You might remember Pastor Rick Warren from the last presidential election. He is the leader of Saddleback Church in California who interviewed Barack Obama and John McCain. Pastor Warren realized he and a large number of his 20,000 plus congregation were overweight. He started the Daniel plan, named after an Old Testament story about a boy named Daniel who with four boys were trained at King Nebuchadezzar's court. The boys refused the usual fare and only ate vegetables and drank water and grew fitter as they trained.
Last year his members lost 260,000 pounds. Their plan includes:
- Seeing a doctor for an evaluation and getting rid of the bad foods in their kitchens
- Relying on a support group that they find at their church
- Eating foods such as meat and vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds and minimizing whole grains and carbs
- Staying active and exercising
- Getting at least seven to eight hours sleep
- Accepting that this is a lifestyle change
Members who participate are seeing earthly rewards.
