Teri Miller: It’s Not Will Power, It’s God’s Power!

By Peggy Matthews Rose

Her kids gave her a hard time saying, “Mom, I want you to be there at my wedding,” and “Mom, we want you to take better care of yourself.” So when a co-worker invited her to attend The Daniel Plan launch in January, she decided to accept. Then, when Teri Miller heard Dr. Daniel Amen talk about dinosaurs, the light came on. Big time.

“What I got was that it isn’t a ‘diet,’ ” Teri said. “I had allowed myself to become overweight and not exercise, so I made those choices myself. And I knew it was hurting me in the job marketplace.

“But one thing I’d always had confidence in was that I was smart—the person others came to for advice. So when Dr. Amen spoke about the dinosaur syndrome, where the heavier you become the smaller your brain becomes, it was like a slap in the face! I can’t be fat and dumb. Dumb simply isn’t an option.

“My father had Alzheimer’s, but I had not realized that obesity was a gateway to Alzheimer’s. The way I was eating, I was destined to become a diabetic—I’m a sugar-aholic, a See’s candy addict, a chocoholic. I’d never realized all that could bring on Alzheimer’s too. That was what clicked for me.”

Teri started The Daniel Plan the following Monday, after admittedly spending one day eating everything she liked most. “The hardest thing to give up was the leftover See’s from Christmas!”

As she gave up unhealthy favorites, she added one more healthy choice—and it came the very next weekend, when Pastor Rick spoke on “The Prayer That Changes You.” Using The Lord’s Prayer as a model, Rick laid out a template for daily change that resonated with Teri and has since become her daily spiritual habit. “It’s gotten me through those really tough times, like Easter with all that chocolate!”

When people notice the change in Teri, “they think I have will power. But I say, ‘No, I have God’s will power.’ There’s no way I could do this except that it’s what He wants me to go through.”

As evidence of God’s presence, a few weeks into The Daniel Plan, Teri was in an automobile accident that sent her to the doctor for all those “tests”—the ones we usually don’t want to know the answers to. Afraid her life of bad choices might now be catching up to her, Teri prayed that prayer of surrender and got ready for the bad news. “Everything looks good!” they told her. She thanked God and knew she had “dodged a bullet.” And she dug into The Daniel Plan with renewed determination.

To date, Teri has lost over 50 pounds and is well on her way to her 130-pounds goal. Best of all, her new lifestyle is showing. Her own daughter was so impressed she also began implementing The Daniel Plan strategies and has lost over 20 pounds herself.

Teri’s small group has supportive as well, saying “they’ve been very complimentary and in awe of what I am going through in my personal life and how God is in control with my Daniel Plan.”

Co-worker Hanna Ahn is so proud of her friend, she submitted Teri’s story for this site. “I am so happy and proud to say that her commitment to The Daniel Plan has inspired us all. I see her eating healthy snacks and lunches and making healthy choices when work lunches at restaurants are called for. Morning meetings will sometimes come with bagels and cream cheese that she will pass up. Sourdough pretzels loaded with sodium are in big buckets in the kitchen and they do not faze this woman.”

If there’s one area Teri feels she needs strengthening in, literally speaking, it’s the exercise she knows is a critical part of The Daniel Plan. “I’d love to find someone to work out with me,” she says, “someone who’d be willing to be my personal trainer, someone to hold me accountable for going out there five days a week and getting physical.”

So if you need a boost in your own Daniel Plan program, maybe Teri’s story is just what you needed to read. Of course, seeing is believing, and Hanna is here to testify that Teri, “has a new glow of happiness in her face and she deserves it. Thanks to God, Pastor Rick, and The Daniel Plan for transforming this woman’s life!”

And if you’re looking for a workout partner, we’ve got one for you.

Teri’s tips for taking The Daniel Plan with you:

  • I take my Bible to work and look for Scriptures that will help me make it through whenever I feel weak.
  • I take “fast food” that works: cut up veggies, watermelon, anything that keeps you from the candy machine.
  • When you work long hours, take lunch and dinner too! Don’t let hunger undermine your efforts.
  • Keep a food journal and write down everything you eat, every day.
  • Be sure to tell God thank you for his faithfulness!
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