Lifestyle Plan Designed For Total Well-Being

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

1 Corinthians 10:31

For the past couple months, a group of about 25 Aviation and Missile Command employees have been sharing their lunch time together once a week to explore the effect healthy choices have on building a positive lifestyle. Known as "The Daniel Plan: Forty Days to a Healthier Life," the program encourages participants to focus on living healthier through faith, food, fitness, focus and friends.

"This is a plan that can really help people to achieve things that are important in life, to accomplish goals that are important in their lives," said AMCOM Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Adolph DuBose.

"The foundation of the program is rooted deeply in faith, and it relies on partnerships that make each participant accountable, and that encourage them and motivate them to achieve their goals. It's a win-win program because it makes you healthier, helps you to build relationships and helps build your faith. You don't have to be perfect in this plan. You just have to make progress."

The Daniel Plan's goal is to bring participants into a healthier lifestyle -- starting first, spiritually, and then extending to the physical, mental and social aspects of life. The journey begins with faith in God, and a belief that changes in lifestyle are possible with God's help.

"Faith is what you build on," DuBose said. "It's the beginning of the rest of the program. From there, we talk about making healthy decisions on food and fitness. What you eat and how fit you are affect your life and your outlook on life."

Faith, food and fitness are the first three essentials to a healthy lifestyle. The fourth essential -- focus -- enables participants to follow through on their commitments to a healthier lifestyle. Participants must have the ability to remain focused on the things that should be done to achieve life goals, rather than being distracted by the brain's pleasure centers, which want immediate gratification.

"Focus -- avoiding distractions -- is not easy. But it's important to achieving the goal," DuBose said. "And, the fifth essential to lifestyle change -- friendships -- can help with keeping the focus because friends can remind you of your goal. They can be there to offer encouragement when you don't think you can do it anymore."

If the goal is to lose 50 pounds in six months, then the focus should be on how much weight needs to be lost each week, and the kinds of diet changes and physical activities that will be used each week to achieve the weekly goal, DuBose said. The Daniel Plan offers diet suggestions, exercises -- there's even a Move of the Week -- and physical activities, such as mountain biking, aerobics and walking, that can be tools toward achieving the goal.

"You have to set your goals and they have to be measurable goals," DuBose said. "You have to be able to break down those goals and address them each week as you work toward your deadline."

The goals should be based on what motivates the participant, and they should be achievable in a way that is enjoyable for the participant.

"I'm motivated to follow The Daniel Plan by longevity. I want to live long so that I can spend time with my grandkids," DuBose said. "We can't forecast how long God plans for us to be here. But we can do our part to be healthy, physically fit and mentally sharp."

Those who follow The Daniel Plan will lose weight, be more physically fit, and have a more balanced approach to eating right and exercising right, DuBose said. But the program does much more than that.

"The Daniel Plan is bigger than weight loss," he said. "It is a well-rounded program to become a better person to be used by God. If you are broken, if you are not in good shape, if you are exhausted, you can't be of full service to God, your family or your work. By addressing the physical needs, this program goes further because it effects a person's overall life and making it better."

Though The Daniel Plan is a 40-day program, DuBose said it lessons and principles can be applied throughout life.

"This is not just a six-week deal," he said. "It's definitely an investment in a way of thinking and a way of doing things that can be applied throughout your entire life. It is a powerful message that can show you how to be your best self as long as you live.

During a recent meeting of the group, the lesson for the week was augmented by AMCOM Resilience Program Manager Jared Tarver, who talked about how the five essentials of The Daniel Plan can make employees more resilient.

Resilience, he said, is the "ability to grow and thrive in the face of challenges, and the ability to bounce back from adversities. The key is to bounce back and to get back to the task at hand."

Tarver shared the hopeful message of the poem "Invictus" written by William Earnest Henley, and shared the "Hunt the Good Stuff" philosophy that breeds resiliency. He urged the group to find at least three positives in every day, and to focus on those instead of looking for the negative. By hunting for the good stuff, people grow feelings of gratitude and appreciation rather than depression and dismay.

Employees who are optimistic make better leaders, have stronger working relationships, are more successful, and are healthier and happier, he said.

"Hunting the good stuff builds positive emotions, such as gratitude," he said.

Tarver also urged the group to develop and nurture relationships with others that are positive and supportive.

"Make sure to have folks in your life who you are sure of and who are sure of you," he said. "Like Piglet and Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood, you need to be able to trust each other."