ³ Could it be the 29 pounds of French fries, 23 pounds of pizza, 24 pounds of ice cream, 53 gallons of soda, 24 pounds of artificial sweeteners, 2.7 pounds of salt, 90,000 milligrams of caffeine consumed every year by the average American? ⁴

We think of these foods as “convenience” foods. For a long time, the invention of jarred, canned, and packaged foods seemed like a great idea for easier cooking and convenient, on-the-go meals. But now we have discovered that this convenience has led to depression, obesity, fatigue, and the surge of people taking multiple medications for lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, depression, and acid reflux. How convenient is that?

The good news is that a life of abundance and vitality is right around the corner. In fact, it is right in our own kitchens. It is time to get back into our kitchens and take back our health. We have been convinced that it is time-consuming, expensive, and difficult to eat well. We are here to tell you that enjoying real, fresh, whole food is easy, inexpensive, and most important, delicious.

The Daniel Plan is rooted in a very simple principle: Take the junk out and let the abundance in. The choice is yours. We don’t want to focus on what you can’t eat (although we will educate and caution you about certain food substances) as much as on what you can include — delicious whole foods full of extraordinary flavor, delightful textures, and hidden surprises. Our philosophy is that if it was grown on a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, leave it on the shelf.

Our philosophy is that if it was grown on a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, leave it on the shelf.

Yes, we encourage eating lots and lots of vegetables. Our theory about vegetables is this: if you hate them, you’ve never had them prepared properly. They were canned, overcooked, boiled, deep-fried, or highly processed and tasteless mush. Just think of overcooked Brussels sprouts or mushy canned green beans. Those definitely don’t sound or taste very appetizing.

As Dr. Hyman says, “Cooking is a revolutionary act.” We have unfortunately abdicated the essential act of cooking — the unique act that makes us human — to the food industry. We have become food consumers, not food producers or makers. We have outsourced our cooking to corporations. We need to bring the cooking back home. Cooking can be fun, freeing, and simple.

The Daniel Plan is designed to cut cravings, satisfy your appetite, and teach you to listen to your body. You may not believe it yet, but your body will naturally start rejecting the junk — the sugary, processed, and refined foods — and you will begin to crave real food.

You will be invited to eat natural foods that bring vitality and energy to your body and mind. As you slowly introduce real whole fresh food, your body will respond automatically and heal, and chronic symptoms will fade into memory. The Daniel Plan introduces you to a whole new world of fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, eggs, chicken, fish, lean or naturally raised animal products, and spices. The Daniel Plan gives you a clear, goof-proof plan.

We are deeply concerned about our fat and sick nation, about our children’s and your children’s future. The best medicine for this ailment is something so simple, so easy, so healing, so affordable, and so accessible to almost everyone: cooking real, whole food in the home with your family and friends.

THE FITNESS ESSENTIAL

Be honest — what do you think of when you hear the word fitness ?

Most of us understand that to have a fit, healthy, energetic, and abundant life, we need to exercise. But the reality is, most of us don’t. In fact, more than 70 percent of us are not exercising regularly enough to maintain our health. It’s not because of a lack of information or education. For years we have been encouraged, pushed, and prodded by medical doctors, fitness professionals, and government agencies that for a fit and healthy life, we need to exercise.

Like food, exercise works better than medicine. So what keeps us from taking our regular dose? If we are honest, for many of us, exercise isn’t something we look forward to doing. It’s not on the top of our to-do list.

These sentiments may sound familiar:

“Who has the time or energy to exercise regularly?”

“I’ve tried to exercise before, but I just can’t seem to make it a habit.”

“Exercise isn’t a lot of fun; it’s really a lot of work!”

“When I exercise, all I feel is pain!”

Most of us will admit that exercising regularly is difficult with an already crammed, busy, and hectic schedule. And for those of us who begin to move, we will quit after just a few weeks. If you find yourself in these statistics, you are not alone — but more importantly, we have great news for you.

We would like to share with you a different approach to fitness — one that will help you actually look forward to exercise instead of dreading it. It’s a proven method for moving your body, helping you to realize God’s purpose, pleasure, and plan for your fitness and health.

Unlike fitness regimens offered in popular health and fitness books, infomercials, DVDs, or gym classes, exercise physiologist Sean Foy will show you how to maximize and enjoy your fitness experience so you can become what we call Daniel Strong .

The prophet Daniel was a strong man. In body, mind, heart, and spirit, he found his power, purpose, and strength in devotion to God. No matter where he was or what he was doing, he lived with passion and singular focus: to honor God in all he did. Whether he found himself in the comfort of the king’s court or in the darkness of a lions’ den, Daniel was ready and able to follow God with commitment, devotion, and strength rarely seen. He was fit to serve, whenever, wherever, under extreme difficulty, and in any and all circumstances. He was Daniel strong. But like all of us, he wasn’t born with this strength. Rather, he nurtured it by following God’s plan and design for his life.

Power Walker

In her fifties, Patti Kaminski never would have dreamed that she would become a fitness fanatic. “I have gone from hardly being able to walk to my front door [when I weighed 110 pounds more than I do today] to walking six miles in the hills every Saturday. Once a month I walk eight miles.” She even found a personal trainer and loves going to the gym. “Now my trainer is my workout buddy and my new unofficial adopted son. I love every minute! I have energy like crazy, memory improvement (steel trap), and a complete change on my outlook on life.”

Daniel was recognized early for his potential and was chosen as a young boy to serve the king of Babylon. He diligently trained physically, intellectually, relationally, and spiritually with the purpose to be the best he could possibly be. With a strong body, a strong mind, a strong character, and most of all a strong faith, Daniel honored God in all he did — and you can, too.

Another Daniel strong man was Eric Liddell, a man celebrated and remembered from Olympic history for a race he never ran. It was the 100-meter qualifying heat of the 1924 Olympic games hosted in Paris, France. Liddell was the favorite in the event and was expected to take home the Olympic gold medal for his country. But his qualifying race was scheduled on a Sunday, the day he observed as the Sabbath. To the shock and dismay of the press and the racing world, Liddell, a devout Christian, withdrew from the race, desiring to honor God above others’ expectations, great opposition, and his own personal gain.

A few days later, Liddell focused his attention on a race that was not one of his better events, the 400 meters. Since he was racing against a field of world record-setting competitors, very little was expected of Liddell in this event. Yet, not only did he win the 400-meter race, but he also broke the existing world record with a time of 47.6 seconds, a record that would stand for years.

Exercise Medicine

Exercise is the best strategy to:

• Increase energy
• Improve muscular strength, tone, and endurance
• Make you happier, reducing stress, anxiety, and depression
• Look and feel years younger
• Manage weight and decrease body fat
• Increase productivity
• Stimulate creativity
• Sharpen focus
• Promote restful sleep
• Enhance intimacy and relationships
• Strengthen bones
• Make you smarter
• Enhance immune function
• Increase joint mobility
• Improve posture
• Treat and prevent more than forty chronic diseases

Need we say more?

Liddell is known for saying, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” This quote embodies the man, servant, and athlete Eric Liddell. It also captures the very essence of what fitness in The Daniel Plan is all about.

But we don’t have to be Olympic athletes — or even train like one — to capture the profound lesson that Eric Liddell’s life demonstrated. Liddell discovered that his love of running, training, and exercising not only made his body strong and healthy, but also gave him great satisfaction and joy and prepared him to be in the best shape he could be for the rest of his life.

Leading health and wellness organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine have discovered that moving your body even just a little bit on a regular basis impacts not only your physical health, but also your intellectual, emotional, social, financial, and spiritual health.

Like Daniel and Eric Liddell, we are designed to move. When we are fit, our bodies, minds, and relationships work better, and we have the potential, resilience, and strength to be all we were designed to be.

Wherever you are at with fitness — even if you have never exercised on a regular basis — The Daniel Plan will help you find a personal fitness strategy that you will enjoy. We will help you discover what moves you so that you can build and strengthen the body God gave you.

THE FOCUS ESSENTIAL

You can have solid faith, healthy food choices, and plenty of exercise and still sabotage your health. The potential saboteur? Your brain. Your mental health is vital for your overall health. Negative thoughts, positive thoughts, or lack of thought can consume you. Depending on which one consumes the most of your mind, you could make or break your health before you even get started. Whatever gets the most of your mind’s attention will direct many other areas of your life.

When your brain works right, you work right. When your brain is healthy, your ability to focus increases and you make better decisions. So many distractions compete for your attention, so it is important to renew your mind and focus on God’s plan and priorities for your life.

Change Your Mind

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). Part of staying focused is being able to develop mastery over the quality of your thoughts. Thoughts lie — they lie a lot. It is often your uninvestigated thoughts that drive depression, anxiety, fear, and overeating that derail progress toward better health.

Ultimately, the health of your brain heavily influences the quality of your decisions and your ability to maintain focus. Your brain is involved in everything you do. Modern-day neuroscience clearly tells us that when your brain works right, you tend to be happier, physically healthier, and more thoughtful, because you make better decisions. (Decision making is a brain function.)

A patient who was a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter came to see Dr. Amen. One might imagine MMA is not good for the brain. This patient had been fighting competitively for more than five years and struggled with his focus, temper, and mood. Using the Essentials of The Daniel Plan — which included more deeply connecting with his purpose, changing his diet, engaging in non-brain-damaging exercise, using some simple supplements to enhance brain function, and connecting with friends — this patient was able to show remarkable improvement.

One of the most important parts of the Focus Essential is to know your motivation, or why you must get healthy. Without an underlying clear sense of motivation, it is much harder to stay the course in good times and hard ones. But once you know why you care, why you must be healthy, your motivation literally provides the fuel for staying focused. Ask yourself why you must be healthy. Is it to live in God’s will? To have greater health and mental clarity? Or to be a great role model for someone you love?

Every time you have a thought, your brain releases chemicals. Negative, angry, and hopeless thoughts produce negative chemicals that make your body and mind feel bad; by contrast, positive, happy, and hopeful thoughts produce a completely different set of chemicals that help you feel relaxed, happy, and in control of your impulses. We will explain several ways your mind distorts the truth. Knowing how to talk back to your negative thoughts is critical to being able to focus on the truth in God’s Word and helping you live in the fullness of mental and physical health that God wants for you.

In a similar way to disciplining your mind to have accurate, honest thoughts, it is also important to bring your attention each day to those things for which you are grateful. Modern medical research reveals that when you consistently focus on your blessings and what you are grateful for each day, it has positive effects on your physical and mental health. For example, psychologist Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania found that when people wrote down three things they were grateful for each day, within three weeks it significantly increased their level of happiness. ⁵ As you will see, gratitude even helps your brain work better.

Losing More Than Pounds

Laura, a fifty-three-year-old project manager, had struggled with her weight for many years. She had tried diet after diet without lasting success. Learning how to focus on gratitude, correct her negative thought patterns, and learn from mistakes rather than beat herself up, together with the elements of faith, food, fitness, and friends made a huge long-term difference for her. She lost forty-three pounds over six months and became dedicated to a new way of living instead of a fad diet.

Often, attempts to improve your health or life fall flat or end too soon because your willpower is hard to build. You know that your willpower must rest on the power of God, but it also grows stronger with a clear mind and self-control. Think about how often you try to avoid something bad for you but fail because you cannot control your impulses. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? So, what if you could learn the two most important words in the English language when it comes to your health: then what .

• Then what will happen if I eat this?
• Then what will happen if I say this impulsive thing to my wife?
• Then what will happen if I stay up at night on the computer and don’t get good sleep for tomorrow?

Keeping these two words at the top of your mind and engaging in the right habits, such as getting enough sleep and eating right, will make a dramatic difference in your mental and physical health, which in turn will help your friendships and your connection with God.

Clear focus and a healthy mind don’t preclude failure on this journey. Failure is a part of everyone’s journey. But it is your attitude toward failure that will determine your ultimate success. Focus and a healthy mind can help you have the right attitude toward failure. We are telling you now to expect both ups and downs on your journey toward better health. There will be highlights and setbacks.

Failure does not have to defeat or derail you. It can actually increase your chances of ultimate success. The Daniel Plan encourages you to turn bad days into good information and to study your failures. Learning from your mistakes helps to prevent them in the future.

One of Dr. Amen’s favorite exercises to help people get and stay healthy for a lifetime is called The Fork in the Road.

Vividly imagine a fork in the road with two paths:

To the left, imagine a future of pain. If you don’t care about your brain and body and just keep doing what you’ve always done, what will your life be like in a year . . . in five years . . . in ten years? Imagine your body continuing to get old and all that goes with that . . . brain fog, tiredness, depression, memory loss, and physical illness.

To the right, imagine a future of health. If you care about your body, which is a gift from God, and do The Daniel Plan, what will your life be like in forty days, in a year . . . in five years . . . in ten years? Imagine your body and spirit getting healthier and all that goes with that . . . mental clarity, better energy, a brighter mood, great memory, a trimmer and healthier body, healthier skin, and a healthier brain.

Boost your brain health, and you will boost all your other efforts for a healthier life.

THE FRIENDS ESSENTIAL

For many of you, this isn’t the first time you have tried to get your health under control. The secret sauce — friends — brings it all together.

When it comes to your health, every body needs a buddy . After all, God created the universe in such a way that we need each other. In fact, the New Testament uses the phrase one another over and over. It says love one another, encourage one another, serve one another, support one another. The word “support” literally means to increase one another’s potential.

Doesn’t that sound like something you want? You already have it in some way. You may have a prayer circle that supports your spiritual walk. You may meet with a dinner club in which everyone finds joy in cooking. You may be part of a moms or dads group where you all talk about the daily challenges of raising your kids. You have friends who support you.

Now consider what your journey toward whole health would be like if you did it in community. Research shows that people getting healthy together lose twice as much weight as those who do it alone. ⁶ That success dramatically increases when you are connected with others, receiving constant encouragement to stay focused and motivated toward your goals.

Friends and faith set apart The Daniel Plan as a lifestyle that is attainable and maintainable. Diet and nutrition books can give you the nuts and bolts, but only the mutual support of others can increase your results and sustain them.

The wisest man in the world, King Solomon, knew it: “Two are better than one” (Ecclesiastes 4:9).

The prophet Daniel understood this principle, too. He didn’t make his commitment to God’s ways and healthy choices by himself. He did it with three friends. The four of them — together — were much stronger than any of them could have been alone.

God never meant for you to go through life solo, and that includes your journey toward better health. Whether you join with a few neighbors, ask parents of your kids’ friends, start a group at the office, sign up for a church small group, or gather your family, find a few others to start The Daniel Plan with you. Social connections are critical. When you are surrounded by people who have the same values, goals, and health habits, you are going to progress farther than you could on your own.

For example, when you’re facing a tough situation, who do you turn to? Your friends or family, those who know you best, those who will pray for you. Those people step up to support you, check in on you, and serve you. Friends inspire and motivate you.

Learn more practical tips about getting healthy through the five Essentials. Invite some friends to do The Daniel Plan Video Study and Study Guide together. Go to danielplan.com to register your group and get started.

You may not feel like eating healthy foods today, but if the friend you are meeting for lunch orders a healthy entrée, it will boost your decision to order the same. You may not feel like meditating on God’s Word, but if you’re going to church or a small group tonight, they will bring you into God’s presence. The sense of community is why fitness classes and activity groups are so popular — they provide motivation for long-lasting change.

A safe group of friends is also a place where God promises to be with you. Jesus Christ made an incredible promise about it: “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20 NLT).

A team of friends will keep you on track for the race that God has given you to run. And you will do the same for others. This is the secret of The Daniel Plan — include friends with every other Essential, and you will see just how far you can go. Let’s get healthy together.

Reflect and Take a Step . . .

Now it’s time to assess where you are. Everyone has a different starting point, so make this very personal. How is your overall health? What changes do you want to start with? Using The Daniel Plan website or journal, make some notes on where you are with each of the five Essentials you have just read about. Then, over the next forty days, keep tabs on how your choices and changes begin to restore your body and mind.