“The Daniel Plan” Book Review

I liked this book very much. It’s so holistic and comprehensive and it makes so much sense!
First of all, The Daniel Plan was in complete agreement with my personal experience and what I studied about health and fitness. Which, BTW, is so rare. Many health “gurus” toot only their own horn that their system/diet/workout regimen is wonderful, and everything else is for people too dumb to see the truth.

The Daniel Plan preaches its own system, but this system is holistic and it excludes very little. But most importantly, it’s darn effective in the lives of everyday people.

The plan is based on five F-essentials. While some of them are pretty obvious – like Food and Fitness, others are not so – like Faith and Focus. And only all five put together create a powerful mixture that can skyrocket your health. I think this is the biggest strength of this book – it combines all the elements and doesn’t leave them hanging in a void.

Diets and fitness have been discussed in the context of weight loss and health zillions of times. The Daniel Plan discusses them as well and I found the most flaws in those parts, but it also put them in the context of faith, focus and friends, which makes the whole plan more down to earth, practical, and most importantly – effective.

For example, let’s take “friends” essential. I met with a serious study done for “American Journal of Preventive Medicine” that concluded simple tactics like ‘move more, eat less’ are more effective than professional weight loss group programs. But a group program is not a pack of friends. While accountability considered in a void may be less important than simple tactics, accountability PLUS the right tactics make all the difference.

OK, as usual in my reviews, let’s go to cons first. They are few and far between, but The Daniel Plan is not all rainbows and unicorns.

CONS

1. Preachy.

Unfortunately, The Daniel Plan falls, in a few areas, into the typical ‘healthy books’ narration: “You’d better listen to this advice to the T or anguish, hell and damnation await you!” Well, not in those words, but you can clearly read it between the lines. The detailed fitness and diet advice provided with the tone of an oracle doesn’t work for me and doesn’t work for many critical-thinking people.

I agreed with at least 90% of what the authors had to say about fitness and diet, but the remaining 10% or so spoiled a bit of the pleasure of reading.

I consider regular cardio completely useless and you cannot convince me otherwise, because it’s against my experience. For the last 10 years, I avoided it like a plague, and I am usually the fittest specimen in any group that does not include fitness professionals.

The same goes for other advice given in magisterial tones. One example that struck me the most was: “Sleep 8 hours a night.” Period. No discussion.

And it’s terrible advice. Yes, probably 60% of the population will thrive sleeping 8 hours a night. But what about the rest?

Sleep needs are individual. Matthew McConaughey sleeps 8.5 hours a night. I took a lot of effort to assess the optimal amount of sleep for me, and it’s 7 to 7.5 hours a night. If I sleep 8 hours, I wake up with a headache every single time. It’s too much for me.

There are more of such unconditional tips within the book, hidden like raisins in a cake. Unfortunately, they give a foul taste to an otherwise very good book.

2. Self-promotional.

One of my friends remarked that the book wasn’t content-rich enough for him, and I get what he meant. There are plenty of readers’ and plan participants’ stories smuggled into the book.

I totally get the intention of the authors. These stories prove that the plan is not tailored to a few very special individuals, but a lot of everyday folks can benefit from it.

I wasn’t disgusted by the number or content of those stories. Whenever I felt like they were standing in my way to further parts of the book, I simply skipped them. But for some readers, interested in “how-to” content, it may be a bit too much. Be warned.

PROS

And this is as far as cons go. There are many more pros in “The Daniel Plan.”

1. Faith.

This is a silver bullet of motivation if you are a believer. If you put your physical transformation into the context of your Christian faith, it disarms you from each and every excuse.
I didn’t find it in any other ‘health book,’ and I read quite a lot of them.

I was struggling with my weight for years. Well, I didn’t even struggle; I neglected my weight and my health. Only when I admitted that God wants more from me than just to get by did I find the motivation to become a fitness machine, lose 15% of my body weight and become healthy for good.

For a believer, there is no better motivator than faith.

2. Food.

Yeah, I complained above about food advice… but only about 10%. The rest was ideally congruent with my experience and studies that I trusted. One important point – eat unprocessed foods – and it deals with 80% dietary problems.

3. Fitness.

Move more is the name of the game. I liked a lot the variety of activities that “The Daniel Plan” prescribes. The fitness industry conditioned us to think that if you don’t go to a gym or spend hours on the road (running, cycling, etc.) you don’t exercise. Bollocks! Playing with your kids is an exercise and better than most at that.

I also liked the emphasis on bodyweight exercises. You can do them anywhere, anytime — and even a few minutes, if done intensively, can break a sweat and provide all benefits connoted with long pieces of training.

4. Focus.

I consider it a very strong point of the book. This area is rarely mentioned in other books and usually treated as an afterthought or an ornament.

Not so in “The Daniel Plan.” There is so much more in health than eating right and moving your butt. Jim Rohn called it “a healthy attitude.” I found all the tactics mentioned in the book – more laughter, stress-reducing habits, prayer and better sleep – exactly in accordance with my personal experience.
The book is worth its price just for this section.

5. Friends.

Accountability is an important factor in achieving one’s goals, but “The Daniel Plan” takes it to another level. The true potential of the plan was generated in those small groups of friends who worked together on common goals.

The book doesn’t tell about simple accountability. What is understood by “friends” here, means the mastermind. A few or several people who brainstorm and work together to reach a specific outcome. People who simultaneously care about you and are detached enough from your daily drama to provide unbiased external insight.

I was blown away by multiple examples of how a small group of friends decided to implement The Daniel Plan. That’s how masterminds work. They produce their own solution to their own situations. They generate ideas and implement them without external supervision.

6. Holistic.

This book includes everything which is good or great about getting healthy and keeping it that way. Yes, there are some questionable tips here and there, especially when applied to an individual. But every pinch of good advice is here as well. In the last few years, I improved my health immensely, and I found all the tactics I used, some even subconsciously, in this book.

In Summary:

I recommend this book wholeheartedly. The less you know about getting healthy, the more profitable it will be for you. The more your health is in shambles, despite your knowledge, the more you will benefit from reading and APPLYING it.

I identify with the book’s message so much, that I could’ve become a certified Daniel Plan’s coach tomorrow if they have a relevant program. 😉

The best thing you can do with “The Daniel Plan” is to read it and tailor it to your individual situation. Not all recipes will fit your lifestyle. Not all exercises will be doable or wise in your circumstances. Don’t worry, this book is like a buffet meal: you don’t have to eat everything. In fact, it will do you most good if you pick only something here and there.

Only one thing is obligatory in applying the book’s advice: don’t neglect any of the five essentials. The plan is based on them. Miss one and the whole plan will crumble.

Faith, focus, foods, fitness and friends; everything is necessary to maintain your wellbeing for good.