Chapter 8

Living the Lifestyle

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well
(3 John 2).

N ow that you have read about the five Essentials from Pastor Warren, the doctors, and the fitness expert, perhaps you are wondering if this plan can really work for you. You may be frustrated that other programs haven’t worked in the past. Regardless of your starting point, there is great hope for change. Thousands of people across the world have experienced success, enjoying a new way of healthy living.

Dee Eastman is one of those people. Although her journey is scattered with highs and lows — times of great joy and moments of tremendous grief — Dee has applied the practical principles of the five Essentials. She has created new patterns that are lasting, ways of responding to life that reduce stress rather than create it. The Daniel Plan has become her daily practice, and we are confident it can be for you as well.

Life holds challenges for everyone, and Dee’s journey has been no different. Her first daughter was born with severe genetic abnormalities and endured several surgeries. But after four short months her baby passed away. In an instant, hopes and dreams of a family were stolen. Dee struggled to understand why God allowed this loss in her life.

Despite tremendous grief and unanswered questions, Dee and her husband moved forward with the dream of having a family. Within a year came a healthy son, and two years after that a healthy daughter. Then, shortly after, the surprise of a lifetime knocked on their door. Dee was pregnant with identical triplet girls!

Spinning with joy over the news, they had no idea how they would juggle five kids under the age of five. The pregnancy was complicated, and the girls were born early at twenty-eight weeks. Dee learned that two of the triplets had cerebral palsy, and the doctors said one daughter may never walk.

In the years ahead, striving to find a new normal, Dee tried to adjust to the girls’ medical issues and the growing needs of her family. But with her still carrying so much grief over the loss and too much to juggle, her health started to suffer. The emotional stress felt overwhelming. Sinking into depression, she developed irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The physical stress was mounting.

Dee turned to a friend, and that’s when the healing began. She experienced firsthand the power of friendship. The Bible talks about this in Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

That friendship led her to a small group that encouraged her to honestly share her struggles. Adopting the Friends Essential while entering into authentic community became Dee’s first step. “I had to learn how to receive, rather than always being a giver. I had to learn how to talk about the difficult things in my life, instead of keeping them hidden.” This transformational concept is something that Pastor Rick frequently teaches: We are only as sick as our secrets. To get healthy, we need to share our struggles and be willing to receive help.

Dee’s community moved her forward:

I had hidden my anger and disappointment for all the difficulties God had allowed in my life, but I decided to open up and begin working through my feelings. I realized that I had put God in a tiny box and that the box needed to be blown up. I needed to embrace the mystery of who he is and trust him, even though some of my questions weren’t answered. I made the decision to refocus on him, sit still before him, and meditate on his promises. I have learned to live with intention, to notice that in the midst of stress and strain, God can still be in the center.

One way Dee worked on this was to purposely reflect on the goodness in her life. She kept a journal in which she poured out her feelings and ultimately focused on gratefulness, even as life threw curve balls her way. “This has become a moment by moment choice for me, and it comes down to how I manage my thoughts throughout each and every day. Proverbs 4:23 says, ‘Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life’ [NCV].”

With help from a functional medicine doctor, a new eating plan, and a desire to move and regain physical strength, Dee continued making progress. Step by step with practical advice, her physical, spiritual, and emotional health started to improve. Her depression lifted, and within a few months all the IBS symptoms vanished for good.

One healthy step led to another. Dee got out to walk, and she eventually ran, approaching exercise not out of guilt, but because of the healing effect it had on her body. She then ran a 5K, later a 10K, and eventually a marathon. Today she continues to discover all types of movement she enjoys.

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Dee’s experience is ultimately what made her say yes when Pastor Rick invited her to be the director of The Daniel Plan. The foundational principles in The Daniel Plan have radically impacted her life for many years now. And in her role as director Dee has witnessed people from all walks of life, young and old, embracing the five Essentials to become healthy and strong. It is these stories of transformed lives and the solid principles of the lifestyle that provide a firm foundation for your growth and the ongoing inspiration for your success to be built on.

START WITH ONE THING

One of the most reassuring things about The Daniel Plan is the fact that it is tested and true. Once you decide to take your first step, your journey has begun. After you experience the benefits of your first health choice, change becomes easier.

Many began by simply trying a new health habit, just one small thing. They decided to start the day with breakfast, or add more veggies to their meals, or take a brisk walk each day, or invite a friend to work out. Small steps, yes. But we began to see surprising life change. Simple changes started to add up. Small steps took them closer to their big dreams.

Dr. Oz recommended that we nudge people in the right direction, and that became our goal. We were astonished by the transformation that occurred right before our eyes. Many started to drop a few pounds. Encouraged by their own progress and by the friends who came alongside them, they continued to make healthier choices. Within the first couple of months, those small changes snowballed into big ones; we saw increased energy levels, better sleep, improved mood, and less need for medication.

Dr. Amen has helped patients navigate the change process for nearly thirty years. He says that a gradual approach is the surest way to success. Trying to change everything at once almost inevitably invites disappointment. Don’t try to change dozens of unhealthy habits at once. Start with a few vital behaviors — the ones that will have the biggest immediate impact — and go from there.

Simply Intentional

Think about your morning and evening routines. Do you find yourself working on your laptop or just dashing off a few emails right before bed? Are you completely rushed as you head out the door first thing in the morning? Small changes to your morning and evening routine can be simple, but they can lessen your stress and make you feel more rested. Try something like deciding you won’t start working until you’ve gone for a walk and eaten a healthy breakfast, or won’t end your day without prayer and an inspirational reading. Healthy boundaries like those will remind you that you’re in control of your choices — and you will then be inspired to make healthier choices throughout the day.

CHANGE OF MIND

One important truth to remember: God has given you the power to change your life, to set new patterns and reactions. What we have learned is that those changes can be sustained through the Faith Essential.

Your daily choices, with God’s limitless power, done with a community of friends, can help you launch each day with intention and purpose. It begins with a shift in perspective: focusing on the good, acknowledging the abundance, and paying attention to who you are and the power within you to choose what is best. This new outlook leads the way to your transformation.

Within every human heart is a desire to improve, grow, and change. It’s universal. We might have different reasons for that. What is your motivation or dream?

That big dream, that goal, is one of the reasons you picked up this book: You want to set new patterns and achieve a healthier, more energetic life. And what we have seen over and over on The Daniel Plan is that change is possible. The ability to set new patterns for the longhaul is within your reach. And revisiting your motivation day by day will help you. When you begin to do that, you will be amazed at the strength you find.

Remember how Wendy Lopez’s life changed dramatically when she took the simple step of joining a small group? Each woman in the group set two or three small, achievable goals every week. Wendy decided she needed to incorporate regular exercise into her life. She scheduled walks after work, hikes on the weekends, and even made a date with her son at the gym. Her small but key step: She shared her fitness goals with her small group.

This is what makes The Daniel Plan so sustainable. She wasn’t alone in her efforts; she had friends who encouraged her as she set and achieved her goals. They would text her to say they were thinking of her and to ask about her walking and hiking.

For the first time in a long time, Wendy felt encouraged. She was hopeful. She began believing she could do this — because she actually was doing it. Taking small steps allowed her to continue and led to big results. Her fitness improved, but so did her confidence and motivation. She began to believe that change was not only possible, but exciting and within reach.

Long-Haul Progress

Alonso Charles is another person whose small steps led to big results. Weighing in at over 400 pounds, he was sick and tired of being sick and tired. He had lost his confidence. He didn’t have the energy to deal with challenges and stress.

Like Wendy, Alonso joined a Daniel Plan small group at Saddleback, and those group members held him accountable to his goals. Since then, he has lost 140 pounds. Now he dedicates the food he eats to God’s purposes and doesn’t choose the heavier foods that once weighed him down. He knows that change is his choice.

Alonso’s focus also improved. He developed a drive to approach his spiritual walk with an openness to what God was doing in his life. His confidence grew, and he began jogging. As his fitness increased, so did his energy, which led to clearer thinking and decision-making. His insecurities and feelings of being inferior were replaced by the hallmark of The Daniel Plan: hope.

Today Alonso participates in sports and still jogs. The asthma he once suffered from has improved dramatically. His journey has fueled new beliefs about God. He finds himself thinking differently: “If God can do this in my life (something I never thought possible), what else can he do?” His small steps have taken him to a place where he anticipates big things from God. He’s regained the ability to dream and developed a heart of gratitude. He is a man of God, transformed.

BRING IN THE GOOD

So often we subscribe to the misguided notion that change requires deprivation — that transformation somehow requires avoiding certain things. We easily focus on what we can’t have instead of the abundance of things we can enjoy.

But the truth is, change is much more sustainable when we focus on what we can have, rather than what we can’t. For example, we have talked throughout this book about faith. Some people try to be more faithful only following a list of rules and things they need to stay away from. While it’s important to honor God’s commandments, making corresponding positive choices is what transforms us. Choices to joyfully worship God, to serve and love others, to focus on gratitude, to be kind — these choices lead to replenishing our spirit and growing our faith.

Similarly, when it comes to our physical health, if we focus only on what we can’t eat or can’t do, we won’t be able to sustain the changes we want. But if we focus on bringing in the good and enjoying the abundance of what God has given us, our body, mind, and spirit will become stronger. We will begin to see that things like walking in the morning or reading our Bible and praying are not things we “have to do,” but opportunities we “get to take hold of” because they rejuvenate and restore us. We will cultivate a different relationship with food where we see eating healthfully as a way to be kind to ourselves, to lovingly care for our bodies.

This is how the perspective shift begins. We bring in the good not because we “should,” but because we long for the benefits a healthy lifestyle brings.

It’s really about self-discovery — trying something new and realizing that you actually enjoy it. It can be simpler than we think it is. You will discover that The Daniel Plan lifestyle is bathed in grace, a God-designed way of life that brings energy and passion into your very being.

Bringing in the good is about going to the grocery store or the farmer’s market and finding new healthy foods that you enjoy. It’s about learning to love foods that actually love you back. Or it might be about getting back on a bike — something you haven’t done in a long time — or swimming for the first time since you were a kid and realizing how much fun it is.

As you do these things, your perspective shifts. Instead of telling yourself, “I can’t do this; it’s too hard,” imagine yourself thinking, “Learning and trying new things is a blast, and I’m going to do more of this.” Now life becomes an adventure with an unending list of opportunities to explore.

Each of us is in a different place with our health, but the five Essentials open the door to change. Enter in just as you are. Start with one thing, but start. Perhaps you will set a goal in faith to take time in God’s Word and be refreshed by his promises. Or you may start by eating more real, whole foods or walking with friends. The best place to start is wherever you are. As you focus on progress, not perfection, you will be equipped to run the race God’s set for you.

RUN YOUR RACE

Prior to the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania was just another marathon runner. An Olympic caliber runner, yes. He had won marathons in Africa, running with times under 2½ hours.

He easily qualified for the Olympics. But in Mexico City, Akhwari encountered an obstacle he had never faced before: the altitude, which caused his legs to cramp severely. Still, he kept running. Then, about halfway through the race, he tangled with some other runners and fell. He dislocated his knee, scraped up his leg, and hurt his shoulder as he fell. But he didn’t stop. With terrible injuries and cramped muscles slowing him, he labored on and finished the race. He was one of seventy-five people who started the race, and the last of fifty-seven to finish it.

When he finally entered the arena for the final lap, only a couple thousand people were there to see him complete the race. He finished dead last, more than an hour behind the winner. A cheer went up for this brave runner as he circled the now darkened track. Although it seemed that Akhwari had lost the race, everyone who saw him finish knew he was a winner.

In an interview later on, a reporter asked, “Why didn’t you quit when you were hurt and bruised, bloody, discouraged? Why didn’t you quit?” His answer: “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.” ¹

We want to equip you to run the race God has called you to so you can finish it well. Sometimes that means getting up when you fall and continuing forward no matter how slow it may seem.

A crucial step toward running the race well is to remove the things that hold us back. Hebrews 12:1 tells us, “So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back” (NCV).

You wouldn’t run a marathon wearing a winter parka. If you did, you might expend incredible effort — but never finish the race! It seems like a ridiculous example, doesn’t it? But so many of us can’t figure out why our efforts seem to bring such small results. We get frustrated: “I’m working so hard but feel as if I’m getting nowhere! Why is this so hard?”

It’s time to take off the parka. Whatever is slowing you down, leave it behind.

What is the race God intends for you? To answer that, you must first be honest with yourself and ask him to lead the way.

Many of us are losing energy because we have never taken the time to actually think about what is going on in our lives. Dr. Hyman recommends that you simply write a list of everything that gives you energy and everything that drains your energy. Include all persons, places, things, experiences, thoughts, feelings, and foods. What is it that is slowing you down? What brings you joy and helps you thrive? What habits are encouraging you, and what habits are getting in the way?

Then, each week resolve to let go of one thing that drains your energy and add one thing that gives you energy. This is an enlightening exercise to do before determining your goals and steps for the next 40 days.

Energy drains typically fall into one of three categories: unhealthy habits (such as not getting enough sleep, smoking, eating junk food), unhealthy emotions (such as worry, negativity, or anger), or unhealthy relationships (which could be toxic or codependent). Just becoming aware of those is the first step toward change, toward overcoming obstacles. Spending a bit of time in serious self-assessment of your habits is the first step toward living a healthy lifestyle. Then you are ready to put pen to paper and set some initial goals.

As you begin to incorporate the goals you long to achieve, are you looking for an endless power source to keep you going? Are you ready to tap into an abundant supply of love and encouragement? The biggest energy source available to each of us is simply the love of God. He ultimately provides the power to change.

He wants you to be filled with his power. He longs to fill you up with his love. It’s amazing that he has called us to be his children and that his love for us never ends. He’s waiting for us to accept and receive his love. That sounds like a welcoming invitation, doesn’t it? Go ahead, open it.

Being close with our Creator, enjoying intimacy with our Father, is foundational to our life here on earth. It is in quiet time with him that you will receive and understand his will for your life.

REFLECT ON YOUR JOURNEY

The end of this book is not the end of the road. Rather, it is the place where your journey begins. Forty days to a healthier life is the kickstart. In order to keep growing and moving forward, it’s important to reflect on our lives. That is why tracking your progress is so important. We have a journal, or use a journal app of your choosing and a mobile app, whichever you prefer. Whatever your choice, we encourage you to record your journey. We can miss out on just how far we have come if we never take time to look back to see the ups and downs in the road and thank God for how far he has brought us.

Reflecting on your journey will help you figure out your next small step. As Pastor Warren often says, you cannot manage what you do not measure. Journaling your progress is practical, and as you make progress, you will be motivated to continue.

Even the setbacks on your journey can help you move forward. If you pay attention and track your progress, a bad day gives you good data. When your progress wavers, pay attention. Don’t judge yourself, but learn from your mistakes, as we discussed in chapter 6 . What causes setbacks with your food or fitness? Is it when you get too busy? Is it when you don’t get enough sleep? Notice patterns, cycles, and reactions — not so you can beat yourself up or feel guilty, but so you have more information from which to make healthier decisions in the future.

As part of The Daniel Plan, you receive access to recipes, exercises, and tools to connect. Go to danielplan.com .

On The Daniel Plan, there is no condemnation or guilt. We all make mistakes. The goal here is to learn from them and set new patterns in the areas where we need that most. When we track our victories as well as setbacks, we see that God’s grace is sufficient, and his love is bigger than any of our weaknesses.

Steven Komanapalli found this to be true. In chapter 2 you read about Steven, who weighed more than 320 pounds and faced several health concerns. Living The Daniel Plan lifestyle, Steven is a transformed man. You already know he lost weight, improved his cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and got off most of his medications.

Steven also began walking and praying with two friends every day. That was a first small step, but it strengthened him to take more steps. Steven focused on casting all anxiety on God, filling his heart and soul with God instead of finding comfort in food. As he reflects on his journey, Steven knows that having friends who can help him is crucial. He feels less hungry but more energetic. He gets out of bed easily in the morning, feeling well rested — something he was unable to do for twenty years.

When Steven reflects on his journey, he is amazed. Tracking his progress regularly brought the needed insight to continue all the changes he is now enjoying. Living the lifestyle has brought him not only health, but also great joy. He now leads a men’s group and inspires others to lead healthier lives. Steven says there are no limits to his success, because God is without limits.

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE

Our greatest desire is that you would embrace The Daniel Plan and the five Essentials, inviting health into every area of your life. Choose to believe that all things are possible with God. Be kind to yourself and trust him. Make God’s Word a daily part of your life, and his truths and promises will restore anything that’s broken; his love will propel you into a new way of thinking, a healthy approach to each day.

Invite people to join you on this journey. Enjoy the milestones God weaves in as he writes your story. Celebrate your successes. Share your struggles. Make a U-turn when necessary. Reframe failures as guideposts that serve you, not derail you. Get in community and live there, welcoming God’s power into every area. This is the secret sauce of The Daniel Plan: getting healthy together, God’s way and with God’s power.

All five Essentials — faith, food, fitness, focus, and friends — are exactly that: essential. None of them is less important than another. And each supports the others: When you feel weak in one essential, making positive change in the others helps restore your hope. As you move toward making the principles within all five a part of your daily lifestyle, you will have the strength to create change, sustain it, and maintain your motivation. Old refrains get rewritten, new stories are revealed, and life becomes an adventure powered by faith, hope, and love.

Reflect and Take a Step . . .

Living The Daniel Plan lifestyle is one of grace and pace — a way of living that honors God and breathes new life into your body, mind, and spirit. Consider what next steps you would like to take and new goals you would like to set for the journey ahead. We trust that God has so much in store for you as you continue to follow his plans.

Transformation at Grace Family Church

As the senior pastor at Grace Family Church, Craig Altman knew that if our bodies were fit the way they’re supposed to be, people could actually serve God in profound ways. “Something deep within me knew it was time to talk to my church about being good stewards of their bodies,” he says. “When The Daniel Plan book arrived in the mail, I was convinced that this was exactly the message our congregation needed to hear. I loved that it was . . . a balanced and holistic approach—a lifestyle change.”

His church went all-in for a six-week teaching series about the Daniel Plan and tackled the 40 days together. Everyone was committed. Personal trainers came and donated time. The church did its first ever 5k walk/run, and they loved it so much that they offered a mud run, too. Over 1,000 people participated in the events. The church now offers many classes to help people make the changes they need to be successful: food addiction recovery, Zumba, circuit training, and more.

“People’s lives are being changed,” he says. “The main thing that appealed to me about The Daniel Plan was the philosophy of doing it together. Don’t do life alone. It really built into one of the core values of community and small groups at our church. It may have started with a six-week series . . . but as a result many people made true lifestyle changes—ultimately changing the way they live and think about health, and equipping them to fulfill God’s calling for their life.”