The Daniel Plan Day Zero

The next 40 days will be the start of something great.

I have read through The Daniel Plan and am ready to start. I kept telling myself that I will start tomorrow, but tomorrow has come and gone. I finished the book three days ago, and I wasn't actually waiting to finish the book, not sure what I was waiting for. For some reason, it seems like a scary step to take. What better way to hold you accountable than to post this to the internet for all to see?

I'm going to try to blog even if it's short every day for the next 40 days. I have already decided that I am not going to follow the plan exactly. Maybe that's starting off on the wrong foot, but I just don't think at this point, I can give up sugar, gluten and diary (After all, I am a Wisconsin girl!) Maybe after the 40 days, I'll be up for it. I'm trying to take realistic baby steps.

Goals:

Faith- Continue to build a strong friendship with God by spending time in His Word and praying at least 4 times a week.
Food - Focus on foods that nourish my body by eating at least 2 servings of vegetables each day
Fitness- God created me to do His work, and I will attend bootcamp 3 times a week so I am healthy enough to continue to serve. 
Focus - Love myself how God does, see myself as a beautiful daughter of God. Refocus my thoughts from failures to successes. Ask myself if my thoughts are actually true.
Friends-  Build strong relationships by treating others how Jesus would treat them. Check in with others doing the Daniel Plan at least once a week and ask for help from my friends when I am struggling.

These might not all meet the guidelines for SMART goals, it was a little hard to come up with measurable goals. So this is what I'm going to focus on for the next 40 days BUT I am not going to beat myself up if I mess up. It's all part of the journey.

2014 Verse: "Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think."
 Romans 12:2 (second part of the verse)

What I have Learned

To say I have struggled since my last post would be an understatement. I have re-read some of my previous posts, and yes I did struggle, but not nearly as much as I have in the last five months. It has been a constant roller coaster ride for me. I'm up and then I'm down, trying so hard to make the climb back up. As so many of my friends have told me, this is a journey, there are highs and there are lows. It's what you learn from them, that is important. I would like to extend sincere gratitude to everyone who has supported and encouraged me in these past months, it couldn't have been easy. And I'm not here to promise it is going to get better immediately, slowly but surely I will get there.

Here is what I have learned:

• I need God. He has to be a part of my journey. In 2012 I gave this weight loss journey to Him. I prayed while everyone else ate dessert, prayed for that extra 2 minutes on the treadmill, prayed to make a healthy choice at a restaurant. My relationship with God grew immensely in that year, it's really amazing to see how God worked in my life. 

• We are sinners, so there will be rough seasons of life, but there will also be very joyous parts of life. Struggling is part of the journey and it's ok. But it's not ok to sit around and do nothing about it. Then this weight loss was a fade or a time of my life and not an actual life style change. I have gained weight because I have not made smart choices, but I am not willing to give up on myself.

•  I have an amazing network of friends who listened, supported, encouraged and prayed for me! 

•  I put to much pressure on myself. I am not perfect, and I need to stop trying to be. It is important for me to make healthy choices and push myself while working out. But I am trying to learn to not beat myself up for the times I don't think I gave it my all.

• Most importantly, I learned that in 2013 I did not put God first. I thought I could make this happen on my own. Granted, there were some outside factors that have impacted my health, but I know that  my physical and mental health are better if God is at the center.

Time to refocus- put God first. It's not the first time I've said that, and probably won't be the last.
I'm going to do the Daniel Plan. The Daniel Plan is 40 days to a healthier life.
Faith. Food. Fitness.Focus.Friends.

As I said, I put to much pressure on myself, set goals, don't meet them and give up. I'm going to try very hard not to do that. With that said, I am going to give it my best to blog everyday about The Daniel Plan and how it's going.

"Setback and comebacks are part of the journey, and graciousness must be part of both."- The Daniel Plan