Linda started The Daniel Plan after hearing about it at her church, First Christian Church of Wauchula, FL. She was inspired when she heard her pastor talk about the success he was experiencing with The Daniel Plan and had to check it out for herself. Here is her story of the ups and downs as she began creating her healthy lifestyle.
I had already been thinking of starting to change my diet because my health was poor. I always felt tired and depressed. After I read The Daniel Plan book, the answer was clear. I decided to start implementing the principles into my life and dived in full force.
Since beginning my Daniel Plan journey in January of 2014 I have lost 30 pounds. I have had the joy of going through the study with my small group and I’m successfully implementing all 5 F’s of The Daniel Plan as a part of my everyday lifestyle.
Facing Challenges Head On
That’s not to say that I haven’t faced challenges along the way. Here are the top 5 challenges that I faced and have overcome.
Challenge #1: The head start.
Even though we were going to be doing the Daniel Plan as a church community, I decided to begin on my own ahead of time and only had a small group of people in it with me—my husband, my pastor, and his wife. It is difficult to make changes when most of the people around you are not living the same lifestyle. I could not have done it without my small group helping and encouraging me throughout the entire process.
Challenge #2: The doubters.
I found out fast that people have mixed feelings about making changes and starting something like The Daniel Plan. I would have people say things to me like “why are you doing this,” ”you can’t do this, it’s too radical,” and “when are you going to get past this Daniel Plan thing and go back to normal?”
Challenge #3: The temptations.
I love fast food and junk food. It was extremely hard to quit eating those things out of convenience.
Challenge #4: The pickings are slim.
I live in a small community where there are not many options for good food choices. I have to drive an hour to buy groceries.
Challenge #5: The thing there could always be more of.
Willpower. Willpower. Willpower.
The Challenges Led to Change
I am only 30 years old and suffered extreme depression and anxiety as well as high blood pressure. Doctors had always told me I was too young to have high blood pressure and that because it was hereditary, that there was nothing I could do about it. Well, that just wasn’t true.
Here’s the good news:
- I am no longer taking medications for high blood pressure and it is completely under control. I feel so much better.
- My depression is gone! I was taking a pill to help me with depression daily. I have suffered through the loss of 4 still born baby deaths. I carried around a lot of grief and depression that needed to be dealt with. The Daniel Plan helped me work through those issues and helped me to overcome my depression.
- I now have energy, a positive attitude and a peace with Gods plan for my life. I hope to just continue with The Daniel Plan so that I can do whatever it is that God has called me to do in this world.
Food has been the biggest part of my transformation. My diet used to consist of McDonald’s at least twice a week, fried food, and snacks. I hardly ever ate any vegetables. The Daniel Plan has helped me learn how to replace bad habits with good habits. I have learned to love food that loves me back. I actually eat things like brussel sprouts and hummus and enjoy eating them! I feel so much better now. I could not believe how much food impacted the way that I felt. It was making all the things that were already wrong in my life worse. I learned that my body is my gift from God and that I need to take care of that gift and be a good steward. Now I have the energy to go and be Jesus to the people around me and not sit at home and be depressed and ineffective for God. I am living life to the fullest, the way that God intends me to.
When I started The Daniel Plan, I didn’t realize that God would speak to other areas of my life and reveal areas that still needed healing. He opened my eyes so that he could work to restore the physical, emotional and spiritual areas of my life. He has restored to me to the life that he intended me to live, not the one that I created because of my poor choices.
My greatest support has been my husband and my pastor and his wife as well as my church family. My pastor and his wife happen to be my best friends. Without the support and encouragement from all of them this journey towards health would not be possible.
Linda hopes that in the future that she can inspire others to start The Daniel Plan. It has completely changed her life. Now that she is healed on the inside and out she is excited to go out and actually do what it is that God has called her to do—to love on His people and be His hands and feet.
