Monday, 20-June-2011
This is my starting week for the Daniel Plan and it’s already off to a bad start. My car died last night, it had some mechanical problems that I have been putting off doing anything about and the result was a major mechanical failure. I have a few days to either come up with a repair plan or find new wheels – I’m leaning towards the latter.
Having the car die is truly discouraging and the pre-Daniel Plan Bruce would have dealt with it through cheeseburger therapy. I would have gotten a little more depressed and eaten something to coup with those feelings. But this time, I can clearly see the problem (emotionally speaking) and I am planning my response accordingly. My two biggest overeating factors have been “ boredom” and “loneliness”. Cooking and eating have been fun and enjoyable experiences for me, and in my emotional times of need I have always fallen back on eating in an attempt to make myself feel better – but it never works.
So how do I deal with this emotional need if food is not the answer? My answer is the Bible, turn to God’s word for strength and encouragement.
Side note: My Bible is stuck in my broken-down car so I don’t have access to it at the moment. That’s okay because I have an on-line resource to share with you for those times you find yourself without a Bible in hand: The Bible Gateway website offers numerous resources for on-line Bible study.
In the Book of Daniel, which the Daniel Plan is based on, Daniel and his friends prayed to God to reveal King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to Daniel to avoid execution.
Daniel 2:17-19: 17 Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what hadhappened. 18 He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.19 That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.
The Bible is filled with stories of people needing support, encouragement and inspiration. When these people prayed they received the strength they needed to face their challenges. So, like them I turn to the Lord for help - for me it is to avoid the temptation of unnecessary food.
There is also another VERY important point to draw from this car story as I begin the Daniel Plan. I knew the car needed work but I kept putting it off and now (I guess) the car is beyond reasonable repair. Our bodies are the same way, they need regular maintenance and when something begins to go wrong we need to fix it instead of waiting for it to become irreparable.
Week 1 of the Daniel Plan is about figuring out where you are – determining your starting point. In order to set and reach a goal for a healthy weight, you need to know where you are at the beginning. Dr. Mark Hyman’s video “Know Your Numbers” explains what health measures are important to record and track as your start and progress through the program. He also talks about some lab tests that can be helpful as predictive factors to help avoid future problems.
The basic measures that the program records are (my measurements are listed):
- Height: 5’10″
- Waist Size (Measured 1 inch above navel): 54.5
- Current Weight: 278 lbs
- BMI: 39.9 (Clinically Obese)
- Waist to Height Ratio: 77
- Blood Pressure: 148 / 84
- Desired Weight: 170 lbs
In addition to these measurements you need to complete the Toxicity and Inflammation Quiz, I scored a 26 on the quiz which is Mild Toxicity. You are also asked to track the number of fruits / vegetables you eat each day and the number of hours of sleep you get each night.
The lab studies the Daniel Plan recommends check can be found the website on the Know Your Numbers page.
Over all it was a good week for the Daniel Plan and I was much more aware of what I was eating and several times choose the better / healthier option. One advantage to the car being in the shop is that the amount of walking I did this week increased considerably. On to week two!
