The Daniel Plan
The Daniel Plan is a book to achieve a healthier life based on five biblical principles for lasting change. It is written by Pastor Rick Warren, Daniel Amen, MD, and Mark Hyman, MD.  The book is not the same as the Daniel Diet. Most diets are base on willpower and willpower unfortunately eventually fails for most – a main reason most diets fail. The five biblical principles The Daniel Plan are based upon are:
- Lasting change requires building your life on the truth.
- Lasting change requires making wise choices.
- Lasting change requires new ways of thinking.
- Lasting change requires God’s Spirit in your life.
- Lasting change requires honest community.
Real change requires God’s help and our willingess to ask for such help. The book reminds us that our bodies are our earthly temples that house our souls and that we should work hard at taking care of our bodies and minds by eating healthier and by keeping our bodies strong through regular exercise/activity. Your body is the only place you have to live so take care of it.
The Daniel Plan is also centered around five elements:
- Faith
- Food
- Fitness
- Focus
- Friends
The book emphasizes the importance of the mind-body connection when it comes to health. The are no secrets or gimmicks to weight loss or healthier living shared in the book. The Daniel Plan embraces sounds principles of healthy living.The book contains several recipes and a 40 day meal plan (in line with Pastor Warren’s previous book The Purpose Driven Life based on 40 days). There is emphasis on whole foods including plenty of fruits and vegetables and healthy sources of lean protein and fats.
The feature I like most about the book is that it provides a very complete shopping list of foods and ingredients you will need to prepare those meals for 40 days. If you’re into recipes you will probably look forward to trying those in the book. The book also recommends a 10 day detoxification plan along with a questionnaire to identify symptoms to assess your overall state of well-being.
The detoxification plan involves the elimination of caffeine and alcohol, all dairy products, all gluten, all fast foods and processed foods, and artificial sweeteners for a minimum of 10 days, then gradually adding back some of these foods one at a time to identify those foods which may be accounting for your symptoms.
The Daniel Plan compliments Rick Warren’s first book, The Purpose Driven Life. We previously reviewed Dr. Amen’s book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body.
