I loved reading books as a kid.  My summers would often include me laying in bed all day long just devouring a good book.  I loved a good suspense, mystery, adventure book.  But now as an adult with a family I rarely find the time to sit down and read.  Yes, I still enjoy reading but it has taken the back burner to many other activities.  But today I made time for me to read.  I made myself a priority for 15 minutes by beginning a new book, The Daniel Plan.  One I believe that is hopefully going to be the beginning of a new adventure for myself and my family.

The Daniel Plan Invitation

About a week ago a friend reached out on Facebook looking to form a small group to do the Daniel Plan with.  Pastor Rick Warren, Dr. Daniel Amen, and Dr. Mark Hyman wrote The Daniel Plan. The book says to not go it alone but to do it with a group of friends, to have accountability. So she took a leap of faith and asked others to join her group.

When I saw her invitation and desire to have other be a part of this I didn’t know what to think.  At first I was skeptical and a little apprehensive.  Frankly, I don’t like all the fad diets as I think they just set people up for failure.  Maybe for some this wouldn’t be the case but for me, it would.  I have wanted to be a part of something sustainable, more of a lifestyle change, for several years.  But I hadn’t found anything that fit the bill.

Clean Eating

A couple of years ago, in fact, my husband and I decided to try “clean eating”.  I had found this post from Bless this Mess about clean eating and it just resonated with me.  So we decided to try it out.  We switched out some of the foods we ate to more natural products like no more margarine, only butter kind of things.  I made homemade breads, sauces and more.  We liked it in the beginning and I thought we were onto something.  A new lifestyle I felt good about.

The End of It

We tried to eat clean for about 2 months and then we decided we were going to move.  We began the process of selling our house and buying a new one.  And for any of you that have gone through that process it’s not an easy one.  We began some fix up projects on our home, cleared out clutter, and started looking for a new house.  A month later we had officially listed our house and made an offer on another place.  Within  a week of listing our house we had an offer which we accepted and then got word our offer was accepted on a house we wanted to buy.  So from start to finish we decided to sell our house and closed on both our old house and new house 2 months later.  It was a whirlwind ride!

However, despite the excitement of moving and the new house, we weren’t able to maintain our new lifestyle.  Back came the convenient processed foods and fast foods.  I mean, really, who has time to cook loads of from scratch foods when you are trying to get a house ready to sell.  I sure didn’t.  So ended our clean eating adventure.

The Here and Now

Ever since we tried to do clean eating I have wanted to get back to something similar.  To be honest, my husband and I neither one are at healthy weights.  We would both benefit from a lifestyle change if we want to be here for the long haul.  I had never seen anything that interested me or that I would make a priority to read or follow through with.  Many things seemed gimmicky or even more unhealthy.  The eat low-fat/fat-free just didn’t seem sensible to me anymore either.  Until now.

I had never heard of the Daniel Plan so I downloaded a free trial of it on my Amazon Kindle and read a little.  From what I could tell in that moment it appeared to be a lot like clean eating, pushing whole natural foods rather than supplements or low-fat chemical laden ones.  Needless to say my curiosity was peaked.  I was interested.

The Journey Begins

Since the plan itself interested me, the only hurdle left to get over before starting the Daniel Plan was my own introverted self.  Yes, by nature, I don’t easily go meet a bunch of people I don’t know really well.  Especially when sharing things like this journey.  What if I fail?  What if I start this but fall short?  What if all the others lose a lot of weight and get healthy and I don’t?  I know it may not matter what others think of us, but come on, who can fully, 100% say they would be okay starting a journey of this sort and failing in front of others, especially people they just met.  I can’t.  But I pushed through and went to the first meeting. We met each other and decided to read the 1st chapter over the next week.

So the journey begins.  Today, I am starting down a road which will hopefully change my life and my husbands and teach our kids a new way to live.  For my 15 minutes of “me time” for The Challenge, I began reading The Daniel Plan.  I am not quite through the first chapter as I stopped so I could help my husband finish the dishes (duty calls, right?).  I believe this book/plan will be challenging yet good. Pastor Warren begins by pointing out, within the first few pages, how our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and do not belong to us.  They were bought at a high price.  So not taking care of them is a sin and going against they very way we were created.  Tough words I know.  And that is just the beginning….

Your Invitation

I am taking time for me today to begin a journey to lasting health.  I know several more days of me time will be spent continuing reading this book and implementing many of its concepts and lifestyle changes.  So if you are interested in doing the Daniel Plan too feel free to join me.  Join us.  This adventure isn’t meant for one.  If not I hope you at least find time for YOU today.  Please share with me if you are starting the Daniel Plan or what you are doing for YOU today!  And if you want to buy the Daniel Plan book to begin reading it to see if you want to change your lifestyle feel free to check it out with the link below (affiliate link) or in stores.

Blessings

~Melissa