How eating real food changed our lives!
Where we started
The first “diet plan” we ever did was back in 2014 when I heard about a plan that pastor Rick Warren’s church had started the previous year which they called The Daniel Plan. It had helped him and so many others in his congregation that it was then released as a book for other churches and individuals to also work through.
Greg and I were active. We worked out several times a week either lifting weights or running on a treadmill, but the weight really wasn’t coming off. I know now it was because of all the junk we were eating. You just can’t fight what you are eating if you are constantly fueling your body with crap food.
I had discovered the plan sometime between Christmas and New Year’s and made my way over to our local Sam’s Club to purchase the newly released book. I started reading it right away.
Then on January 1st my dear husband went to work and while he was gone I went through the refrigerator and the pantry and threw out just about every food item we had because it wasn’t the real food we needed for the Daniel Plan. I went grocery shopping using the food list provided in The Daniel Plan book and came home with a refrigerator full of food and some “good” packaged and can foods for the pantry.
Greg wasn’t very happy when he got home.
“Where’s the food?” he asked.
SMILE. “That is the food.” BIGGER SMILE hoping not to get into trouble by looking cute and positive.
Thank goodness the smiles and cuteness worked!
What we did
We started with the 10 day detox plan and found out that Greg has some sort of allergy to milk that causes him to snore at night and I have a internal reaction to wheat that causes an almost immediate upset stomach. Just discovering these things about our bodies was wonderful! We were both sleeping better at night and my body wasn’t fighting itself so hard to hold onto nutrients from the foods I ate.
The Daniel Plan shopping list is a relatively small list of foods. Fruit, vegetables, spices, meats like chicken, lamb, salmon, and shrimp, eggs, quinoa, jasmine rice, black beans, chickpeas, nuts, almond butter, and your choice of protein powder.
Not many of the items on the shopping list came in packages.
It was a HUGE change for us. And it was the BEST thing we ever did health-wise!
At the time, and maybe even now, it was considered “clean eating.” We avoided fast food and packaged foods. We started reading food labels! You’d be amazed at what all you can’t pronounce on the back of most ingredient lists. If we couldn’t pronounce it or identify it as a “real food” then we didn’t buy it or eat it.
If you buy The Daniel Plan book and read the chapters at the beginning you’ll really understand the basis for this “lifestyle change” and all the parts you truly need to change your habits. So often we fail at our goals because of the parts we are missing. It’s not just about the food or the exercise. You need a positive attitude (faith and focus) and you need support (friends).
Results aka I like kale now…
After 20 days of clean eating Greg had an appointment for blood work for his life insurance application. His results came back SO good that the agent actually apologized to him! Greg’s results were like the results of someone in their 20’s! He offered us the lowest price available, but couldn’t go any lower because of Greg’s age (over 40). He saved us over $100 a month!
After 46 days Greg had lost 19 pounds and I had lost 10 pounds. We were sleeping so much better and felt tons better. We had more energy and focus. I was no longer dealing with an almost daily upset stomach. By the end of May 2014
February 2015–one year after the wedding photo! 
February 2015–eating good and staying active! Feeling so much better!
We also purchased The Daniel Plan cookbook and have used it so much over the years that the spine broke and I bought us another one in January of 2018. There are so many recipes that our whole family loves! The kids even request the meals of their own free will! There’s even a couple of pizza and dessert recipes!
We discovered we love lamb kofta, aka lamb meatballs! The Verde chicken is one of our all-time favorites and we eat it on a semi-regular basis now. We learned how to prepare kale so it actually has a flavor and isn’t just dry and bland.
We also found the best recipes for homemade ranch dressing and an antioxidant salad dressing! We didn’t realize how easy it is to just make your own dressings at home and between these two flavors we had what we wanted.
Chicken tacos 
Breakfast tostadas 
Pizza 
Chicken stir fry 
Cobb salad
We tried most of the quinoa meals and they weren’t bad, but they weren’t our favorites either. However, we love jasmine rice and if we eat rice now it’s jasmine rice. You can purchase the huge bags from Sam’s Club and it lasts a long time!
You can do it too!
YES! It was definitely a life-changing experience for us. We had such great results and felt so much better
Eating the right foods makes a BIG difference!
If you are trying to start a healthier lifestyle and need a place to start then I highly recommend The Daniel Plan. (We’ve since tried Paleo, Alt-Shift, and Whole 30, and Keto too.) BUT if you’re regular diet consists of a lot of bread and packaged foods and especially if you have kids, then I highly suggest you start your healthy food lifestyle change with The Daniel Plan. It’s not so severe as some of the other plans that are out there and you won’t really feel like you’re depriving yourself with all of the wonderful foods you get to eat!
You don’t have to wait until January 1st to make a change. Do it today!
If you have any questions or need any help let me know! I’d love to help you along your journey to being a healthier you!
Check out our post on How to Sneak Exercise into Your Day!
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