A Mega-Pastor and Three Famous Doctors Hatch “The Daniel Plan”

Three famous doctors and one mega-Pastor have hatched a health plan.  It’s called “The Daniel Plan” and thousands at the Saddleback Church are losing weight and just plain getting healthier.  Here’s what’s happening at The Daniel Plan.

WHAT DO you get when you create a health team with a plan devoted to educating and encouraging people to improve their health, and the players are Dr. Oz, Dr. Hyman, Dr. Amen and Pastor Rick Warren, among others?

Answer:  The Daniel Plan.

Well, unless you’re a member Pastor Rick’s Saddleback Church, that answer begs the question:

What’s the Daniel Plan?”

Answer: A health strategy with the medical input of heart surgeon Doctor Oz, functional medicine specialist Dr. Hyman and brain health expert Dr. Amen… and the spiritual guidance and community backing of Rick Warren, Pastor of one of the largest churches in the Nation, the Saddleback Church.

You may have heard about Rick Warren from his national best seller, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?.  Rick Warren has, and continues to sell, so many copies of this book that he not only does not take a salary from the church, but also donates most of his earnings to charity.

So, I would venture to suggest, that the man’s heart is in the right place, even if I can’t bend my mind to his religiosity.

(No, I don’t really think it’s “God’s Prescription for Your Health” as one particular byline states, nor do I think anything humans can do would “glorify God” as the byline on the web site suggests.  But, right down here on earth, The Daniel Plan sure could be your prescription to improve your health!)

Why The Daniel Plan?

The reason I’m writing about the Daniel Plan is because several thousand adherents to the plan are losing weight and getting healthier.

It’s obvious that the plan’s methodology is working, and that should be no surprise given the input of those aforementioned doctors, as well as the ability of Pastor Rick to exhort his flock to follow the righteous health path.

And it’s that last point, I think, that’s the real key to success – having a “flock” and a “path”.  The flock is a group of like-minded, connected individuals who support each other along a proven path that leads to health.

This approach has a statistically higher chance of success than trying any behavior modification program by yourself and of your own construction.

The Daniel Plan embraces “The Simple SixCore Principles:

  1. CONNECT for Success – Get in touch with your health and with others!
  2. RELY on God’s Power – Willpower is not enough. You need God’s power.
  3. EAT Delicious Whole Foods – Imagine the Garden of Eden as your food source.
  4. MOVE Your Way to Health – Get going. The more exercise, the more energy!
  5. THINK Sharper and Smarter – Better brain health = better life!
  6. HEAL for Life – Make a game plan for permanent changes that heal.

Given that this plan speaks to church-going folks and is animated by a church pastor, the agnostics and atheists among you might allow the Plan its principle #2.  Certainly, it can’t hurt to believe that a power greater than yours is guiding you past the fridge at midnight.

Check out the success stories, and this video full of testimonials which looks like this —->

(Suggest you allow the stream to load before playing the video otherwise it may be choppy.)

And here’s a success story about Chef Jenny Ross.

 

UPDATE: Dr. Hyman in the HuffPost today (1/31/12) reports the following Daniel Plan results:

“Not only were there estimated weight reductions of 250,000 pounds but also equal reductions in medication use, hospitalizations and doctors visits. And it was free.

In a survey after 10 months of the program, participants reported the following:

An average weight loss of 13.5 pounds (and 18 pounds for those who said they followed the program closely)
72 percent of those who wanted to lose weight did
53 percent reported increased energy levels
34 percent reported better sleep
27 percent improvement in blood work
20 percent reported improvement in blood pressure
11 percent reported reduction in medications
31 percent reported improvement in mood

Those who did the plan together lost twice as much weight as those who did it alone.”

There’s a rich amount of information at The Daniel Plan site.  The program is comprised of Eat, Move, Think, Heal and Connect, each with all the component parts necessary to get healthy.

For example:

Eat delves into nutrition, recipes, budgets and Superfoods.

Move gets into motivation and fitness programs for an individual and family.

Think presents the information helpful to understand behavior modification and brain health.

Heal speaks to mental health, hormones, energy, weight, skin, etc.

Connect ties in success stories, God and community.

The search function also brings up lots of information for a particular query. For instance, I searched at the site for “weight loss” and got these results:

The Daniel Plan Conquer Your Cravings
Studies show that people who maintain weight loss eat a healthy breakfast. Add
a dash of cinnamon. This fragrant spice has been found to help regulate blood

The Daniel Plan Eating Out Rules
I’m going to order a salad to lose weight and be healthy. Because I’m … Often we fool ourselves into thinking that, “if I eat a salad, I’ll lose weight and be healthy.

The Daniel Plan – Food Groups
Calories, Hyman · Calories Count, Amen · Get Dunked · Why Most Diets Don’t Work ·

The Daniel Plan Shopping List
National Weight Control Registry · Why Most Diets Don’t Work

The Daniel Plan Vitamin Supplements
Sleep more soundly, lose weight and improve your overall health and vitality.

The Daniel Plan Recommended Foods
Calories Count, Amen · Get Dunked · National Weight Control Registry · Why Most Diets Don’t Work

The Daniel Plan – Get Your Kids Involved Early
7 Tips to Lose Weight · Calories, Hyman · Calories Count, Amen · Get Dunked · National Weight Control Registry · Why Most Diets Don’t Work

The Daniel Plan Main Dishes
Two bricks, individually wrapped in aluminum foil, make the best heavy weight for pressing

If you’ve gotten this far without clicking over to The Daniel Plan, might as well fulfill your curiosity now.  Here’s the link.

 

Last Updated on February 27, 2022 by Joe Garma

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Joe Garma
 

I help people live with more vitality and strength. I'm a big believer in sustainability, and am a bit nutty about optimizing my diet, supplements, hormones and exercise. To get exclusive Updates, tips and be on your way to a stronger, more youthful body, join my weekly Newsletter. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

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Pasadena Nutrition - April 3, 2012

Great Information about this topic I’ve got the very first time a fantastic Article which is so useful for everyone Thanks for sharing. And I hope to see more informative in next from you Jeo Garma.

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