The Daniel Plan, Daniel Fasting, is it for you?
I learned about the Daniel Fast/ Plan from Life Church where I attended in Oklahoma. Every New Year our congregation had the opportunity to participate together in a 21 day Daniel Fast. It was optional. It’s basically following what Daniel in the Bible ate. Fruits and vegetables, no meat. There are different variations of this specific plan. Tailor it around your health needs.
The first time I ever tried this fast I lost my tummy “fat.” I didn’t know what a flat stomach looked like until I tried this particular plan. My ultimate goal wasn’t even to lose weight it was for prayer and fasting for my spiritual journey with Christ. During those 21 days I learned that I seriously needed to incorporate more vegetables into my daily diet. It showed me just how little vegetables I was eating and gave me a new appreciation on how my body responds to them. Most are very filling, they provide nutrients my body needs and they digest well.
The first week was miserable! I was soooooooo tired. Ya’ll, when I say tired I mean so tired I struggled the first 3 days with zero energy just to walk. Eyes watering, yawning all day, felt like I could hardly get through the day. Looking back now it was a detox & my body was in shock. I also went to the bathroom, A LOT! Once week two kicked in I found more energy and felt light. I mean, my stomach felt good like a weight had lifted and I wasnt dragging myself around anymore. I felt really good! I hadn’t experienced that feeling probably ever. The third week I felt like I could wear anything, my stomach looked great! It was time for a beach vacation! Why did’t I keep this way of life up? Well, I dreamt of frying up cows as I would drive by the farms in OK on my way to my parents house. I am not designed to be a vegetarian. I wanted a hamburger. I only did the Daniel Plan for 21 days and quickly went right back to what I weighed before.
Later I tried to mostly eat this way in addition to adding eggs and protein shakes on lifting days and could sustain for special occasions before a wedding, cruise, vacation, high-school reunion… I like meat so this isn’t my choice to live out my life-style this way. However, it’s great for a quick fix.
I have recipes and ideas to help with the Daniel fast/plan. It’s great for 1 month prior to a vacation. The variations for this plan include:
- Vegetables & fruit only- raw
- Vegetables & fruit only- cooked
- Vegetables & fruit with whole grains.
While on my fast I choose option #2 with great results.
Daniel 1:12 & 13 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
